Psychology

Department Overview

Pursue your calling in contemporary psychology.

As a student of psychology at Grove City College, you will gain a solid and broad foundation in modern psychological science. Our curriculum will expose you to key concepts, theories, findings, and methods, with an emphasis on understanding and conducting research. Not only will our faculty guide you to explore and grapple with big questions surrounding behavior and mental health, you will also learn to use sophisticated analytic software and increase your understanding of data, which are important transferable skills. As you develop your gifts and solidify your calling, you will have freedom to double major or add a minor in complementary areas like family studies, Christian ministry, or modern language.

Grow professionally through research and internships.

A distinctive of our curriculum is our advanced research methods course. In this course, you and your fellow students will work in teams to develop a research idea, master the literature, and carry out an entire empirical research study. Some of our students have published their work in professional journals.

You will have access to exceptional internship resources like our department’s internship coordinator and our nationally ranked career services office. Recently students have interned with George Junior Republic, The Susan B. Anthony List, Light of Life Rescue Mission, United States Probation Office, and the Family & Children Faith Coalition.

In addition, you will learn directly from faculty who conduct influential research in their respective fields. For example, our faculty-led Political Cognition Lab studies cognitive complexity and culture; the lab’s work has gained recognition by outlets such as New York Times, The Ben Shapiro Podcast, USA Today, Washington Post, and BBC Radio.

Engage personally with faculty mentors and peers.

Our faculty are scholars, teachers, mentors, and committed Christians. We do not shy away from the tensions that sometimes arise between contemporary psychology and the Christian faith — instead, we confront and encourage discussion of those tensions. We agree with Martin Luther that the Christian life does not involve withdrawing from the culture, but rather, engaging with it. Thus, we view the field of psychology as one of the ways that God manifests himself in ordinary, everyday life and we eagerly participate in it. We hold our students to high standards and will guide you as you pursue your calling.

Thanks to small class sizes and the popular hub of our department suite, you will be able to engage personally with faculty and fellow students in and out of the classroom, forming relationships that last well beyond graduation. You will also have opportunities to build community on campus with peers and promote good mental health via groups like the Sociology, Social Work and Psychology Association, Psi Chi (national honorary in psychology), and New Life (ministry group that serves young men at a local juvenile detention center).

Enjoy amazing career outcomes.

Like 95% of Grove City College graduates, you will be prepared to compete for top full-time positions in private and government agencies or pursue a master’s or doctoral degree at institutions such as Ashland University, Auburn University, Bowling Green State University, Duquesne University, Regent University, Seattle Pacific University, and the University of South Carolina. Our graduates excel on the national Major Field Test, with the median for our students consistently in the 90th percentile or higher.

Many of our graduates pursue graduate school, eventually serving in a variety of  areas including research, occupational therapy, law enforcement, health care, nonprofits, counseling in a wide range of settings, and more. Whatever your calling, you will have a solid foundation in the science of psychology and the finely honed skills to help change lives for the better.

Department Fact Sheet