Mike:
Looking at your web page, it looks like your school of Arts and Sciences wants to specify which majors are Arts and which are Sciences. I think there is some wisdom in leaving that vague. It is interesting that Psychology is listed as both an Art and a Science but even more confusing is that majors with the word "science" in them are in the Arts section of Arts and Sciences (such as Sociology and Social Science and Political Science). So I guess it would be no help to consider renaming your department Psychological Science or Behavioral Science. Whoever made the distinction on the web page seems to think that only Natural and Physical Sciences are sciences and everything else that calls itself a science is actually an art. In the web designer's defense, once the decision was made to divide Arts from Sciences, alphabetical order might determine that it would be unlikely for someone who is interested in counseling to look for Psychology below Biochemistry, Biophysics, Computational Physics and Environmental Science. If they did see Psychology at the bottom of such a list, I would agree that they probably wouldn't assume that would be a major for someone interested in counseling. At my university, Psychology is in the division of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Natural Sciences are in their own division. At least we have the word "science" in our name and we leave it to the imagination which are Humanities and which are Sciences. Of course, all of that is undone when someone thoughtlessly refers to us as the Division of Humanities and Social Services. Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Box 3055 x7295 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.jbu.edu/academics/hss/faculty/rfroman.asp Proverbs 14:15 "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." -----Original Message----- From: Lavin, Michael [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 8:18 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Cc: Lavin, Michael Subject: [tips] Categorizing Psychology as a major Tipsters: Recently, with the modification of the university web page, Psychology was moved from its two category status (social science and science) now to the arts. The rationale, as stated to me, was that it was more appealing to have an Arts label than Science for 16 and 17 year old potential students. I personally find this to be the ne plus ultra example of "selling out." My question to you folks: how is Psychology classified at your college or university? Mike Michael J. Lavin Professor Emeritus St. Bonaventure University [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://web.sbu.edu/psychology/lavin 914-366-8006 Tarrytown, NY 716-375-2488 SBU Office --- ---
