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Welcome to the WMU Psychology Department Home Page! The following provides a brief overview and history of the Psychology Department at Western Michigan University. You will also find additional links on this web site that describe in more detail graduate programs, faculty interests and other resources available through the Department of Psychology. I hope that you will find our web site helpful. If you have feedback or comments on the web site or if you desire help in locating specific information, please feel free to contact us (wayne.fuqua@wmich.edu or psy_ask@wmich.edu). Program Description. The Department of Psychology at WMU offers one undergraduate degree in Psychology and four graduate degrees, including master's degrees in Behavior Analysis and in Industrial Organizational Psychology and doctoral degrees in Behavior Analysis and Clinical Psychology. The undergraduate curriculum provides broad training in psychology, the scientific study of behavior. Principles of science are applied to the study of a full range of behavioral phenomena. These principles include objective measures of behavioral phenomena, systematic observation and experimentation to test hypotheses, and emphasis on critical interpretation of results and standards of evidence. Behavioral phenomena include the obvious examples of motor responses but also include verbal behavior, cognitions, emotions and physiological phenomena, all phenomena that require special considerations to objectively measure and scientifically study. The undergraduate curriculum covers a broad range of topics including, but not limited to, mental health problems, human development, learning, memory and language development. Undergraduate students are required to participate in a practicum experience in which they apply psychology concepts to real world behavioral problems. The undergraduate program is designed to prepare students for careers in psychology-related fields (e.g., human services, rehabilitation, developmental disabilities) and to provide a science-based foundation for those wishing to pursue graduate study in psychology or other professional fields in which a psychology background is relevant (e.g., medicine, law, business). The graduate programs in psychology are designed to provide professional preparation in psychology for persons interested in assuming positions in a range of settings including academic institutions, research, human resource and performance management, mental health service delivery or community service settings. Each of these graduate programs has a pervasive natural science orientation and a strong emphasis in behavior analysis theory, an approach that focuses on the interaction between behavior and the social and physical environment as a primary influence on the acquisition, shaping and maintenance of complex behavior. Each graduate program requires training in a set of core principles that involve behavioral and cognitive-behavioral theory, research methods, systems management, and legal and ethical issues. Building on these core principles, each graduate program focuses on specialized applications and unique techniques for specific applications and settings (e.g., mental health problems, autism, developmental disabilities, performance management in business and school settings, safety and health related behaviors. The programs encourage student involvement in instructional programming, the delivery of service in community agencies and the conduct of laboratory and community-based research. Department Faculty are committed to quality education for undergraduate and graduate students and engages in continuous assessment activities designed to constantly improve the quality of its instructional programs. The goals of the Department are intended to be coordinated with, and be supportive of, the professional and academic mission of Western Michigan University. Program activities are coordinated with various community agencies, providing continual interaction between the Department and community settings. The granting of a graduate degree in Psychology by Western Michigan University is not considered a basic right for all students admitted to the program; the degree must be earned by the student. It is incumbent upon each student to demonstrate competence within each required aspect of the curriculum as they acquire the skills to assume a role as a professional psychologist. This challenge goes well beyond passing courses, and the act of matriculating in a program is considered evidence of an agreement to accept this challenge. It is the student's responsibility to demonstrate mastery of each competence required in the student's area of specialty. History. The Department of Psychology was established in 1940 when a small group of faculty members separated from the Department of Education. By 1948, the range of courses had expanded sufficiently to offer an undergraduate major in Psychology. During the 1950's the Department's first graduate degree, a master's degree in School Psychology, was established. Beginning in mid 1960's the Psychology Department hired a number of research-oriented faculty with behavioral orientation (inspired by the work of B. F. Skinner (B.F. Skinner Foundation) to the study of psychology. The Department developed a national reputation as a leading center for training and research in a natural science approach to psychology known as "behavior analysis." Since that time, the Department's reputation as an academic center for training, research and scholarship in behavior analysis, behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, behavioral systems analysis and organizational behavior management has grown and expanded to international venues. The Department developed a doctoral degree in the mid 1970's and awarded its first Ph.D. in Applied Behavior Analysis in 1977. Shortly thereafter, Ph.D. programs in Experimental, Clinical and School Psychology were added. The Applied Behavior Analysis and Experimental Psychology degrees were eventually combined into what is currently the Behavior Analysis graduate program. In 2005, the failure to replace faculty members who were recruited to other universities, resulted in the termination of the Department's graduate degree programs in School Psychology in spite of high student demand and an excellent job market for School Psychology. As of 2007, the Department has three graduate programs: a Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program (accredited by the American Psychological Association); a masters and doctoral program in Behavior Analysis (accredited the Association for Behavior Analysis) and a masters program in Industrial Organizational. Demand for graduates at the masters and doctoral level continues to be high with placements in a range of settings—clinical, human services, business and industry. Employment opportunities at both the undergraduate and graduate level are expected to increase as a result of the development of a national certification process for behavior analysts (http://www.bacb.com), the increasing incidence of autism spectrum disorders and the demand for practitioners with training in evidence based interventions. As of 2007, the Psychology Department had graduated over 300 Ph.D. students, making it the second most productive doctoral program, in terms of cumulative degrees, over the history of WMU. The Department currently has approximately 120 graduate students and over 800 undergraduate majors. In 1998, The Department was honored with an award for "Enduring Programmatic Contributions in Behavior Analysis" from the Association for Behavior Analysis www.abainternational.org), an influential international organization with over 5,000 members. Initially controversial (as is the case with any major paradigm shift in science), behavior analysis has led to the development of many evidence-based interventions with proven efficacy in clinical psychology, developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, education, safety, health and business applications. In this manner, the Department of Psychology has contributed via its training, research and outreach activities to improving in the quality of life for numerous disadvantaged or disabled populations as well as to the resolving of a number of major social problems that involve behavioral causes and solutions. |