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The Department of Psychology at Penn State's University Park campus is part of the College of the Liberal Arts. The Department includes more than 40 full-time faculty members and more than 100 graduate students. Facilities include the Psychological Clinic, the Child Study Center, and numerous research laboratories. We conduct research and offer courses in many areas of psychology. This web site provides an overview of the University Park Department of Psychology, our people, and our programs. Psychology courses and programs are also offered at other Penn State campuses; here is a list of links to Psychology throughout the Penn State system.
Ken Levy, Assistant Professor of Psychology, was the recipient of the American Psychological Foundation/APA Division 29 (Psychotherapy) Early Career Award for 2008.
Srijana Shrestha, Ph.D. student in clinical psychology, won the Outstanding Graduate Student in Women's Studies.
Karen McInnis, who will graduate in May 2009, has been selected to represent Psychology as Department Marshal at the commencement ceremony and to receive the Cofer Psychology Award.
Christina Baer, Stevie Grassetti, Kelly McCloud, Karen McInnis, Zachary Infantolino and Nicole Zinsser have received Evan Pugh Scholar awards. Begun in 1933, these awards are for full time undergraduate juniors and seniors who are in the upper 0.5 percent of their classes.
Lori Scott, a doctoral student in clinical psychology, has received the 2008 American Psychological Association Dissertation Research Award for her research on Mood and Reactivity in Borderline Personality Disorder. Lori, whose adviser is Ken Levy, has previously received a prestigious National Institute of Mental Health Individual Predoctoral Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellowship and Penn State's College of Liberal Arts Dissertation Support Award.
The Department of Psychology welcomes four new faculty members this fall. Alysia Blandon (Ph.D., University of Michigan, 2005) studies family systems, children’s social and emotional development, and cultural and contextual influences on development and individual well-being. Nancy Dennis (Ph.D., Catholic University, 2004) focuses on the cognitive and neural mechanisms of learning and memory in young and older adults, and on understanding cognitive decline with aging and mechanisms of compensation. Ping Li (Ph.D., University of Leiden, 1990) conducts research on language acquisition and bilingualism, bridging from language science to neuroscience. Steve Wilson (Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 2008) studies the role of self-regulation and external cues on drug addiction, primarily in the context of smoking.
Penn State's Ph.D. programs in Clinical Psychology and Industrial-Organizational Psychology have received top-ten rankings in the latest U.S. News and World Reports rankings of Best Graduate Schools.
Dr. Joel T. Nigg
Professor, Departments of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Behavioral Neuroscience, and Genetics;
Director, Division of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry
Oregon Health & Science University
“ADHD: Endophenotypes, environmental risk factors, and causal models”
October 8, 2009,
4:15 p.m.
Nittany Lion Inn Boardroom