Psychology’s attempt to understand the human condition takes many approaches. Some psychologists study brain chemistry and its relation to behavior, while others study the behavior of individuals in groups. Still others are engaged in providing counseling or psychotherapy to people who are mentally ill or who are having difficulty in coping with the demands of life. With a faculty of over 40 individuals, all of whom hold a doctoral degree; the Department offers a program of study that provides a solid foundation in the general concepts and methods of Psychology, as well as courses and programs for students in many of the more specialized areas. The human development program is designed to provide students in the elementary education program with an in-depth understanding of theory, research, and application in developmental psychology, and a sound background in general psychology. The program is designed to allow students flexibility in selecting psychology courses with the assistance of their advisor. This major satisfies the academic major requirement for teacher certification with an endorsement in elementary education and must be accompanied by the professional preparation program in elementary education. See the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Multilingual Education section of this catalog for program admission, completion, and teacher certification requirements. Many of the major issues facing children and schools today – school readiness, achievement motivation, testing, classroom behavior, stereotyping, bullying, family, and neighborhood stressors – are issues of human psychology. Psychology, as the scientific study of mind and behavior, helps provide answers to these problems, as well as contributes to the scientific understanding of how children best think and learn.