Undergraduate Students

Psychology is an interdisciplinary program that examines both the social and scientific bases of behavior, and as a premier research institution, UC Davis is home to many leading researchers in the field. In humans, animals and computer models, and from neurons to relationships to cultures, the science of psychology is focused on understanding how, when and why we do what we do. Psychology majors from UC Davis are prepared to enter fields such as business, government or personnel work, or to pursue higher levels of education.

Research Seminar Series

Each Psychology Area has a seminar lecture series.  
Click here for the Master Research Seminar Calendar.

Academic Advising

For questions about studying Psychology at UCD as an undergraduate, visit Yellow Cluster Advising.

Five Major Areas of Emphasis

  • Perception, Cognition, and Cognitive Neuroscience involves the study of awareness and thought, and includes topics such as perception, learning, memory and consciousness. 
  • Biological Psychology involves the study of the biological correlates of behavior and includes topics such as physiological psychology, sensory processes, health psychology and animal behavior. 
  • Social-Personality Psychology involves the study of the individual in his or her social environment and includes topics such as personality theory, abnormal psychology, individual differences, developmental psychology and social psychology. 
  • Developmental Psychology includes imaging the developing brain, children's psychological understanding or theory of mind (e.g., knowledge about people's thoughts, beliefs, desires and emotions), children’s language development and children's social development. 
  • Quantitative Psychology includes experimental design and the analysis of variance, regression analysis and multivariate analysis. 


Psychology Majors and Minor