Psychological Science
Chair: Lee Gillis
Professors: Tsu-Ming Chiang, Kristina Dandy, Lee Gillis, Walter Isaac, Noland White
Associate Professors: Whitney Heppner, Stephanie Jett, Eric Rindal, Ashley Taylor, Diana Young
Assistant Professors: Taylor Elsey
Lecturer: Tracy Butts
Please see GCSU's Campus Directory for department and faculty office locations, phone numbers, and email addresses, and the department website for additional department information.
Vision
We aspire to offering courses that challenge students to question assumptions and to providing experiences that prepare our undergraduates for life, work, and graduate study. In this vision, our graduates will be endowed with the maturity, cognitive sophistication, and skills befitting a liberal arts degree.
Mission
The Department of Psychological Science is committed to supporting faculty who deliver high quality teaching, create research opportunities, and foster close student-faculty mentorship. We offer enthusiastic and innovative instruction by professors who teach courses in their specialty areas. Because this passion for psychology is sustained through active research and professional growth, the department is dedicated to supporting outstanding research facilities and continued faculty development. Our curriculum encourages undergraduate students to fully explore the multi-disciplinary field of psychological science. Through our teaching, research, and mentorship we instill respect for multiple viewpoints and approaches, while inspiring intellectual curiosity and personal growth.
Goals
Goal 1: Knowledge Base in Psychology: Students should demonstrate fundamental knowledge and comprehension of the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, historical trends, and empirical findings to discuss how psychological principles apply to behavioral problems.
Goal 2: Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking: The skills in this domain involve the development of scientific reasoning and problem solving, including effective research methods.
Goal 3: Ethical and Social Responsibility: The skills in this domain involve the development of ethically and socially responsible behaviors for professional and personal settings.
Goal 4: Communication: Students should demonstrate competence in written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.
Goal 5: Professional Development: The skills in this domain refer to abilities that sharpen student readiness for post-baccalaureate employment, graduate school, or professional school.
Career Information
Students with a bachelor's degree in psychology have been employed in advocacy, administration, community relations, program development, research and evaluation, human resources, public relations, advertising, market research, teaching, retail and sales. Many students pursue post-graduate degrees in experimental psychology, social psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, school psychology, clinical psychology, counseling psychology, neuroscience, school and/or community counseling, social work, occupational therapy, law, and medicine.
The Department of Psychological Science and the American Psychological Association have pamphlets concerning career planning for psychology students.
Miscellaneous
The Department of Psychological Science faculty provides additional opportunities for student success and growth with a rich variety of undergraduate research and internship opportunities. All students are encouraged to develop personal and professional relationships with individual faculty and to work with them in the laboratory or in community settings.
In addition to its classrooms and offices in the Arts and Sciences Building, the Department of Psychological Science has three research and teaching laboratory suites. One suite is used for clinical neuroscience. Another suite is used for social development. The third suite is used for non-human animal research.