Psychology was taught at Doshisha Academy upon its foundation by Joseph Hardy Neesima. The history of research and education in psychology at Doshisha University originates in Doshisha Academy, the precursor of Doshisha University. In 1875, the founder, Joseph Hardy Neesima submitted an application for approval to establish a private academy to the Kyoto prefectural government, in which psychology was listed as one of the disciplines to be taughtat the new school. Yujiro Motora, the first professor of psychology at Tokyo Imperial University known as the founder of modern psychology in Japan, and Matataro Matsumoto, the first professor of psychology at Kyoto Imperial University, studied at Doshisha Academy in the early days of its establishment.

The Faculty of Psychology and the Graduate School of Psychology were established. The Faculty of Psychology and the Graduate School of Psychology were newly established in 2009 as world-class research and educational institutions to pursue the two core educational goals; “to shed light on the basic nature of the human mind and behavior and identify emotional and behavioral patterns through experiments and investigations” and “to engage in clinical and applied research on the human mind and behavior and put research findings into practice,” thereby producing high-caliber professionals with a global and future-oriented mindset and conscientious skills.

Center for Clinical Psychology was established in the Keishikan building in the Imadegawa Campus. ※This center has been relocated in the Jinshinkan building in the Shinmachi Campus in 2019.