Majoring in psychology opens the door to a world of possibilities, and OWU psychology alumni are doing vital work in many fields across the country. Psychology majors collect and analyze data and learn to communicate the observed trends. Many also engage in unique projects with professors.
Ohio Wesleyan's Psychology program is highly regarded for excellent teaching and research opportunities for students. In fact, College Factual in 2019 ranked OWU's Psychology program in the top 11% of all colleges and universities in America as a "Best Value for the Money" program.
As a Psychology major at OWU, you'll study a broad range of topics:
You will complete courses that span the breadth of the field, but you'll also have the freedom to choose from a number of courses to fulfill those requirements. Many students combine their psychology major or minor with a major in another field.
Independent research is a central element of The OWU Connection and is an important part of psychology studies at OWU.
You can work one-on-one with faculty to contribute to ongoing research investigations in a faculty member’s lab, or you can design an investigation of a research question of your own interest. These collaborations may last more than one semester, and students with very strong projects may present their results at professional conferences.
You will have many opportunities to expand your classroom learning by immersing yourself in another culture, from Travel-Learning Courses with 7-14-day travel components to semester-abroad programs.
Psychology majors take advantage of travel programs across the university.
Ohio Wesleyan students gain valuable real-world experience through internships in governmental agencies, private sector business and legal firms, nonprofit advocacy organizations, medical & scientific research facilities, media outlets, think tanks, and more.
The Career Connection office can help connect you with internship opportunities and career support.
OWU faculty are outstanding scholars and researchers—and passionate teachers. They will push you, challenge you, inspire you, and work with you on your own research and creative projects.
They can even pack a 3-minute lecture with ideas, insight, and imagination. Check out our unique i³ lectures.
If you’re interested in developmental psychology, you can gain experience in OWU’s Early Childhood Center, a preschool run jointly by the psychology and education departments. The school enrolls more than 100 children and serves as a laboratory and observation center. It’s the ultimate on-campus theory-to-practice learning.
If you want to gain real-world experience, we offer a large number of internship opportunities. You can spend 120-150 hours per semester working in a job relevant to your interests in psychology. Recent student placements have included: Delaware Speech and Hearing Center, Delaware City Schools, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Maryhaven Delaware, and Helpline, Inc.
Ohio Wesleyan’s unique 10-week Summer Science Research Program offers students the opportunity to carry out cutting-edge research side by side with faculty mentors. Students and faculty are fully engaged partners in research projects that are ideal preparation for graduate studies.
After graduating, Nina is a Community Youth Empowerment Volunteer with the Peace Corps in Fiji. While at OWU, Nina participated in the OWU in Tanzania Program.
Allie Eynon '19 and Shelby Quade '18 contributed to a psychological investigation of memory. They developed materials for an online memory test that measures the amount of knowledge students from 1992 to 2017 retained from a Quantitative Methods course. Professor Lynda Hall was their mentor.
Samuel Stull's '17 internship at Nationwide Children's hospital led to a research project with Professor Kira Bailey on hepatitis C and opiod abuse.
Erika Shultz '18 reproduced and extended previous experiments that measured the brain waves of subjects while they completed certain tasks. These experiments support the theory that, depending on our goals, our brain activity switches between proactive and reactive control. Her mentor was Professor Kira Bailey.
OWU classes are small, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 11:1.
I-Cubed lecture by Ohio Wesleyan Professor of Psychology Vicki DiLillo.
I-Cubed Lecture by Ohio Wesleyan Assistant Professor of Psychology Melanie Henderson.
Psychology and French major Emma Beale '17 used a grant for signature projects to study terrorism in France from multiple angles, including patriarchy within terrorist organizations, the prison system and terrorist recruitment, and the role of propaganda and media coverage.
Psychology major Mac Willard '18 received a Theory-to-Practice Grant to work as a summer intern for fashion editor Caroline Vazzana.
Morgan Christie '16 worked with Professor Sarah Bunnell to examine the types of messages transmitted by ethnic minority and majority parents to their adolescents regarding race and how these messages prepare adolescents to cope with discriminatory experiences.
