Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Program Overview & Goals
A Psychology degree is versatile, opening doors to careers in fields as diverse as human resources, mental health, and marketing. And it is fascinating, too.
You could spend a lifetime studying human behavior—what motivates us, what triggers our fears and anxieties, what drives our relationships. Learn the answers to those questions with a Bachelor of Arts ( B.A.) in Psychology from Hendrix College. Hands-on experiences in both the laboratory and the real world take your education beyond the textbook and show you the way people think and act.
Through the program, you will understand human behavior and gain strong research and analytical competencies. And you also build critical thinking, communication, and teamwork abilities, which are skills employers in almost every field demand.
Via Hendrix
Psychology teaches you to understand others. Via Hendrix helps you understand yourself. You start by asking where you want your education to take you. Then, a team of advisors and mentors will guide you in building a plan to get there. Along the way, you earn professional experience and the broad perspective of a rigorous liberal arts curriculum.
Careers & Outcomes
Knowing why people do the things they do is a skill valued across a range of careers. That versatility makes Psychology one of the most in-demand majors.
Alumni Outcomes
Psychology graduates jump right into their next steps after obtaining their degree. Six months after graduation, 23% of psychology majors are in graduate school while 74% are employed.
Top Industries
- Human Resources
- Marketing
- Mental Health
- Social Services
- Teaching
Career Options
Help individuals improve their relationships, determine what motivates consumer behavior, or become a trusted mental health professional. A Psychology degree allows you to pursue jobs including:
- Attorney
- Branding Consultant
- Mental Health Counselor
- Teacher
Co-op Opportunities
Want insight into your future career and gain professional work experience before you graduate? Get it through your co-op. This full-time, semester-long program delivers the kind of training employers demand at sites both near campus and as far away as Washington, D.C., Spain, or Rwanda. Placements may include:
- Acxium Corp., Conway, AR
- Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, AR
- UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute, Little Rock, AR
- KIPP Foundation, Chicago, IL
Roadmap to the B.A. in Psychology Program
Regardless of your chosen career, Hendrix’s Psychology program provides a path to get there. Over four years, you will study all aspects of the field.
Year One
Come to the starting line with purpose. In the First Year Experience program, we ask you to dig deep, identify what you care about, and imagine what you want from your time at college.
If you have no prior psychology experience, you will take Intro to Psychology. In addition, students typically take Brain and Behavior and Social Psychology within their first two years.
Year Two
You receive personal guidance all four years at Hendrix—not just when you arrive, or when you choose classes. Connect with faculty, career counselors, and mentors as part of our Integrated Advising process, a coordinated model that connects your academic plan with future goals.
You will complete your core Psychology requirements during your second year, taking Statistics as well as Research Methods. You will also have the chance to participate in hands-on experiences, including our six-week Hendrix-in-Costa Rica course and research opportunities.
Year Three
Your third year features professional work experience through co-op. We will place you at a site that lines up with your interests; you can apply your skills, try new things, and gain meaningful insight into your field.
You will also begin taking electives in the five core areas of psychology: learning and cognition, biology and behavior, social and personality, applied and helping professions, and intersectional themes.
Year Four
Your college roadmap ends here, but it is where the rest of your life begins. Before moving on to graduate school, a job, or something else, your Senior Year Experience calls on you to reflect on where you have been and prepare for what is next. Five different capstone options provide room for original research, a historical examination of the field, or other work.
Featured Classes
Study Psychology from multiple angles at Hendrix, from lab courses that examine the science of memory, learning, and cognition to interdisciplinary classes that analyze gender and lifespan development. With nearly 40 options, you can focus on what interests you the most.
PSYC 230
Social Psychology
You are one of a kind, but your behavior is still shaped by your interactions with others. Study conformity, attribution, prosocial behavior, attitudes, impression management, environmental factors, and ethics in research in this class.
PSYC 282
Sport Psychology
The mind can play as much of a role in human performance as talent and training. Get an introduction to the fundamental foundations of sport psychology theory and practice, examining topics such as motivation, team dynamics, the anxiety-performance relationship, leadership, personality, and techniques for mental performance enhancement.
PSYC 185
Sleep and Dreaming
Keep a wake-sleep diary and observe a night in a sleep lab in this course, which applies basic psychological principles to the study of sleep and dreaming. Combine those hands-on experiences with theoretical readings and discussion of topics such as the nature and measurement of sleep, circadian rhythms, sleep hygiene, sleep disorders, sleep deprivation, and dream theories.
PSYC 367
Psychology and Law
Justice is supposed to be blind, but human behavior often influences how it is applied. This course surveys research and theory in social justice and legal psychology, while addressing controversial areas such as jury selection, jury decision-making, police interrogations and confessions, use of lie-detector tests, eyewitness testimony, repressed and recovered memories, and the role of psychologists as expert witnesses.
Meet the Faculty
Our Department of Psychology faculty are experts in the human experience, studying topics such as how we select mates and how sleepiness affects performance. But they are just as interested in your Hendrix experience, providing the mentoring and guidance you need to help you reach your potential.
Related Programs
Whether you are interested in the science behind our brains or wrestling with the big questions humans have asked for millennia, these majors put a spotlight on the way our minds work.
Your Next Steps Via Hendrix
Knowing why humans do the things they do is knowledge that opens doors in dozens of different careers. Learn more about where you can go with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Hendrix.