The Psychology Major Continues to Be Popular but Is There a Downside?

Psychology is a popular major on many college and university campuses. While it may not be number one on the major hit parade, it often lands as the third or fourth most popular major.

Few students decide as high school students that they will major in psychology (though some do, often those who intend to become clinicians or therapists). Most eventual majors “find” the major by taking Introduction to Psychology (sometimes called “General Psychology” or “Psychology 101”); that is, they become enamored by the intriguing material in this first class and often sign up for another or other courses, and suddenly find themselves declaring the major.

This is usually all for good. But is there a price to pay for the popularity of the major? Yes. Not only do Departments of Psychology usually have to run many, many sections of Introduction to Psychology (as this course is usually the first requirement for starting the major as well as serving as a popular general education course), but quite often, Departments have to say “no” to non-major students who want to take another psychology class as an elective–that is, for fun and intellectual interest. Why? Because many departments have little or no room for non-majors.

In other words, demand (desire to take psychology offerings) frequently outstrips supply (open seats for non-majors in psychology classes). As an educator and a department chairperson, it is frustrating to tell interested students that I cannot sign them into some of our mid-and-upper level classes because there is no room—I must reserve virtually every open spot for our majors. Many of our declared majors wait a while to enroll in some of the psychology courses they desire. Those farther along in the major (junior and senior-level students) get to register first.

Why does this enrollment problem exist? For many reasons besides the very real popularity of the major. Smaller psychology departments will necessarily offer fewer sections of classes. College and university budget constraints (remember Covid-related pressures and current inflation, anyone?) are stretched thin, so hiring new faculty members (whether on the tenure track or as professors of practice) is an uphill challenge.

The budget for adjunct faculty is also often affected, meaning that fewer itinerant professors are available—or the compensation on offer for a class or two may not attract them. Finally, Psychology Departments understandably want to give majors the best educational experience possible, so they may necessarily keep enrollment numbers low in some classes to allow for more writing and research assignments (i.e., more in introductory-level courses, fewer in mid-level courses, and fewest in upper-level seminars and capstone offerings).

So, how can we help non-majors get into psychology classes? Solutions are neither obvious nor easy to implement. One possibility is to offer a course or courses exclusively for non-major students (perhaps as a general education elective) while recognizing that doing so takes a faculty member away from teaching majors in another course. Maybe summer and winter term elective offerings can be aimed at non-majors. Team-taught courses relying on colleagues from different departments are possible, but it is often not budget-neutral.

So, there is sometimes a downside to the popularity of the psychology major—it cannot always be a welcoming availability—at least not now on many campuses.