Professors: Peter Balsam (Samuel R. Milbank Professor), Larry B. Heuer (Ann Whitney Olin Professor & Chair), Robert E. Remez, Rae Silver (Helene L. and Mark N. Kaplan Professor), Steven Stroessner
Professor Emerita and Senior Scholar: Lila Ghent Braine
Associate Professors: Barbara Woike, Ann Senghas
Assistant Professors: Koleen McCrink, Joshua New, Eshkol Rafaeli, Russell Romeo, Lisa K. Son (Department Representative)
Adjunct Professors: William Fifer, Susan Riemer Sacks
Adjunct Associate Professors: E’mett McCaskill, Wendy McKenna, Patricia Stokes, Tovah P. Klein (Director of the Toddler Center)
Adjunct Assistant Professors: Hannah Hoch, Karen Seeley, Doris Zahner, Karin Coifman, Natalie Humphrey, Noah Glassman
Term Assistant Professor: Joshua Davis, Alexandra Horowitz, Jennifer S. Pardo, Kara Pham
For a complete list of
faculty on leave see:
http://www.barnard.edu/provost/facleavelist.html
Psychology is the study of behavior and experience, from love to aggression, from the first babbling of infants to intellectual creativity, from sexuality to the physiology of taste. Faculty members in Psychology have a wide range of interests, including social and cognitive development, memory, language, animal learning, social stereotyping, the self-concept, the resolution of conflict, and behavior neuroscience.
Common to all areas of psychology is a concern with adequate and appropriate method. The student will encounter many perspectives on psychological evidence and technique through lecture, laboratory, field courses, and other offerings.
Opportunities are available for supervised research, teaching, and field experience. Individual Projects and the Senior Research Seminar involve participation in research with a faculty member. The Toddler Center and a course in Field Work in Psychological Services provide first-hand contact with the study of psychology. The Department also sponsors a Psychology Club.
Psychology as a major concentration is good preparation for many careers. Many students enter graduate school in psychology, neuroscience, education, and professional schools, including medical, law, and business schools. There is no set sequence for a given career goal, but the Department recommends a balance between courses that are directly preparatory and those that establish a broad intellectual foundation.
Science requirement: Students desiring to fulfill the science requirement through Psychology are encouraged to take their lab courses in their early years at Barnard, because seniors do not receive priority in lab placements. To ensure exposure to different methods in psychology, the two lab courses must be drawn from different groups. See the description of lab groups underRequirements.
Students should request Department permission for lab courses by entering the lottery in April and November for the following semester. Information about Department permission is available in Room 415A Milbank.
A laboratory fee of $30 is charged for each laboratory course: BC 1105, BC 1108, BC 1113, BC 1117, BC 1123, BC 1127 and BC 1136.
Students interested in the Neuroscience and Behavior major should consult the Neuroscience and Behavior section of the course catalogue.
The student majoring in Psychology is exposed to the diversity of the discipline through the required core courses and the selection of appropriate electives.
Eight courses in Psychology (of which two must be lab courses) and three courses in related disciplines are required for the major. Six of the eight required Psychology courses must be taken at Barnard College.*
Students must take:
PSYC BC 1001 |
Introduction to Psychology (prerequisite for further psychology courses) |
PSYC BC 1101 |
Statistics (preferably in the sophomore year) |
Students must take one course from each group, of which two must be laboratory courses:
Group A
PSYC BC 1105 or 1107 |
Psychology of Learning |
PSYC BC 1113 or 1115 |
Cognitive Psychology |
Group B
PSYC BC 1108 or 1110 |
Perception |
PSYC BC 1117 or 1119 |
Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience |
Group C
PSYC BC 1123 or 1125 |
Psychology of Personality |
PSYC BC 1136 or 1138 |
Social Psychology |
PSYC BC 1127 or 1129 |
Developmental Psychology |
Three additional elective courses are required. Students may take more than one course in each group.
Students who have passed either the Advanced Placement exam in psychology with a score of 4 or 5, or the International Baccalaureate exam with a score of 5 or higher are exempt from PSYC BC 1001. They will need an extra elective to achieve the eight psychology courses required for the major (or the five courses required for the minor).
Economics minors and double-majors can satisfy the requirement with ECON BC 2411. Students that declared their major in psychology prior to the 2008-2009 academic year may satisfy the major statistics requirement with STAT W 1111 or W 1211 in lieu of PSYC BC 1101. Those who take an outside course cannot also receive credit for PSYC BC 1101. They will also need an extra psychology elective to achieve the eight psychology courses required for the major (or the five courses required for the minor). Students should consult with the Department Representative before enrolling in any other statistics course, as it may not be accepted towards the major or minor.
The eight required psychology courses must be taken for a letter grade. Students must earn a grade of C- or better. A maximum of two of the following courses may count toward the major (or minor): BC 3465, BC 3466, BC 3591, BC 3592, and BC 3599.
The three required courses in related disciplines should be distributed in this manner: one-year course sequence in a science, both semesters accompanied by a three-hour laboratory section (astronomy, biology, chemistry, environmental science, geology, or physics); and one course from the cognate disciplines (anthropology, computer science, economics, linguistics, philosophy, or sociology). A student may fulfill the outside lab science requirement if she receives a 4 or 5 on the AP exam in biology, chemistry, environmental science, or physics and completes one semester of lab in the same field. These courses in related disciplines may be taken for a letter grade or P/D/F. Students must earn a grade of C- or better, or a P.
Students cannot receive credit for courses taken elsewhere overlapping substantially with courses taken at Barnard. They should consult with the Department regarding Columbia offerings that overlap and should request Departmental approval for any course taken at an unaffiliated institution.
Senior Requirement
Included among the eight courses required for the major is a Senior Requirement.
Students fulfill the Senior Requirement by completing one of the following courses during their senior year. The course may be taken during the junior year with prior approval by the major advisor and the Departmental Representative of a written petition outlining rationale for early completion.
(a) BC 3599, Individual Projects (3 or 4 points);
(b) BC 3591x, 3592y Senior Research Seminar; or
(c) any 3000-level BC psychology seminar approved by a Psychology Adviser.
Majors may elect to fulfill their Senior Requirement with a Columbia Psychology Department Seminar or Supervised Individual Research. Those who elect this option may complete the major with five of the eight required courses at Barnard.
When in doubt, the student should consult with her major adviser, whom she should select when she decides to major in Psychology. The student should select the appropriate adviser by consulting with the Departmental Representative.
Five courses are required for the minor, including Psychology BC 1001, BC 1101, and one laboratory course chosen from the groups listed for the major. Two additional electives, excluding Psychology BC 3465–BC 3466, BC 3591–BC 3592, and BC 3599, are required. These electives may be selected from the Psychology Department course offerings. Three of the five psychology courses must be taken at Barnard. Exemptions and substitutions are as noted above for the major.
*Students who complete an approved Columbia psychology seminar or independent study in their senior year may count this course as one of their six required Barnard courses (see Senior Requirement).