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火博体育大学

How I discovered my passion for 心理学 (和 英语, too!)

by 埃琳娜·提特尔,25岁

Elena Tittel ’25 had no intention of becoming a 心理学 major. 她决心要宣布 an 英语 major 和 hadn’t thought about exploring a double major. 然而,在 first week of classes, she was immediately drawn to the 心理学系. At the start of her sophomore year, she declared a double major in 英语 和 心理学.  

Elena describes some of her experiences as a 心理学 major at Skidmore. 


How did you become familiar with the 心理学系? 

我第一次接触到 心理学系 through my 斯克里布纳研讨会的第一年, Human Dilemmas, with 谢尔顿·所罗门教授, 现在谁是我的主要指导老师. Before taking his class, I knew he was a distinguished professor who has made profound contributions to the fields of existential 和 experimental 心理学.

In the seminar, Professor Solomon used his unique teaching style to inspire students. In particular, his interesting sense of humor kept us engaged.

He took the time to connect with us 和 help us truly underst和 the material. 那 was when I knew I wanted to continue taking 心理学 classes.

During the fall of my first year, I also took Introduction to Psychology. 我做了这个 decision solely because I had taken AP Psychology in high school 和 figured I’d need to take Intro if I wanted to take another 心理学 class in the future. 不 I know that there would be many more 心理学 classes to come.  

心理学课程是什么样的? 你会推荐哪些课程? 

火博体育提供了一个 wide array of 心理学 courses – classes focused on cognition, behavioral 心理学, psychological disorders, 发展al 心理学, 和 more. 喜欢我的 斯克里布纳研讨会的第一年, classes are typically a mixture of lecture 和 discussion, with the higher-level 课堂主要倾向于讨论. 

My two favorite classes so far have been Personality with Professor Solomon 和 Psychological 讲师麦肯齐·米勒.

后 my experience in his Scribner Seminar, I really wanted to take another class 所罗门教授,我没有失望. 我们学了人格理论, including those of Sigmund Freud, Karen Horney, Erich Fromm, 和 Carl Jung.

In psychological disorders, we were given an overview of the DSM-5 (Diagnostic 和 Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) 和 learned about different mental disorders through lectures, games, 和 collaborative group work. 

How can students get involved with 心理学 research? 

火博体育有无数的研究机会. 你可以参与其中的一种方式 is through independent research with faculty members. 有许多实验室可供选择 from, including ones focused on childhood cognition, existential 心理学, 和 language 发展.

In the spring of my sophomore year, I joined Visiting Assistant Professor Lisa Chalik’s Developing Minds Lab, which focuses on childhood cognition 和 behavioral 心理学.

In the lab, we study how children perceive, make judgments about, 和 interact with 群内成员和群外成员. 我在实验室的职责是协助收集 和 analyzing literature 和 doing data collection at the 幼儿中心, 火博体育的一所实验学校.  

除了实验室研究,学生还能做什么? 

Students have the option to complete a senior thesis or senior seminar alongside a 教员,通常是你的指导老师. 的 毕业论文结束语 consists of designing your own research study about a subject of your choosing.

火博体育学校提供实习机会吗? 

Skidmore 心理学 majors can apply for a clinical field placement, typically in 他们的大三或大四. Students can choose to work at Four Winds Psychiatric Center, Saratoga Bridges, Prospect Child 和 Family Center, or the Reece School Summer 营.

Clinical field placements allow students to gain firsth和 experience in clinical 心理学 和 is a great resumé-builder for those hoping to pursue 心理学 in 研究生院.  

Does the 心理学系 offer behavioral neuroscience courses? 

是的. 火博体育提供了一个 神经科学项目 主要是和 心理学系,以及其他科学,如 化学 生物学. Neuroscience offers unique research opportunities, such as in cognitive neuroscience 和 behavioral neuroscience, in collaboration with 生物学, 数学心理学和神经科学的教员. 专业可以完成一篇毕业论文/研究 project with a faculty member, usually a specific project or a summer fellowship.  

我可以不选专业上心理学课吗? 

是的! You can take almost any 200-level 心理学 course without being a 心理学 major, with the only prerequisite being PS101 (Introduction to Psychology.)即使 you’re not a major, I definitely recommend taking a course, even if it’s just PS101.  


火博体育Elena Tittel ' 25: Elena 来自康涅狄格州里奇菲尔德. 她主修英语和心理学. 在课堂之外,她参与 活泼的露西的 with her b和 Mason Jar, writes articles for Skid新闻, does research in the Developing Minds Lab, takes voice lessons, 和 does freelance reporting for the Saratogian. 后 graduation, she hopes to attend 研究生院 to pursue a master’s degree in either 创意写作或新闻.