Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour. Inquiries in psychology include how we are influenced by others, why we become the persons that we are, how our brains work, and why people sometimes behave in seemingly unusual or even bizarre ways. The study of psychology seeks to understand people both out of curiosity and for numerous applied reasons, ranging from business management to promoting personal wellbeing. Psychology is relevant to everything that humans do and has strong links to other disciplines in the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities.

Psychology at Yale-NUS

The Psychology major at Yale-NUS is designed both to provide an overview of the discipline as well as to encourage students to delve more deeply into specific aspects of psychology such as human development, social behaviour, how our brains work, and the application of psychology to questions of mental and physical health. Students in the Psychology major will be prepared for doing advanced study in Psychology and related disciplines as well as professions in both the public and private sector that are concerned with understanding and managing human behaviour, including social work, health issues, or personnel management in business organisations.

At Yale-NUS College, we have a group of distinguished faculty members specialising in areas such as cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, organisational psychology, and biological psychology. Several of our faculty members are also active in interdisciplinary research areas such as the relationship between technology (e.g., social media use) and behaviour, education and mental health, and the role of perception and attentional resources in human-computer interactions.

Psychology Careers

Psychology majors can be found in a wide array of fields. These include social work, health policy, personnel management, ergonomics, education, clinical practice, technology, and research. Many of these fields require advanced study, while others include on-the-job training instead. Listed below are just some of the organisations our Psychology alumni have joined after graduation: 

• Institute of Mental Health
• Singapore Public Service
• National Council of Social Service
• Stockholm Chamber of Commerce
• National University of Singapore
• UWC Japan
• A virtual reality start-up
• Economic Development Board
• Singapore Children’s Society
• Singapore Ministry of Defence
• Community Psychology Hub

Our graduates have also applied to and gained admission into a variety of graduate programmes, ranging from Master’s and PhD in psychology, Masters in Clinical Psychology, Masters of Public Health, to Doctor of Medicine (MD) programmes. Some of the institutions our students have gone on to include:

• University College London, UK
• Yale University School of Public Health, USA
• London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
• National University of Singapore, Singapore
• Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
• University of Cambridge, UK
• Fuller Theological Seminary, USA