Hi, I was just wondering which schools, especially T20 colleges, have really strong social science programs (PSYCHOLOGY, sociology, etc)
Every one of them. What’s more important is the type of psychology program you’re looking for. Are you more interested in brain and cognitive sciences? Or do you want to study all the theorists like Freud, Jung, Adler, etc.? Or a combination of both? Look at the curriculum and requirements for the major for each college very carefully. Most psychology departments nowadays are very science focused.
I would look into the more science-focused programs. Freud, Jung etc are interesting – but in terms of treatment and science, they’re pretty outmoded. While influential science has gone past them and also has disproven many (most?) of their ideas. So while it’s great to know about them, if you focus on them you’d really become more of an intellectual historian rather than someone keeping up with the field. Find programs that have strong science and scientific methods background. You can still develop theory and theoretical models taking the science route, but you will be doing so with a strong foundation in the current field.
One way to figure out the nature of a school’s program is to look at the faculty and then to look at what they’re studying. Most of their web pages will have papers you can download. Read the abstracts to get the idea of their interests. Faculty will also note whether they have ongoing research grants or programs. What they’re studying will indicate the direction of the program.
If you would like a broad program, look for a college that offers courses or course elements in the major branches of modern psychology, notably biological/physiological, clinical, cognitive, educational, developmental, personality, sensory and social psychology. Look as well for fieldwork opportunities.
I’m pretty sure any T20 college is capable of instructing undergrads in these fields. How much you learn and how prepared you get for your future is going to depend on what you do, not which one you attend.