About the Department
The Department of Psychology and Special Education has a long and proud tradition at Emporia State University, dating back to the founding of the university as Kansas State Normal in 1863, two years after Kansas became a state. An outline of the school's studies in its first term in 1865 included "Theory and Art of Teaching," which offered a discussion of "mental faculties and exercises to encourage their growth." The first Kansas State Normal course catalog published in 1868 included the course Mental Science. In 1879, the year that the first experimental laboratory for the scientific study of psychology was founded by Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig, Germany, Kansas State Normal offered "Psychology" as a course.
From these beginnings, the department now consists of 19 faculty, 500 undergraduate and graduate majors, 5 active student organizations, and the following degree programs: BS/BA in Psychology, BSE in Psychology, MS in Art Therapy, MS in Clinical Psychology, MS in Mental Health Counseling, MS in Psychology with concentrations in General Experimental and Industrial/Organizational, MS and EdS in School Psychology, and the MS in Special Education with concentrations in Adaptive and Gifted.
The department's commitment to quality is demonstrated in many ways. One way is obtaining national accreditation for our degree programs. All of our programs are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and the Kansas Board of Regents. In addition, the Art Therapy program is accredited by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA). The Mental Health Counseling program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The School Psychology program is accredited by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). The Special Education programs as well as the BSE Psychology and MS/EdS School Psychology programs are accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
The centerpiece of the department is student professional development, both inside and outside of the classroom. To this end, all four student organizations plan programming and activities to foster professional growth. Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology; Psychology Club; the Student Art Therapy Organization; and the Student Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology also sponsor travel to state, regional and national conventions including the American Art Therapy Association, Association for Psychological and Educational Research in Kansas, Great Plains Students' Psychology Convention, Southwestern Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, and Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Students are actively involved in faculty research and often present papers and publish articles.
At Emporia State University, good teaching is highly valued and the Department's faculty have won numerous university, state, and national teaching awards. However, they are also productive scholars with research interests encompassing a wealth of topics and leaders of a variety of organizations. The faculty come from throughout the United States and have doctorates from Texas A&M University, University of Toledo, Oklahoma State University, University of Kansas, University of North Texas, University of Nevada, Florida State University, Kansas State University, University of Arkansas, Louisiana State University, Rutgers University, Union Institute, Cappella University, University of Memphis, and Columbia University.
Courses are designed to provide students with the most current knowledge, skills, and competencies. Baccalaureate graduates annually have close to 100% placements either getting a job or being accepting for graduate work. Our graduate programs prepare students either for employment or acceptance into a doctoral program. Our graduates have entered doctoral programs at Kansas State University, Mississippi State University, Texas A&M University, Texas Christian University, Texas Tech University, Tulane University, University of Houston, University of Kansas, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska, University of New Mexico, University of New Orleans, University of North Carolina, University of Ohio, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, and University of Southern Mississippi.
Come join the students and faculty in the Department of Psychology and Special Education at Emporia State University to learn, to travel, to explore, to excel, to prepare for the future. For more information, click here.
Last Updated August 28, 2007