Ohio State is in the process of revising websites and program materials to accurately reflect compliance with the law. While this work occurs, language referencing protected class status or other activities prohibited by Ohio Senate Bill 1 may still appear in some places. However, all programs and activities are being administered in compliance with federal and state law.

About Us

The Ohio State Department of Psychology trains the next generation of outstanding psychological scientists and clinical practitioners. Our faculty and students conduct exceptional, innovative research about the human mind, brain and behavior with the goal of understanding and improving the human condition. We consistently rank within the top three percent of psychology programs worldwide.

Learn more below about our research, academics, alumni and community impact.

TMS


Research assistants with the department's new transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) equipment

Research

We are a thriving, collaborative research hub home to leading experts on mental health, cognitive health and aging, emotion, polarization and misinformation, attitude change and much more. Our research occurs within and across nine academic specialties.

  • Our 50+ tenure-stream psychology faculty receive more than $5 million annually in grant funding from organizations around the world and are regularly honored with some of the most distinguished awards in psychology.
     
  • Four interdisciplinary research centers and collaboratives connect scholars across campus, enabling our scientists to routinely work alongside researchers from other fields, such as communication to the biological sciences.
     
  • Researchers use cutting-edge technology and state-of-the-art equipment, including an in-house fMRI scanner, transcranial magnetic stimulation devices, an EEG facility and a supercomputing center.

Academics

With more than 2,000 undergraduate majors and 130 graduate students, psychology is one of the largest and most prominent academic programs at Ohio State. Our students get hands-on training and research experience, through which they learn to apply foundational theory and methods to novel questions and problems. 

We are proud to offer doctoral degrees and other student opportunities across nine different specialties:

A student researcher speaks to a group of people gathered around her poster in a crowded building lobby.


Students present their work at the department's annual spring Undergraduate Research Colloquium

Alumni

Our more than 25,000 alumni are leaders in research, healthcare, business, education and other fields around the world. We offer our graduates numerous ways to stay connected and involved with the department, including: 

Woman speaks to two people in a lecture hall.


Diana Zuckerman, recipient of the department's 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award

A pair of hands holding a small purple 3D printed brain


A brain replica created with the department's 3D printer as part of a research study

Community Impact

As part of a land grant institution, we are committed to giving back to our community. We offer numerous programs that engage Ohioans with psychological science and support their physical and mental well-being:

  • Our Psychological Services Center offers free mental health treatment to hundreds of Ohioans per year.
     
  • Since its opening in 2012, our Language Pod at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) has involved an estimated 300,000 visitors in educational activities about the brain and language science.
     
  • Community members regularly take part in faculty research studies, where they learn about cognitive function, healthy aging and much more.