About the Department of Psychology

Since the academic year 2009/2010, the Department of Psychology has been offering a first Bologna cycle university study program in Psychology, which lasts 3 years (180 ECTS). Graduates are awarded the title of Bachelor of Psychology (UN). This degree alone does not allow for independent psychological practice, as it does not provide sufficient professional qualification to work as a psychologist.

Candidates may continue their education in the Master’s program in Psychology, which lasts 2 years (120 ECTS). Upon completing the Master’s program, students obtain the title of Master of Psychology (UN), which qualifies them to practice psychology independently in Slovenia.

The work at the Department of Psychology is organized within seven chairs and additional units. These chairs represent the Department’s core organizational and academic divisions, encompassing the fields of general psychology, psychological methodology, developmental psychology, social psychology, clinical psychology and psychotherapy, educational psychology, as well as work and organizational psychology.

Information about the Department’s current staff is available here.

The Department also maintains its own library and information-documentation service (INDOK; website is in Slovene). Important infrastructural units further include three laboratories of the Department of Psychology and the Centre for Psychological Measurement and Counselling.

In order to successfully fulfill our educational, professional, and scientific missions, we actively cooperate with higher education institutions at home and abroad – among others with the Departments of Psychology in Zagreb and Sarajevo, as well as with CSUI in Lugano (Switzerland). In addition, we collaborate with numerous public institutions (kindergartens, schools, healthcare institutions), non-profit organizations (voluntary work), and companies in the fields of marketing, human resources development, and other activities. This diverse cooperation enables students to gain practical experience, engage in research projects, and establish professional contacts already during their studies.

From 2008/09 on, a 3-year undergraduate and a 2-year master’s study programme in Psychology are offered to students. The title Master in Psychology obtained after the completed master’s study programme enables graduates to enter psychological practice in Slovenia.

Several 4-year doctoral studies in different fields of psychology are also offered. They are all carried out as specific orientations within the joint doctoral study programme called The Humanities and Social Sciences. At the Faculty of Arts (being the coordinator of the study programme), doctoral students can pursue their degree in experimental psychology, personality psychology, developmental psychological studies, and applied psychological studies.

Beginnings of Psychology at the Faculty of Arts and the establishment of the Department
Psychology has been taught at the Faculty of Arts since its foundation in 1919. The first lecturers were Franc Veber and Karel Ozvald from the Department of Pedagogy, though they did not shape psychology as an empirical science or directly influence the establishment of the Department. The key figure in developing psychology as a scientific discipline in Slovenia was Prof. Mihajlo Rostohar (1878–1966), who had advocated for a Department of Psychology since the founding of the University of Ljubljana.

In 1951, on Rostohar’s initiative, the Faculty established the Department of Psychology and the Institute of Psychology, with Rostohar as its first head.

The first decade
For nearly ten years, Rostohar himself taught most psychology courses, including general, social, developmental, and abnormal psychology, and later history of psychology. At that time, the Department even had its own mechanical workshop producing devices for experimental psychology. During his leadership (until 1959), external lecturers contributed to specialized areas, and three assistants joined who later became important professors: Ivan Toličič (developmental psychology), Levin Šebek (psychometrics, industrial psychology), and Vid Pečjak (general psychology). A key methodological influence came from Zagreb’s Prof. Zoran Bujas, who taught statistics, psychometrics, and industrial psychology from 1954.

From Rostohar’s departure to 2000
After Rostohar, the Department was led by Vlado Schmidt, Ivan Toličič, and Levin Šebek. The move to larger premises on Aškerčeva Street allowed expansion of teaching. A single-subject psychology degree was introduced in 1969/70, with specializations in later years. The 1970s and 1980s brought new assistants, new courses, mandatory practical training, entrance exams, and postgraduate programs. In 1985/86, two-year specialist programs in school psychology and clinical counselling were launched.

International ties strengthened as well, notably with the Interuniversity Centre in Lugano (since 1991). From 1995 to 2014, the Faculty of Arts also offered special forms of part-time psychology studies.

Professional, scientific, and leadership contributions
In its first 50 years, the Department significantly advanced Slovenian psychology through international collaboration and conferences, including the 14th International Congress of Applied Psychology (1964, Ljubljana), meetings of Danubian and Alpe-Adria psychologists, and joint symposia with the University of Graz. Members collaborated on applied projects with companies (e.g., Gorenje, Lek, Jesenice Steelworks) and institutions (e.g., child testing), lectured abroad, joined international projects, and published over 100 books and 1,000 articles. Research was diverse, covering all major fields of psychology, with a broad, non-sectarian orientation that remains characteristic today.

Faculty members have also played important leadership roles at the Faculty and University level—as deans, vice-deans, and vice-rectors.

Student activities
Since the 1960s, the Department has encouraged student excursions across Europe and supported Yugoslav psychology student meetings. In 1997, the Psychology Students’ Association of Slovenia was founded, publishing the journal Panika (since 1995) and hosting the 12th European Congress of Psychology Students in 1998 in Škofja Loka, as well as various international exchanges.