Psychology is the study of people; their behavior, motivations, thoughts and feelings. Psychologists are interested in how people act as individuals, and interact in groups. They use their understanding together with counseling and other forms of therapy, to help people avoid, overcome or control their problems. The Department of Psychology was established as an independent department in 1986. The introduction of various teaching programmes in Psychology started in phases with B.A. in 1981, PhD in 1984, B.A. Honors in 1985, M.A. Applied Psychology in 1989, and Advanced Diploma in Counseling Psychology initiated in 2001. It has now grown into a full fledged department providing excellent facilities for teaching and research with specialization in organizational, social, clinical, and counseling areas of psychology. During this short span of time the department’s academic activities have been recognized both at national and international levels.

MA (Applied Psychology) is one of the sought after course at Jamia Millia Islamia and it attracts students from all over the country and abroad. We aim to equip students with rigorous practical and theoretical principles, as well as sound ethical, professional and research skills, to enable them to become an effective and competent professional psychologist. To prepare them for the challenges in the world, we offer a blend of theory, science, and practice, resulting in graduates who have the knowledge, skills, and values to be effective personal/social change agents in community and society. To meet this objective, students are placed in different hospitals and organizations during summer vacations for 60 days to get the real understanding of their role as a psychologist. The instructions in various courses are mainly transacted through interactive classroom teaching, intensive student teacher interaction, assignments, group discussions, seminars, extension lectures, practical training in testing, experiments and computers. Besides field and lab training, students also undertake a project/dissertation on contemporary issues in organizations, social, clinical, health, and counseling, under the guidance of competent faculty members.

Our professional and academic training enables students to work in a broad range of settings, including medical, industry, government, private practice, counseling centers and academic and research settings, among others. Thus, socially responsible practitioners are prepared to meet the needs of a complex and changing world. Our alumni have become part of some of the prestigious organizations and hospitals in India and abroad. Students have qualified UGC NET/JRF, SLET, MANF, ICSSR & UGC post-doctoral and other state level fellowships. Our students have immense potential to excel in research in different areas of specialization and are ready to contribute towards holistic development of the society.

The faculty members have completed/sanctioned UGC/ICSSR and central government funded projects and have been awarded Witkin Okonji, ARTS and Commonwealth fellowships. The research activity is quite evident, as number of students seek admission in the Ph.D. programme, faculty member’s extensive research contribution in terms of publications and International research collaboration. The faculty development programmes/seminars/workshops are regularly organized by the department and faculty members also actively participate in academic programmes, both at national and international level. They have academic visits to countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, China, UK, Russia, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Turkey, Cyprus, Canada and USA.