Our students at work: in the classroom, and presenting data

Welcome, Everyone!

If this is your first visit to our homepage, welcome in! If not, welcome back! In keeping with our status as a new and growing Liberal Arts University, the College of Arts & Sciences has recently reorganized into departments ... or is at least far enough along that path to begin to announce it! This page will become the homepage for the "Department of Psychology," making us one of the most dynamic programs at USFSP. We include:

• Psychology, currently offering a B.A.
• Social Work, as a hosted program tied to USF-Tampa, currently offering a B.S.W. and M.S.W.
• Philosophy, currently offering courses focused on practical and theoretical ethics, plus Political Philosophy

We will be redoing many of the links to the left over the coming couple of months. In the mean time, check the links as they are added, and check back to see what's new!

To read the Psychology Mission Statement, click here.

NEWS

Join Psi Chi today! Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology. It is a prestigious organization with a long history ... and, more practically, it can be a very useful item to have on your CV when it comes time to apply for post-baccalaureate things! Beyond the prestige and the extra opportunities for experience and service in psychology, members also have access to special events and awards. Psi Chi applications are now available for students on the Psycholgy bulletin board in Davis Hall (240 range) or email Kyle DePama kdepalma@mail.usf.edu for an electronic copy. The deadline is 3/26/09 and induction ceremony for qualified applicants will be the week before finals.

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Professor Mark Durand has been named co-editor of the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions where he has been a consulting editor since 1999. The journal offers sound, research-based principles of positive behavior support for use in school, home and community settings with people with challenges in behavioral adaptation. Regular features include empirical research; discussion, literature reviews, and conceptual papers; programs, practices and innovations; forum; and media reviews. Congratulations to Dr. Durand!

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Part of the ongoing growth of USFSP as a separately accredited university is the new modification to our core curriculum, Student Learning Outcomes. You've probably heard the mantra of education as a leader in forming a "global community."  Although the individual classroom experience will always include the cherished, unique experiences of your professors, part of globalization is the emphasis on greater feedback to the students -- so you can modify studying during each class, and so you have a clearer portfolio of materials to refer to later in life, when people ask you what you've done in college! You have probably already seen the first part of this, because the syllabi for each of your classes are likely to already contain a section called "Student Learning Outcomes." There is no mystery to this, really; this is just your professor telling you precisely how you will be evaluated this semester. Giving you this more detailed information right at the start of class should help you better plan your semester ... you know, for all that studying you have to do?!?

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Dr. Eric Storch, a psychologist in USF Pediatrics and Psychiatry, is looking for research assistants to help with his research on childhood and adult obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette’s Syndrome, and trichotillomania. Research assistants will be involved with observing administration of study measures by trained clinicians to people participating in our clinical trials, assisting with assessments for various cognitive-behavioral treatment studies, and helping with projects in the community such as community perceptions of people with Tourette’s Syndrome. There are opportunities to conduct senior/honors theses and/or independent research projects. Research assistant should be psychology majors with at least a 3.4 GPA. Please contact Dr. Storch at estorch@health.usf.edu for further information.

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 Our Mission:

The Psychological Science program at USFSP is committed to the pursuit of innovative scientific inquiry that impacts important societal issues. Our program's aim is to help contribute to the field of psychology through thoughtful intellectual leadership built on the foundation of careful empirical research efforts that have implications for helping to improve the human condition. Core faculty members are active scientists engaged in both basic and applied research; current members of our group have special interests and expertise in the domains of social, family, community, clinical, cognitive, forensic, and pediatric psychology, as well as research methodology and statistics. Our undergraduate program affords students a rigorous training experience emphasizing both the theoretical and empirical foundations of our discipline. In keeping with our mission, we also offer students unusually rich opportunities to engage in intensive, outside-the-classroom research apprenticeships toward their development as outstanding undergraduate scientists.

Our core faculty members all teach courses in the undergraduate program, and work closely with students on cutting-edge research topics. Faculty members address key scientific controversies in their research programs and communicate with national and international leaders through their scholarly work; undergraduate students who collaborate with our faculty on research present the fruits of their own efforts in both local and national research forums. We strive to graduate incisive, broad thinking young scientists possessing the skills and competencies to address questions of societal importance themselves, and to continue their training in top graduate programs around the country. High school or transfer students interested in majoring in Psychological Science at USFSP are encouraged to contact any members of our faculty directly to receive more detailed information about our program.

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