Psychology Degree | Keuka College

Improve Lives, Especially Your Own, with a Psychology Degree

The study of psychology will give you an in-depth understanding of the diverse nature of people, how to think scientifically, an idea of how the human mind works, and a strong sense of ethics to guide your research and testing.

As a Psychology major, you can choose one of three concentrations: developmental disabilities, forensic psychology, or mental health. If you’re interested in working with children and families, you can easily double major in Child and Family Studies along with psychology.

Through theory and hands-on experience, you’ll be prepared for further graduate study or a variety of career opportunities that include family services, psychiatry, psychology, child protection services, or school guidance counseling.

Program Overview

Psychology Major

The Keuka College psychology program offers unique concentrations you won’t find anywhere else to customize your psychology degree in the areas of mental health psychology, developmental disabilities and forensic psychology.

These areas of focus are uniquely suited to build upon your knowledge of human development and behavioral concepts to help you hone in on a specific career path that can lead to diverse opportunities within each specialty.

When combined with the experiential learning we offer within the classroom and our hands-on Field Period® program, you will graduate with a solid toolkit of skills ready to apply across the field of human services.

Psychology Concentrations

If you desire to work in a counseling setting with individuals or families, consider our mental health psychology concentration. The range of courses within this concentration include the assessment of dysfunctional and maladaptive behavior; the primary approach to psychological intervention; and theories of psychopathology, treatment planning, implementation, and evaluation.

You will complete a practicum (lab) experience in a mental health or health care setting, and both a junior and senior research seminar where you’ll focus on more advanced topics in research methods and associated statistical analysis.

If you have a desire to work with people disabilities in non-educational settings, our developmental disabilities concentration may be right for you.

Thanks to a range of courses in education for youth and those with special needs, as well as courses in behavior analysis and modification, you will gain a foundation in meeting the unique needs of this at-risk population. Further, hands-on experience can be added to your knowledge through direct work with our D.R.I.V.E. students, a group of young adults ages 18 - 25 with developmental disabilities who are mainstreamed into select campus courses.

D.RI.V.E students may attend a range of courses from our psychology, social work, education and occupational therapy programs, and they can earn an educational certificate for completing life-learning skills in those classes, assisted by OT, social work, education and psychology majors. D.R.I.V.E. is a collaboration between the Penn Yan Central School District, ARC of Yates County and Keuka College.

Forensic psychology is where the criminal justice system and the study of psychology intersect, and if you become a specialist within this field, you are likely to provide mental health services to those within prisons or on probation.

Courses involving psychological tests and measures, deviance and social control, abnormal psychology, constitutional law, and ethnic diversity will prepare you to provide a range of support to law enforcement, caseworkers, and judicial officials.

Psychology Minor

Keuka College also offers a minor in psychology that pairs well with any major, but especially so with:

Learn More About the Psychology Program

All psychology majors will complete an independent senior research project over a series of two courses. The senior research project is self-directed, but guided by a faculty member, and will reflect your personal areas of interest. By intent, your research project will be professional caliber and some students have chosen to further enhance their study by pursuing academic publication of their research.

Capstone research projects have recently explored issues such as:

whether student-athletes are more motivated during their sports season or during the off-season;
how students’ sense of well-being may be impacted by perceptions of discrimination in regards to race, religion or other factors and whether an increase in include in alcohol use may result;
mindfulness (the trait of being fully present), and various impacts and effects mindfulness may have in performance across a range of activities.

In contrast to other regional colleges or universities, Keuka College requires each undergraduate student to complete four 140-hour Field Period® experiences, (one per year) which may take the shape of a real-world internship, cultural study at home or abroad, community service project, artistic endeavor or spiritual exploration.

Keuka College psychology majors have conducted personal Field Period® experiences in sites such as prisons, jails, public school psychology or counseling offices, acute or chronic care mental health facilities, residential treatment programs for individuals with emotional or behavioral disturbances, or those with developmental disabilities.

Our unique Field Period® program means you’ll graduate with more applied experience in psychology than any other school in the region.

Our faculty boast a wealth of clinical experience, which will impact your classroom studies and academic advisement. A licensed, clinical psychologist leads the program, bringing experience in forensic evaluations, developmental disability assessments, child custody evaluations, and mental health services within local county governments.

Additional supporting faculty bring expertise in abnormal psychology/psychopathology, physiology of the brain and related behaviors, the dynamics of child and family behavior, as well as clinical interventions, therapies, and various types of mental illness.

Dr. Carolyn Balzer

Assistant Professor of Psychology

(315) 279-5670
[email protected]

SUNY Upstate Medical University: M.D.

Dr. Janine Bower

Professor of Criminology/Criminal Justice
Chair, Institutional Review Board

(315) 279-5207
[email protected]

Western Michigan University: Ph.D.
Western Michigan University: M.S.
Indiana University at Fort Wayne: B.A.

Dr. Angela Graves

Associate Professor of Political Science

(315) 279-5614
[email protected]

Syracuse University: Ph.D.
Central European University: M.A. in Political Science
Babes-Bolyai University: B.A. in Political Science

Biography

Angela G. Graves received her Ph.D. from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University in 2011 and is currently an Associate Professor of Political Science. Prior to joining Keuka College, she taught at the University of North Dakota and Idaho State University.

Originally from the Washington D.C. area, Angela moved to Eastern Europe after high school to study post-communist transition firsthand. She received her B.A. (2002) in Political Science from Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and went on to Budapest, Hungary to obtain an M.A. (2003) in the same field from Central European University. Although her research is primarily grounded in the field of American Politics, it continues to reflect her international interests by focusing on the new challenges posed by globalization for national institutions such as the U.S. Supreme Court. Angela has presented her work at the American Political Science Association and the Law and Society Association’s annual meetings, and her publications include 2010 and 2013 articles in the Journal of Law, Politics, and Society and a chapter in the 2015 Wiley Handbook of Law and Society.

In addition to teaching, Angela is an Intercultural Coach for Cartus, a corporate relocation firm, and both Tour Guide and Services Ambassador for Experience! The Finger Lakes' Corning office.

Dr. Nicholas Koberstein

Associate Professor of Psychology

(315) 279-5456
[email protected]

University of Connecticut: Ph.D.
University of Connecticut: M.S.
Eastern Connecticut State University: B.S.

Dr. Melis Kural

Associate Professor of Sociology

(315) 279-5612
[email protected]

University at Buffalo: Ph.D.
University at Buffalo: M.A. in Sociology
SUNY Geneseo: B.A. in Sociology

Dr. Christopher Leahy

Professor of History

(315) 279-5613
[email protected]

Louisiana State University Baton Rouge: Ph.D.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University: M.A.
Washington and Jefferson College: B.S.