Chair’s Welcome

The Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Science integrates strong basic research and applied research traditions in psychology and neuroscience. Our faculty is comprised of professors who are distinguished scholars in their respective fields and who are dedicated to providing world-class education and training to our undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. While our course curriculum encompasses a broad variety of sub-disciplines of psychology, the research of our faculty centers around three major areas: clinical science, cognition and cognitive neuroscience, and neuroscience.

At the undergraduate level, we host a popular major in psychology. We also partner in the popular undergraduate major in neuroscience, which originated as a concentration area in psychology. Our courses also serve majors in medicine, health, and society, and Peabody College’s cognitive studies, child studies, and developmental science.

At the graduate level, we partner in a doctoral program in psychological sciences with Peabody College’s department of Psychology and Human Development. Many of our faculty also teach courses and train graduate students in the neuroscience graduate program.

The Department of Psychology is closely connected with Peabody College’s Department of Psychology and Human Development, the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, and the Vanderbilt Vision Research Center. Many of our faculty enjoy the resources and support provided by the Data Science Institute (DSI), the Advanced Computing Center for Research and Education (ACCRE), the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science (VUIIS), and the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center

We are proud of our distinguished alumni and appreciate the generous donors supporting our mission to advance our understanding of the human mind and brain.

Vanderbilt University and our department are committed to nurturing scholarly inquiry of the first magnitude in a context that provides teaching of the highest quality. One advantage enjoyed by a private university such as Vanderbilt is that it can pursue scholarly values that transcend the exigencies of the academic marketplace. Psychology at Vanderbilt has done exactly that, creating a scholarly community, in which undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty can pursue excellence in a stimulating, collegial environment.

Research of faculty members is supported by grants from the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation, various foundations and other sources of support. They chair important committees of professional organizations, such as the American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, the Society for Neuroscience, and various disciplinary associations, and serve as editors and associate editors for a wide range of prestigious scientific journals, and serve on grant panels for major funding agencies.

By both US News and World Report and The Times Higher Education, Psychology is the highest ranked department in the College of Arts and Science. Three of our faculty are members of the National Academy of Sciences, which constitutes half of the national academy members at Vanderbilt. Many of our faculty have won the top early career, mid-career, and distinguished career awards in the field, from organizations such as the American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, Society for Neuroscience, and the Vision Sciences Society. Our faculty have won many of the top awards for research, teaching, mentoring, and service awarded by Vanderbilt. Our faculty are called on to serve on important state and national panels and commissions, including the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the National Advisory Council of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Association for Psychological Science, National Academy of Sciences, and the National Science Foundation.

Thomas Palmeri
Department Chair
Centennial Chair
Professor of Psychology, Computer Science, and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences