Department of Psychology
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The Department of Psychology offers a master's program in Community Social Pyschology and Graduate Certificate Programs in:
- Behavorial Intervention in Autism
- Domestic Violence Prevention (Interdisciplinary with the Criminal Justice Department)
- Family Studies
The Department also offeres a combined bachelor's-master's program for UML undergraduates.
Philosophy and Objectives of the Program
Community social psychologists study relationships between social and environmental forces and the psychological well being of people. They seek to understand how individuals and groups are affected by such social influences as employment and educational opportunity, organization and delivery of public services, and the social systems within which people live and work. The M.A. program in Community Social Psychology provides students with a rich understanding of how communities and organizations influence behavior, adjustment, and growth. Students graduate knowing how to analyze and solve human problems in a wide variety of community and organizational settings. An emphasis on facts, methods, values, and especially practical skills creates a dynamic learning experience. This is one of the few M.A. programs of its kind in the Northeast.
By completing this program, students will gain:
- Knowledge about how social and environmental factors affect the individual;
- Proficiency in conducting applied research and performing data analysis;
- Increased awareness of multiculturalism, human diversity, and social justice issues;
- The ability to design, implement, and evaluate community programs.
This graduate program meets the needs of students from various academic and occupational backgrounds. It attracts recent undergraduates from such fields as Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Health, and Education. For those already working, it enhances the skills and career development of human service workers, community developers, health care providers, teachers, government employees, human resource professionals, administrators, and managers in a wide variety of public and private sector positions. Employment opportunities for graduates of the program, both in the nonprofit and private sectors, have traditionally been very strong.