The UCF Psychology Department is the largest in the Western Hemisphere by student enrollment. Currently at the undergraduate level we have well over 4,500 psychology majors, nearly 1,000 psychology minors, and over 180 students seeking the Behavioral Forensics Certificate. We also have well over 150 graduate students across our different doctoral and masters programs. We are Central to any conversation about Psychology Training in the State of Florida.
Psychology is an extremely broad discipline, and UCF’s Psychology Department has three areas of emphasis: clinical psychology, human factors psychology, and industrial and organizational psychology. All members of the department share a common goal, which is reflected in their teaching and research: understanding behavior through empirical investigation. The Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program is nationally accredited through the American Psychological Association (APA). The Applied Experimental and Human Factors Doctoral Program is fully accredited by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, and, although no national organization accredits programs in industrial and organizational psychology, the Industrial/Organizational Doctoral Program has structured its curriculum and training model to be consistent with guidelines published by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Our Mission
The primary mission of the Psychology Department is to provide quality education to students at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels. This education includes dissemination of state-of-the-field theoretical and empirical information, training in the methodological, statistical, and technical skills necessary to conduct psychological research, and practice in the application of psychological knowledge to real-life problems. At the undergraduate level, the department is committed to providing classroom instruction and research experiences in a variety of topic areas so that students will have the opportunity for exposure to a broad range of the scientific and applied topics that constitute the field of psychology. At the graduate levels, classroom instruction is liberally supplemented with practice, internships, research experiences, and other activities that teach the skills of the profession. Faculty research and professional service contribute to the educational mission by providing opportunities for students to observe, practice, and refine the behaviors required for socialization into the profession.
The Psychology Department is also committed to the advancement of psychology through the conduct of active and diverse research programs, funded from both external contracts and grants, as well as from internal sources. Faculty research has received national and international recognition, and graduate students in all programs engage in research projects that represent a contribution to the field. Interested undergraduate majors also participate in research activities. The department is committed to even greater research productivity in the future.
The department also seeks to enhance the local community and the profession of psychology by involvement in a variety of public and professional service activities. Faculty members are helping to develop the community by contributing time and effort to several community organizations and activities. In addition, a great deal of effort is devoted to improving the university and the profession by serving on committees, editorial review boards for professional journals, in positions of responsibility in professional organizations, and by offering consulting services to local and national organizations who seek the professional expertise of psychologists.
The department is committed to encouraging and facilitating the inclusion of individuals from diverse backgrounds through proactive recruiting and retention efforts targeted at faculty and students, and efforts to counsel students concerning professional opportunities in the various areas of psychology. Diversity, as defined here, involves consideration and sensitivity to religion, gender, national origin, age, disability status, sexual orientation and ethnic background, particularly African American/Black, Asian American/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic/Latino(a), and mixed ethnicity.