What factors shape the way we develop, think, and act? What defines our relationships? Psychology uses the scientific method to investigate the human condition.

Why study psychology at Sewanee?

At Sewanee, students do more than learn about psychology—they do psychology. Our dedicated faculty equip students with a rigorous foundational understanding of psychological principles and the creative methodological approaches that inform our understanding of thought and behavior, and then guide them in discovering how to apply their knowledge to a range of timely and significant disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and societal issues. Sewanee’s Psychology Department offers students the opportunity to conduct leading edge research alongside faculty committed to nurturing students’ intellectual and personal growth. Our majors emerge with knowledge, skills, and ways of thinking that are not only applicable but essential to a wide range of possible professional pursuits as well as to a rewarding and fulfilling personal life.

FIRST DESTINATIONS: Psychology MAJORS

Sewanee graduates secure positions in a variety of fields. Some you would expect, others are a bit of a surprise. Sewanee prepares you for your profession and your passion. Below is a sampling of recent graduates' first jobs.

  • Global leadership and development intern, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Norfolk, Virginia.
  • Research assistant, Anxiety and Health Research Laboratory/Substance Use Treatment Clinic, University of Houston, Texas.
  • Therapeutic riding instructor, ManeGait Therapeutic Horsemanship, McKinney, Texas.
GRADUATE SCHOOL & PRE-PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS: Psychology MAJORS

Sewanee graduates enjoy extraordinary acceptance rates to top graduate and pre-professional programs–about 95 percent to law school and over 85 percent to medical school. Below is a sampling of where Sewanee grads continue their education.

  • M.Ed. in clinical psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
  • M.S.W. in social work, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
  • M.D. & M.P.H., St. George's University, Grenada.

Lorenzen Awarded ACA's Ledford Scholarship

Sewanee student and Psychology major, Margaret Lorenzen is among the 2022 Appalachian College Association Scholars.

Psych Sessions Podcast

In this episode, "Insightful, Appreciative, Service-Oriented, and Authentic", Jordan Troisi talks about his Michigan-based origin story, including his undergraduate experiences at Albion College and the importance of mentoring. Troisi is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of the South, Sewanee.

Living Life Well

Katherine Nelson-Coffey is an assistant professor of psychology at Sewanee. Her research focuses on what leads people to live happy and fulfilling lives. To this end, she examines how simple behaviors, as well as family life, influence health and well-being. Check out some of her articles in Psychology Today.

Healthy Bodies & Healthy Minds

Healthy Bodies & Healthy Minds is an after-school program that aims to promote children’s physical, psychological, and emotional wellbeing. The program focuses on creating and implementing goals to advance children’s understanding of the importance of healthy eating habits and regular exercise.

Journal of Sewanee Science

Part journal, part newsletter, the Journal of Sewanee Science highlights all the exciting work that science students are doing in Sewanee. The disciplines covered are biology, chemistry, physics, psychology, forestry, geology, and environmental studies. JoSS is published once each semester and covers traditional research projects, review articles, highlights from Sewanee alumni in graduate school, news, hot topics in science, and more.

A Sampling of Courses

Adolescence
Psychology

An examination of physiological, social, and emotional factors affecting all stages of individual development during adolescence. Major theories and research on the subject are introduced. Among the topics addressed are biological changes, identity, autonomy, peer influences, substance abuse, and intimate relationships. Students are expected to present results from research studies they conduct on issues of adolescence.

PSYC 221
Positive Psychology
Psychology

Psychology has traditionally been concerned with people's responses and reactions to difficulties, deficits, and disorders. Taking the opposing viewpoint, positive psychology is a course that aims to understand and implement behaviors and mental processes that foster optimal functioning and the pursuit of the good life. Both individual level and interpersonal level functioning are examined.

PSYC 223
Drugs and Behavior
Psychology

An examination of the effects of drugs on the brain and behavior. Content focuses on the mechanism by which legal and illicit drugs affect the brain and on how drug-induced brain changes alter behavior. In addition, major biological and psychological theories of addiction are examined. This class also explores how drugs are used and abused in different societies and cultures, the effects of this use and abuse on psychology and behavior, and how addiction is treated.

PSYC 349
Latinx Psychology
Psychology

An exploration of Latinx psychology with a specific focus on the United States. Themes and issues relevant to and impacting upon Latinx psychology including cultural strengths, identity, immigration, acculturation, colonialism, prejudice/stereotype, intersectionality, and mental health will be studied through first-person accounts, media, and scientific literature.

