Overview and History

Prairie View A&M University, an independent unit of the Texas A&M University System, is the second oldest public institution of higher education in Texas, originated in the Texas Constitution of 1876. On August 14, 1876, the Texas Legislature established the “Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youths” and placed responsibility for its management with the Board of Directors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College at Bryan. The A&M College of Texas for Colored Youths opened at Prairie View, Texas, on March 11, 1878. PVAMU has since become one of the major research universities in Texas.

In the last 20 years, the campus built its academic structure by establishing first-rate departments in the natural sciences, education, social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities. PVAMU started its instructional role with undergraduate students in 1919, followed in 1937 by graduate studies.

In 1994 the Psychology Undergraduate Program was still part of the Department of School Services, housed in the college of education. A few years later, as the organization of academic units changed, psychology became an undergraduate unit in the Division of Social Work, Behavioral, and Political Sciences. In 2000, with the establishment of the psychology department, psychology was moved to the college of juvenile justice and psychology. The Ph.D. in Adolescent Psychology programs was developed in 2004.

Given the tradition in academia regarding the structure of academic units, in 2020, the psychology department is now part of the College of Arts and Sciences, with Peter A. Metofe as the founding chair (department head). Today, the Department has grown to some 20 faculty and psychology is one of the well-sought majors for an undergraduate student. We currently have approximately 476 undergraduate psychology majors and ten graduate students.

by Peter A. Metofe, Department Chair