10 Good Reasons
to Become an IUPUI Psychology Major
1. Indianapolis 
IUPUI is a major urban university located in the midst of vibrant downtown Indianapolis. Its proximity to this great metropolitan area is a cultural and professional advantage for IUPUI students who learn in a diverse educational environment and benefit from a multitude of local opportunities for internships, practica, and psychology-related jobs.
2. Curriculum
The IUPUI Psychology Department provides its majors with a well-balanced and scientifically rigorous curriculum that offers students multiple opportunities to acquire the skills necessary to gain meaningful employment immediately after graduation or to continue their education in graduate school. This curriculum is based on a set of dynamic student learning outcomes that are a comprehensive synthesis of IUPUI’s Principles of Undergraduate Education and the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major.
3. Vertical Integration
The vertical integration of our undergraduate and graduate programs allows qualified psychology majors to perform research with graduate faculty and earn an undergraduate specialization in Behavioral Neuroscience, Clinical Rehabilitation Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, or the Psychology of Addictions.
4. Undergraduate Research
Our program offers students multiple opportunities to engage in undergraduate research. We require psychology majors to acquire a set of fundamental statistical and research design skills, enable them to earn academic credit for research activities, offer them faculty and financial support to engage in these activities, and provide them with opportunities to communicate the results of their research to the immediate and larger scientific communities.
5. Academic Advising
The Psychology Department provides its majors with a comprehensive academic advising program designed to enable them to plan their curriculum in the manner that best suites their abilities, aspirations, and life styles. Each psychology major can choose a faculty or staff advisor whose area of specialization is most closely related to her/his career goals. Psychology majors can also seek advice from trained peer advisors who staff the Advising Office, which contains a variety of sources of information about careers, graduate programs, and areas of specialization in psychology. Our training program for these peer advisors is one of only three programs in the United States recognized as a “Best Practice in a Peer Advisor Training Program” by the National Academic Advising Association.
6. Entrance and Exit Courses
The department supports its majors with specifically created entrance and exit courses. All incoming students take a one-hour class titled Orientation to a Major in Psychology, during which they explore the nature of psychology and investigate the professional options for which a degree in psychology can prepare them. They complete their undergraduate careers by choosing one of three capstone experiences: a research project, a practicum, or a seminar. These exit courses serve a dual purpose by (a) providing seniors with opportunities to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have acquired and (b) preparing them for entrance into their careers.
7. Technology
The department has made significant investments in technology for instructional purposes. Our service courses use a web-based testing program that evaluates students with a variety of test items. This program provides students with prompt feedback and multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery learning. The department's software programmer also designs computerized laboratory simulations and interactive learning exercises that are available to students in the classroom and at home.
8. Sense of Community
The department is committed to fostering a sense of community among its members. Evidence of our commitment is reflected in the hiring of a Director of Student Development who teaches, advises, and supports our majors and encourages them to take full advantage of opportunities in the department, the university, and the Indianapolis community. The Director of Student Development coordinates a variety of academic and social functions (e.g., an annual open house, a Psi Chi induction, psychology open discussions, and a celebration for graduating seniors and their families) and communicates with our majors and alumni with an annual newsletter and an active listserv.
9. Clubs
All psychology majors are eligible to join the IUPUI Psychology Club and those with exemplary academic performance are invited to join Psi Chi, psychology’s national undergraduate honor society. These two clubs offer students multiple opportunities to develop their leadership skills, interact with faculty outside the classroom, and participate in activities designed to serve the department; build community; and meet their personal, social, and academic needs.
10. Website
Our department has a new website that contains a unique, developmentally organized undergraduate section. This section provides valuable information to psychology students during each of the stages of their undergraduate education (i.e., from the time they are deciding which school they should enter as a freshman to their senior year when they are applying for jobs or to graduate schools).