Psychology
The Department of Psychology at UWF is committed to helping students adopt a scientific approach to understanding and evaluating behavior and mental processes, and to apply this approach in a variety of settings. Through our undergraduate and graduate curricular offerings, we prepare our students to pursue their career and life aspirations.
Department of Psychology Programs
The Bachelor of Science in Psychology offers a strong scientific foundation while allowing students to tailor their studies through specializations. Students may choose from:
Undergraduate Offerings
- Clinical and Counseling Psychology - Designed for students who want to understand mental health, assessments, and interventions. This specialization is recommended if you are preparing for graduate training in counseling, clinical psychology, or related helping professions.
- Cognitive Neuroscience - Ideal if you are fascinated by the brain, memory, attention, and perception. This specialization is especially relevant if you are preparing for graduate study in neuroscience, cognitive psychology, or related health sciences.
- Developmental Psychology - A flexible option that allows you to explore a broad range of topics across psychology. This specialization is valuable for students considering careers or graduate programs in education, child development, or human services.
- General Psychology - A flexible option that allows you to explore a broad range of topics across psychology. This specialization is appropriate if you want a well-rounded psychology background or if you are still deciding your long-term career direction.
- Workforce Psychology - Focused on applying psychological science to the workplace, organizations, and careers. This specialization is especially useful if you are preparing for graduate study in industrial-organizational psychology, human resources, or business-related fields.
Graduates are well prepared for careers in research, health, education, business, law, and other fields, or for advanced study in psychology and related STEM disciplines. The program also provides structured preparation for professional pathways such as medicine or law through recommended coursework and advising.
Graduate Offerings
- Master of Psychology: Counseling
- Adopt a scientist-practitioner approach as you pursue state licensure
- Master of Psychology: Industrial-Organizational
- Adopt a scientist-practitioner approach as you solve real-world problems
Why Should You Become Part of UWF Department of Psychology?
Departmental Shout Outs!
UWF professor receives U.S. patent for early Alzheimer’s detection technology
Dr. James Arruda, professor of psychology at the University of West Florida, has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for an electroencephalographic, or EEG, platform capable of detecting mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's dementia, a milestone that brings a non-invasive, accessible early-detection tool one step closer to clinical use.
Learn more here at the UWF Newsroom.
UWF Team Wins 1st Place for the Third Year in a Row at Southeastern Psychological Association Quiz Bowl
The Psychology team made a standout showing at this year’s SEPA competition—earning first place in psychology knowledge for the third consecutive year. The team also claimed second place in the bonus “vampire knowledge” round, a fitting nod to the conference’s New Orleans setting, along with honors for Best Team Name (“Dracademics”) and second place in team spirit. Adding to the celebration, faculty member Rachel Eligio took first place in faculty vampirology knowledge.
UWF team wins first place at 2025 Southeastern Psychological Association quiz bowl
“We have a lot of good, hardworking students at our university and in our department, so it was fun to give them an opportunity to show off what they can do,” said Dr. Lisa Blalock, professor in the Department of Psychology. UWF undergraduate students Elizabeth Black, Ashley Martin, Landon Nelson and Clark Tipton and alumna Brooke Simila completed three rounds of psychology knowledge questions and one Harry Potter-themed fun round. The team was guided by Blalock and fellow psychology professor Dr. Jane Halonen. The team took preparing for the event very seriously.
“My teammates were not confident going into it, and I think it’s because they’re all over-achievers. It’s like one of those things where you go into a test not feeling confident, and then you come out of it with a 95,” Tipton said.
The event’s genesis was a verbal “smack talk” between Halonen and a faculty member from Georgia College and State University. The quiz bowl included questions such as “What is the name of one of the few psychologists who won a Nobel Prize?” (Pavlov).
UWF faculty and students develop goggles for early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease
University of West Florida faculty and undergraduate students recently developed Pulsed Medical LED goggles for the early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease. The product was researched and designed through a partnership between the Department of Psychology, Department of Physics and Dr. Muhammad Harunur Rashid Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UWF.
