The Department of Psychological Sciences represents the combined strengths of the fields of psychology and communication sciences. We offer two undergraduate majors: Psychology and Communication Sciences, as well as two minors: Psychology and Communication for Health Professionals. Students can tailor their experience to meet their own career and educational goals. This can be accomplished in many ways, including through independent studies and experiential learning opportunities with faculty, honors Capstone projects, and Pathways. Pathways provides student with guidance to structure coursework based on their specific career interests. Pathways include Clinical, Lifespan Development, Pre-Health, Neuroscience, and Research. Students may choose several Pathways that meet their needs.
We also provide graduate programs, including a masters in Communication Sciences, and three Ph.D. programs: Communication Sciences, Clinical Psychology, and Developmental, Cognitive, and Affective Sciences (DCAS). Our Ph.D. students conduct cutting edge research, learn effective and engaging pedagogical skills, and those in Clinical Psychology and Communication Sciences programs learn to provide empirically supported treatments in a variety of settings.
Department News and Highlights
Asking yourself Socratic questions can calm your irrational thoughts
CNN: James Overholser, professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the College of Arts and Sciences, explained why therapy can be helpful for working through problems and toward goals in a way that’s difficult for many people to do alone. View the full article here
2024 John S. Diekhoff Awards for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring nominees announced
The nominees for the 2024 John S. Diekhoff Awards for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring were recently announced. Established in 1978 in honor of John Diekhoff, the John S. Diekhoff Awards for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring are presented each year to four faculty members who make exemplary...
Recent presidential elections triggered religious and spiritual struggles, study finds
“I wanted to extend our research on spiritual struggles into topics related to current events. In this study, my team and I wanted to understand whether and why U.S. adults might experience spiritual struggles in response to Presidential election results,” said study author Julie J. Exline, a professor of...
Expand your circle of friends with 4 tips from a CWRU faculty member in psychological sciences
When you have good news to share, are looking for advice or just need a listening ear, a friend is a good place to turn. From schoolyard buddies to workplace bonds, we develop friendships throughout our lives. And each year, National Make a Friend Day (Feb. 11) celebrates those...
A new paradigm for adult ADHD: A focused strategy to monitor treatment
Psychological sciences’ Elizabeth Short wrote an article titled, A new paradigm for adult ADHD: A focused strategy to monitor treatment, which appeared in Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. Short explores the act of task incompletion as the main dysfunction in adults with ADHD.
How to Recover From Trauma: Treatments and When to Seek Help. Norah Feeny weighs in
Newsbreak: Psychology's Norah Feeny commented on what it takes for people who have experienced trauma to seek treatment and why many patients put off getting help for symptoms for far too long.
4 in 10 Evangelicals Say They’ve Been Visited by the Dead
From Christianity Today: Despite Scripture’s warning against communication from beyond the grave, most consider hearing from loved ones to be a comfort in their grief. Researchers say most people who report “after-death communications” find the interactions to be comforting, not haunting or scary. “They’re often very valuable for people. They...
Psychological sciences’ Elizabeth Short writes about ADHD in adults
Elizabeth Short, professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences, recently co-wrote an article about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults. Titled “A new paradigm for adult ADHD: A focused strategy to monitor treatment,” the article appeared in Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. In this article, Short explored the act of task incompletion...