The Psychology Department strictly adheres to the policy guidelines for research established by both PLU's Human Participants Review Board and the American Psychological Association.

Research experience at PLU begins with participation in research studies as a requirement for successful completion of our introductory and social psychology courses. Further explanation of these requirements is available at the Psyc Research Pool web link on the left on this page or by contacting psycres@plu.edu directly. Our students regularly present their research at professional meetings, such as at the Western Psychological Association and the Washington State Psychological Association. In addition, students are involved on faculty research projects in both the Ramstad and Harstad laboratories, oftentimes leading to publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Because the psychology department at PLU is committed to providing a meaningful and rigorous undergraduate education that balances science and application, we provide a core of courses which cover research methodology and statistics designed to enhance the development of skills in critical thinking and theory building. Our goal is to prepare students to succeed throughout life. Throughout the program direct experience and interactive teaching methods are emphasized so that, by graduation, our B. Sc. majors are required to do their own research. Students obtaining the B. A. degree also experience the research process, because we provide the context and the opportunity for hands-on work and thoughtful consideration of psychology in the liberal arts and the sciences throughout our programs of study.

Department of Psychology Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA 98447    (253) 535-7294

Maintained by PsycWebPLU / Last updated July 2006