Welcome!
On behalf of my colleagues in the Behavioral Sciences Division, I would like to welcome you to the Department of Psychological Sciences!
We in Psychology are dedicated to delivering high quality, personalized instruction to students in online, hybrid and in-person formats. Our program offers courses across a wide variety of content areas, including behavioral neuroscience, developmental psychology, evolutionary psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, and clinical/counseling psychology. We are especially proud to offer the unique experiences of being a teaching assistant, research assistant, peer advisor to fellow psychology students, or a mentor to middle-school children. We also have a thriving practicum program. Whatever the next exciting chapter in your life may be – graduate school or a new career – we’ll help prepare you for what lies ahead.
We are eager to show you all our Department has to offer. I hope you’ll agree that our curriculum engages your intellectual passions and paves a path toward your future career.
Dr. Jaime Cloud
Psychological Sciences Department Head
Opportunities
- Faculty/Student Research
- Psi Chi
- Practicum
- Teaching Assistantships
- Peer Advisor
- Youth Mentoring
- Graduate School Preparation
PsychPAC
The Psychology Peer Advising Center offers free academic advising to anyone interested in psychology. They can help students with
- Schedule Planning
- Understanding DegreeTracks
- General Advice about Courses
- Career & Graduate School Information
What can I do with a Degree in Psychology?
The question really is not what can you do with a degree in psychology, but what do you want to do with your psychology degree? Our psychology major provides students with a solid foundation to prepare them for rewarding careers in many different areas, including business, human services, counseling, social work, education and health care. The fundamentals you learn with a Psychology degree can be applied to almost any field.
Our graduates have found rewarding careers in research, education, academia, human resources, counseling, or have gone on to successfully complete competitive graduate programs in psychology and other related disciplines.
Possible Job Titles
- Career Counselor
- Victims Advocate
- Psychiatric Technician
- Human Resources Specialist
- Occupational Therapist
- School Counselor
- Marriage and Family Therapist
Possible Employers
- State or County Health Departments
- Legal Offices
- Human Resources
- Mental Health Organizations
- Schools and Universities
Get to know us
Dr. Alicia Ibaraki
Assistant Professor, Psychology
I am a clinical psychologist who teaches classes that are experiential in nature and focus on developing helping skills and empathy related to mental health issues. I also co-lead the Culture, Resilience, Equity, and Well-Being (CREW) lab along with Dr. Espino-Perez. We share an interest in issues regarding psychological health, physical health, equity, and resilience among racial/ethnic minorities. We also subscribe to the idea that science is best when conducted collectively, or with a CREW.
Dr. Jay Schwartz
Assistant Professor, Psychology
Of all the topics in psychology, I am most interested in animal behavior: what’s going on in animals’ minds and why do they do what they do. My research focuses on vocal communication, emotion, and evolution in humans and animals. My biggest teaching focus is on helping students build critical and scientific thinking skills that will continue to be useful throughout college and beyond.
Dr. Jaime Cloud
Associate Professor, Psychology
I am an evolutionary psychologist, which means I study psychological traits as adaptations that were designed by natural selection. My greatest area of interest is women’s status hierarchies with a focus on conspicuous/luxury consumption (e.g. Louis Vuitton handbags) as one method women use to jockey for status; however, the majority of my research concerns the relative importance of a woman’s facial and bodily attractiveness in short-term and long-term mating contexts.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? - We would love to talk to you!
Contact: Michelle Gallagher, Administrative Program Assistant
Phone: 503-838-8344 | Email: gallaghm@wou.edu
Business hours: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday - Friday