PSYC 380
Judgment and Decision-Making
Psychology

This seminar examines selected topics and issues in human judgment and decision-making. Drawing largely from primary sources, the course considers various approaches to the study of decision-making, as well as descriptions and theories of human decision-making derived from those approaches. Students are led to reflect on the relevance and application of such issues to real-world choices in arenas including economics, politics, business, and marketing, health and medicine, and at individual, organizational, and broadly social levels.

PSYC 411
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Psychology

Programs of Study & Related Courses

Requirements for the Major & Minor in Psychology

Requirements for the Major & Minor in Neuroscience | Website

Resources for Psychology Comps 2020 Guidelines & Questions

Meet some Professors

C. Albert Bardi
cabardi@sewanee.edu

C. Albert Bardi has taught at Sewanee since 2008. A clinical psychologist, he earned a B.A. in psychology and philosophy at North Carolina State University. After completing a Harvard fellowship and earning a Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Professor Bardi worked as a tribal clinician for the San Carlos Apache of Arizona and the Passamaquoddy of Northern Maine. As an academic, Professor Bardi has followed his own and his students’ interests in the development and validation of personality measures that relate to functioning including shyness, optimism, entitlement, comfort-seeking, and assertiveness.

Associate Professor of Psychology, Chair
Helen V. Bateman
hbateman@sewanee.edu

Helen Bateman has taught at Sewanee since 2003. She earned a postdoctoral research fellowship award from the James S. McDonnell Foundation that enabled her to continue her research on the relationship of psychological sense of community in classroom and school settings to children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. Professor Bateman’s current research focuses on the issue of childhood obesity and its impact on children’s development. Her current project, “Healthy Bodies and Healthy Minds,” aims at increasing children’s knowledge and understanding of nutrition and children’s involvement in physical activities.

Associate Professor of Psychology
John K. Coffey
jkcoffey@sewanee.edu

John Coffey has taught at Sewanee since 2015. He earned a B.A. in psychology from Creighton University, an M.S.W. with a specialization in interpersonal practice from the University of Michigan, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in positive developmental psychology from Claremont Graduate University. In his research, Professor Coffey uses a developmental systems perspective focused on human plasticity as a way to understand the development of psychological well-being and maladaptation. He integrates contemporary developmental theories of relationships and emotions with positive psychology theories of well-being to test early life determinants (e.g., parent-child relationship, emotions) of adolescent and adult indicators of well-being (e.g., physiological indicators of health, life satisfaction) and psychopathology (e.g., depression).

Assistant Professor of Psychology
S. Katherine Nelson-Coffey
sknelson@sewanee.edu

Katie Nelson-Coffey has taught at Sewanee since 2015. She earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Mary Washington and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Personality/Social Psychology from the University of California, Riverside. In her research, she uses multiple methodologies (longitudinal, experimental, daily experience) to study how and why close relationships influence well-being. Specifically, she is interested in understanding how giving and receiving care in close relationships is related to positive emotions, happiness, and meaning in life. Dr. Nelson-Coffey enjoys engaging students’ research interests and invites student collaborators with interests in personality, health, and well-being. For more information about her research and information on joining her lab, please visit www.katherinenelsoncoffey.com.

Assistant Professor of Psychology
Karen Yu
kyu@sewanee.edu

Karen Yu has taught at Sewanee since 1996. She earned a B.S. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Vanderbilt University, supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. Professor Yu teaches courses in cognitive psychology, including a seminar on decision-making, her current research focus. She is particularly interested in the factors influencing perceived options in decision-making contexts and in the influence of framing on judgments and decisions.

Professor of Psychology
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Contact

Karen Yu
Professor of Psychology, Chair of Psychology 

kyu@sewanee.edu

Woods Lab 321, Ext. 1920

Undergraduate Research
Scholarship Sewanee

Sewanee’s undergraduate research program gives students the opportunity to explore new ideas, sharpen their research skills, and get a head start on a career or graduate school. Almost a quarter of students here were involved in mentored research projects last year, in the sciences (of course)—but also in the arts, English, politics, and more. Students have the chance to wow their peers by giving talks and presenting posters during Scholarship Sewanee, the annual celebration of student scholarship and creativity.

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Sewanee-at-Yale
Top notch research

The Sewanee-at-Yale internship is an eight-week experience in biomedical research at the Yale Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine. Interns are placed in research laboratories, exposed to clinical settings, and get to see the day-to-day workings of a behavioral neuroscience research laboratory.

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Writing Center
Sharpen your pencils, sharpen your skills

Need help with a paper? The Writing Center provides you with objective peer support and instruction for writing projects. The student tutors represent a wide range of majors, and they can help you at any stage in the writing process—topic development, rough drafts, final drafts, revisions, etc. They’re basically your cheerleader from brainstorming to final draft.

Write On