Psychology

University of California, Berkeley

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, and services. 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
 

Psychology is a high-demand major in L&S.

For first-year students applying to Berkeley Letters & Science, admission into the Psychology major will be guaranteed to those who selected Psychology as their primary major on their UC Berkeley admissions application. Students are guaranteed a spot in the Psychology major, subject to completing the major prerequisites, maintaining good academic standing in L&S, and filing a declaration form.


The opportunities for being admitted into the Psychology major after enrollment at UC Berkeley will be extremely limited, and applying to the Psychology major via the comprehensive review process does not guarantee a spot in the major. If you have an interest in the Psychology major, we strongly encourage you to select Psychology as your primary major during the UC application process. If you opt to change to the Psychology major after being admitted to Berkeley, you will be required to have an alternate plan to declare a non-high demand major as a back-up.
 
For more information on the high-demand major policy please visit the "Admissions" page for the College of Letters and Science on the Berkeley Academic Guide.

Graduate Program

Psychology: PhD

Visit Department Website

Courses

Psychology

Contact Information

Department of Psychology

2121 Berkeley Way

Phone: 510-642-5292

Fax: 510-642-5293

Visit Department Website

Department Chair

Ozlem Ayduk, PhD

3430 Berkeley Way West

ayduk@berkeley.edu

Department Vice-Chair

Allison Harvey, PhD

3250 Berkeley Way West

aharvey@berkeley.edu

Department Vice-Chair

Lance Kriegsfeld, PhD

kriegsfeld@berkeley.edu

Student Services Director

Harumi Quinones

2210 Berkeley Way West

Phone: 510-642-7097

harumi@berkeley.edu

Graduate Student Services Advisor

Kai Santiago

3412 Berkeley Way West

psychgradadvisor@berkeley.edu

Graduate Student Services Advisor

Fonda Yoshimoto-Reed

3412 Berkeley Way West

psychgradadvisor@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Student Services Assistant Director

Jennifer Ochoa

2210 Berkeley Way West

Phone: 510-643-8114

psychsso@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Student Services Adviser

Zoe Xu

2210 Berkeley Way West

Phone: 510-643-8114

psychsso@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Student Services Adviser

Brenaia Blue

2210 Berkeley Way West

Phone: 510-643-8114

psychsso@berkeley.edu

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