Psychology

• Biblical foundations: Compare a Reformed, biblical perspective on being human to the major perspectives in psychology and articulate how that view affects theory and practice.
• Knowledge base: Have a solid base of theoretical and empirical knowledge in psychology.
• Methodological proficiency: Describe the methods and the process of ethical research in psychology and conduct research to address psychological questions.
• Analytical and critical-thinking skills: Apply their knowledge of human complexity to analyze assumptions and causal factors, weigh evidence, and solve problems.
• Writing and communication skills: Demonstrate effective writing and oral communication skills for various purposes and audiences.

To learn more, you can also view the program strengths and learning outcomes for this program.

What matters most is that psychology-related careers offer the ability to help others. If you’re passionate about making a difference in people’s lives, you’ll find satisfying work with a degree in psychology. And when you study psychology at Dordt, you’ll get the unique experience of having your Christian faith woven into every aspect of your education.

Graduates from Dordt’s psychology program have worked for places like the Family Crisis Centers, the South Dakota State Penitentiary, and Hope Haven, Inc.

The psychology program provides opportunities for students to develop their skills, learn about available resources, and take advantage of individualized attention in a variety of ways.

• Advanced Training Opportunities: students get hands-on training through work experiences. They take the types of testing and measurement classes that are usually offered only in graduate programs.
• Graduate School Preparation: students have the opportunity to attend professor-led workshops on the various components of graduate school processes and opportunities.
• Faculty Relationships: students will get to know their professors, and they get to know their students. Professors have students over for a fall welcome picnic, encourage them along the way, and host a dinner in the students' honor when they graduate. They help with resumes, job searches, and maybe even pull a prank or two!

In the psychology program at Dordt you will get hands-on training through classroom experiential learning and field experience opportunities, take courses with students from a wide variety of majors, take courses from faculty with broad training and experience in clinical, developmental, research, educational, cognitive, and neurological psychology, and have the opportunity to develop close relationships with the faculty members.

• Introduction to Psychology: Explaining human behavior is a wonderfully complex task, and this course introduces students to the scientific study of topics such as memory, personality, development, social influence, disorders, and others. Along the way, we will use a bio-psycho-social (spiritual) model to frame our study and will compare a biblical perspective on being human to several historical perspectives in psychology.
• Research Methods: This course introduces students to the research process, including formulation of hypotheses, design, interpretation, and communication of results. The course will include a review of statistical procedures with an emphasis on selection and interpretation of analyses and an introduction to computer data analysis with R. Methods of research are discussed from a reformed, Christian perspective. Students complete research proposals.
• Senior Research Project: This highly interactive course develops students’ collaborative, cognitive, and communication skills as they design, conduct, and present psychological research as a service to campus or community groups. Students also consider tensions that face Christian psychologists as they conduct research and enter the profession of psychology. Weekly labs involve opportunities to practice new learning in a just-in-time approach that prepares students for the next step in their own research. Satisfies Core Program writing-intensive requirement.
• History of Psychology and Worldview: A brief study of the historical development of psychological theories from the ancient world to the present, with extended treatment given to major contemporary movements or perspectives in psychology (such as psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanism) and to recent attempts by Christians to “integrate” theology and psychology.
• Introductory Statistics: An introductory course in statistical techniques and methods and their application to a variety of fields. Topics include data analysis, design of experiments, and statistical inference including confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. Exposure to statistical software and a substantive student project are also part of this course.
• Seven psychology electives (20 or more credits)
  • At least two must be at the 300-level

See the course catalog for more information