Expand your understanding of the human mind and behavior as you develop strengths in research, critical thinking, advocacy and service.
By understanding the human mind and behavior, we are better able to support one another and create healthy, resilient communities. The rapidly-growing field of psychology enables us to do that.
Offering the most comprehensive psychology department in South Dakota, USD offers a robust and specialized educational experience with particular attention to disaster mental health and rural communities. Our Department of Psychology is the ideal mix of the big and small; we have a large faculty, deliver degrees up to the Ph.D. (with two different Ph.D. programs) and offer two dozen different psychology courses every year. We are also small enough so students get to work closely with expert faculty members. Home to a dozen research labs, a fully functioning mental health clinic and the Disaster Mental Health Institute, our department is equipped with exceptional resources that enable the highest quality education and research experiences for our students and faculty. Our students graduate prepared for a wide array of careers or further education in psychology, medicine, neuroscience, law and related areas.
The University of South Dakota is pleased to announce Jean Caraway, Ph.D., professor of psychology, and Beth Boyd, Ph.D., professor and director of Clinical Psychology, received funding for the new Graduate Psychology Education Program (GPEP) to train doctoral health service psychology students to provide quality behavioral health services in community-based primary care settings in high-need and high-demand areas throughout South Dakota.
During a 2019 team bonding exercise, University of South Dakota women's swimming team member Kristen Quigley '22 was accidentally concussed during the height of the season.
As a child in tiny Nunda, South Dakota, Amy Scarmon didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do when she grew up—only that she wanted to help people. Earning a psychology degree from the University of South Dakota in 1996 was a first step in that direction.
Expand your understanding of the human mind and behavior as you develop strengths in research, critical thinking, advocacy and service.
The psychology department at the University of South Dakota is equipped with fantastic faculty who take an interest in each student and their own career goals. My professors and mentors have encouraged me to apply for various opportunities to present my research, taught me how to think critically and guided me onto a career path that I am more than excited to pursue.
Hannah McClelland
B.S. Psychology '20
