Interdisciplinary Studies

The department encourages research and study within psychology that combines disciplinary specializations. Incorporating Multiple Perspectives
Throughout the UC Davis campus, interdisciplinary research and scholarly activity are encouraged.  Many topics such as animal behavior, cognitive neuroscience, gender, history of psychology, environmental psychology, human consciousness, emotion and many areas of applied psychology incorporate multiple perspectives. A number of faculty within the department specialize in these areas. 
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Graduate-Level Specialization: A Designated Emphasis

Officially organized programs exist in several interdisciplinary fields of study. Graduate students may elect to participate formally in one of these interdisciplinary programs by declaring a graduate-level specialization, a Designated Emphasis, in that field of study. 

  • For example, the UC Davis Women's Studies Program offers a graduate Designated Emphasis. To declare a Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research, psychology graduate students take graduate courses in Women's Studies in addition to their psychology course work.
  • Fields of study that currently offer a Designated Emphasis include Critical Theory, Native American Studies, Social Theory and Comparative History, Computational Science, Biotechnology, International Nutrition, Feminist Theory and Research, and Economy, Justice and Society.