Statement of Purpose

Roanoke College pursues its mission through an innovative curriculum that includes a cohesive core of liberal arts as well as specialized, career-oriented programs of study. The Psychology Department offers a program which contributes to the liberal arts mission of the College through a course in social scientific reasoning and through a specialized (major) program of study in psychology.

The Introduction to Psychology course, which fulfills the social science reasoning distribution requirement, provides students with knowledge of how the science of psychology produces knowledge about human behavior and cognitive processes. Students who specialize (major) in psychology also acquire proficiency in the use of the technology, tools, and information-gathering resources of psychology; the ability to design and conduct empirical research on human behavior and cognitive processes; knowledge of a broad sampling of facts, concepts, and theories in contemporary psychology; the ability to place psychology within the broader intellectual traditions of the sciences and humanities; and the ability to seek out and assimilate psychological knowledge outside the classroom experience.