Psychology

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2020-21 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu.

UC Berkeley’s Spring 2021 Plans for Instruction Announced.

Overview

Psychology as a scientific discipline aims to describe, understand, and predict the behavior of living organisms. In doing so, psychology embraces the many factors that influence behavior - from sensory experience to complex cognition, from the role of genetics to that of social and cultural environments, from the processes that explain behavior in early childhood to those that operate in older ages, and from normal development to pathological conditions. The Psychology Department at UC Berkeley reflects the diversity of our discipline's mission covering six key areas of research: Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience; Clinical Science; Cognition; Cognitive Neuroscience; Developmental, and Social-Personality Psychology. Despite the existence of these specialization areas, our program learning goals focus on fostering methodological, statistical and critical thinking skills that are not tied to any one particular content area in psychology but are relevant for all of them.

The Department of Psychology’s Postbaccalaureate Certificate Program is a comprehensive retraining and immersion program for students interested in applying to graduate school in psychology. The program features intensive coursework to complete an undergraduate psychology major in three or four semesters, research opportunities with our world-class faculty, in-depth advising, and a supportive community. If you are inspired to enter the field of psychology, switching focus from a previous major or changing careers, the postbaccalaureate program may be a path to consider.  

Clinic

The Psychology Clinic is a center for clinical training and research. The Psychology Clinic is part of the Clinical Science graduate program and is housed in the Department of Psychology at UC Berkeley. Our graduate program is committed to excellence in scientific training, and to using clinical science as the foundation for designing, implementing, and evaluating assessment and intervention procedures. Established in 1963, our Clinic strives to provide the best available psychological treatments to the larger Bay Area community, especially to those who are traditionally underserved. We offer individual, child & adolescent, couples, parent training and family therapy. These interventions are demonstrated by research to be effective for improving mental health problems and are individually-tailored to meet the unique needs of each person. Common issues addressed in our clinic include, but are not limited to, the following: depression, anxiety, grief & bereavement, trauma, sleep and other health concerns, relationship and family issues, school problems, parenting difficulties, and significant life transitions. In 2013, the Clinic was expanded to include the Center for Assessment, which provides comprehensive assessment services for adults and children. As a center for excellence in clinical training, we provide top-quality training to approximately 20 doctoral students per year, including those from other areas of Psychology and the School of Education. We also provide a clinical setting for pioneering research by faculty and students tackling critical questions related to mental. These programs are funded from a variety of sources, including the National Institute of Aging, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute for Drug Abuse, and National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, and provide new tools for the assessment and treatment of children and adults, for a wide range of psychological conditions, including ADHD, dementia, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, and couples relationships.

Undergraduate Program

Psychology: BA

Graduate Program

Psychology: PhD

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