Illinois Tech’s Department of Psychology is actively contributing to research in several broad areas of human behavior, including attitudes toward people with disabilities, communication in social networks, depression, developmental issues, eating disorders and body image, infant mental health, health behaviors, leadership, organizational training, personnel selection, quantitative research methods, school-to-work transitions, social support, stigma, test development, and more. We firmly believe that the study of human behavior has tremendous scientific and practical significance, and we are deeply committed to creating an environment that fosters innovations in psychological education, research, and service.
Faculty and Students
In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, our faculty members maintain vibrant and active research labs, are the recipients of federally funded research awards, serve on editorial boards of prestigious scientific journals, and are invited to deliver presentations across the nation and around the world.
Our students work with our faculty in ongoing research, present their work at regional and national conferences, and apply their knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems.
After Graduation
One of the challenges of living in at a time of rapid technological change is that many of the jobs available today will not exist in the future. For this reason, an Illinois Tech education is more about preparing you with cutting edge skills that are also adaptable to meeting the needs of today and tomorrow’s employers and entrepreneurs. Based on recent alumni data, we expect that approximately 60 to 65 percent of our graduates will secure employment without further training, while 35 to 40 percent will pursue graduate training (PhDs, PsyDs, MDs, MD-PhDs, JDs, MSs, MPHs, LPNs, MPNs, MSWs, and more).
Illinois Tech partners with Handshake, an online job search platform that our students use to search for on- and off-campus jobs. Handshake helps students browse (or receive regular emails) with active job listings that match their major, specialization, and expressed career interests. These listings are continuously updated to match the needs of the changing job market, so you can actively monitor what jobs will be available when you graduate. Career coaches in the Office of Career Services can also help guide you toward career paths well matched to your skills and interests.
For an updated list of Illinois Tech job searching resources tailored for Dept of Psychology Majors visit this link.
Alumni Outcomes
After more than 80 years of awarding degrees between the former Lewis Institute and Illinois Tech, the Department of Psychology continues to grant more Ph.D.s than any other college in the university. Our alumni are 2,000 strong. Graduates from the Department of Psychology are a distinguished group, including individuals who have excelled in academic and scientific professions, achieved recognition as leaders in the local, regional, national, and international business communities, and remained closely connected to Illinois Tech.
Psychology alumni can readily explain the critical role they fill and the vital contributions they provide to Illinois Tech and society. In addition, because Illinois Tech offers the only program in the country with a unique combination of clinical, rehabilitation, and industrial/organizational psychology, our students are extremely desirable by employers upon their graduation.
Graduates of the clinical program work in many settings ranging from public mental health facilities to private practice, consulting, academia and hospitals; most obtain positions that offer a blend of activities including direct service, research, and training. A majority of rehabilitation and mental health counseling alumni work for state or federal vocational rehabilitation programs such as the Illinois Division of Rehabilitation Services. Alumni of our industrial-organizational programs have secured positions with employers including Hewitt Consulting, Dell Corporation, Motorola, FedEx, Rush Medical Center, Sprint, Microsoft, and United Airlines, among many others.
Diversity and Inclusion
As technologies continue to reduce functional distances between people and steadily increase interconnectedness between cultures, professional success in wide-ranging fields will increasingly require sensitivity to human diversity. By studying psychology at Illinois Tech, you will benefit from immersion in one of the most diverse college communities in the world—a community diverse with respect to gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, political orientation, and otherwise. We are a community that actively promotes a sense of inclusion for all members. This commitment manifests itself inside and outside our classrooms, in our teaching philosophy, research, and commitments to service.
Teaching
Multiple courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels focus specifically on issues related to diversity and inclusion, broadly, and with respect to specific, historically underrepresented groups. One specialization track in our Bachelor of Science in Psychological Science program focuses on culture and diversity. Our graduate programs also include special training with regards to understanding and respecting individual and cultural differences.
Research
Our students and faculty are actively engaged in conducting cutting edge, world-class research and are committed to identifying the best ways to assess diversity and recruit diverse samples of research participants. Historically, psychological science has oversampled a narrow range of the world's population; participants in psychological research have overwhelming been Western, educated, and from industrialized, rich, and democratic countries. At Illinois Tech we are working to acknowledge and correct that shortcoming. Research led by students and faculty in the department samples individuals from diverse cultures around the world, as well as from diverse and marginalized groups within the United States such as racial and sexual minorities, and those with disabling conditions. In addition, many faculty members have research collaborators at other major universities worldwide. Furthermore, many research labs are dedicated to addressing prejudice and promoting inclusion.
Service
Students, faculty, and staff at Illinois Tech actively participate in promoting a culture of inclusion in the Illinois Tech, Chicago, and Bronzeville communities through a wide range of service initiatives.
- The Illinois Tech Coalition for Inclusion organizes inclusivity-promoting events on campus
- Active Minds, another student organization, is dedicated to reducing stigma associated with mental illness
- Our graduate programs in counseling and rehabilitation science and clinical psychology send students to internship sites throughout Chicago, often with organizations that provide low-cost or free services to underserved communities
Join our diverse and inclusive community today! Explore our programs in psychology and related fields of study. Learn about Illinois Tech's Statement on Diversity and review the university's Diversity and Inclusion resource guide.
Accreditation
The clinical Ph.D. program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA).
The rehabilitation and mental health counseling M.S. program and the rehabilitation counseling education Ph.D. program are fully accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP).
The industrial-organizational Ph.D. program follows the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology's (SIOP) Guidelines for Education and Training, which have been approved by the American Psychological Association. (There is currently no accrediting board for this area.)
Psychology students lead Illinois Tech's branch of the Psi Chi Honor Society in Psychology, one of the oldest in the United States.
