Psychology Department Newsletter

February 2001

Welcome to Spring 2001

Welcome all new and returning students. If you are new to Cal State Fullerton, be sure to visit the department Advisement Office as soon as possible. The advisors can help you select the best classes for your interests and goals. They also have tips for sequencing classes and information on career and graduate school options. The Advisement Office is currently located in H-525B. Sign-up sheets are posted outside the office.

Psych Day - April 12 

Mark your calendar for Thursday, April 12. The annual Psych Day will be held all day in the Titan Student Union. It will feature guest speakers and information on grad school, GRE preparation, and careers for psychology majors. The featured speaker at 10-11 a.m. is Mihaly Csiksentmihalyi with the topic of "Happiness in the Third Millennium". Dr. Csiksentmihalyi has had a major impact on the field of psychology through his theoretical and research work on creativity and positive psychology. His recent books include Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, and The Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millennium.

Grad Programs - Applications

The department has two outstanding graduate programs: the Master of Arts in general psychology and the Master of Science in clinical psychology. The application deadline for next year (Fall 2001) is March 1. You must apply directly to the psychology department -- it is not sufficient to be admitted to the university as an "unclassified" graduate student. The application forms may be filled out and printed on-line at the department Web site. The address for the M.A. program is http://psych.fullerton.edu/maVw.htm and the M.S. program materials are at http://psych.fullerton.edu/gradms.html 

 

Graduate School Information Session - Feb. 15 

There will be an information meeting for students interested in graduate school on Feb. 15 at 1pm in H-609. Faculty, alumni, and students will be presenting information and answering questions about: why graduate school, what are the benefits, what are different types of graduate degrees, jobs available with graduate degrees, our graduate programs, admission process, how to prepare for grad school, what is graduate school like (info from current grad students), what about faculty diversity in internships and research, financial support and assistantships, alumni comments, and more. Questions are welcome. There also will be handouts and posters, and refreshments will be served. We urge anyone considering a graduate education to come to the information session to find out information about graduate school and answers to your questions.

Visit the department Web site 

Take a look at the department's Web site at http://psych.fullerton.edu. You can find information on faculty, advisement, and links to useful sources of information for psychology majors. 

Check the Dates for Withdrawing from Classes

Be sure to check the class schedule for dates and rules for withdrawing from classes. You will not be dropped from a class automatically if you stop attending -- you must follow the regulations for withdrawing from a class. If you have any questions, check with the Department or University Advisement Office.

Meet Marilyn Davis

Dr. Marilyn Davis joined the full-time faculty in 1999 after teaching part-time at CSUF since 1983. Presently she is teaching Psychotherapy Techniques, Marriage and Family Therapy, Child and Adolescent Therapy, and Graduate Fieldwork for the M.S. program. She is also teaching the undergraduate Clinical Fieldwork course. Over the years she has taught almost every class in the M.S. program (including some that are no longer offered!). Dr. Davis earned her bachelor's degree in psychology at Cal State Long Beach, and received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Brigham Young University. Since receiving her license in 1983, she has had a private practice based in Newport Beach where her specialties include couples therapy, adult issues, depression and anxiety disorders, and play therapy. She has been a consultant and Clinical Supervisor at Straight Talk clinic since 1981. Dr Davis is a Southern California native. She loves the ocean, reading, movies, oil painting, and sports. Lately, any spare time is spent enjoying a large family, that continues to grow with a current count of 12 grandchildren.

CSUF-Claremont Graduate University Agreement 

The psychology departments at CSUF and Claremont Graduate University (CGU) have developed a joint agreement that may benefit many of our graduate students. Students who complete a master's degree at Fullerton will have 24 units toward the doctoral degree waived by CGU. This will save at least a year and considerable tuition expense. In addition, students will have the option of continuing to work with CSUF faculty on research initiated at Fullerton. CGU is very strong in applied areas of psychology including applied cognitive, social, and developmental psychology. Even though CGU is a private institution with high tuition, many students receive tuition assistance. For more information, see Dr. Marelich or Dr. Perkins.

Career Planning and Placement 

CSUF has an outstanding Career Planning and Placement Center located in Langsdorf Hall, Room 208. They sponsor a number of workshops throughout the semester -- see their Web site at http://www.fullerton.edu/career/ . A new service called TitanTrak is an on-line system for students to view current job and internship openings. To access this service, go to their website and select the "Student" option You will then find the link to TitanTrak.
If you are a senior planning on using the center's on-campus employment interviews to look for a job, you need to register for an orientation session immediately. You can do this at the center or via TitanTrak
A useful Web site for information on careers in psychology is http://www.psywww.com/careers/

Alumna Honored as OC Teacher of the Year

Michelle Wild received both her BA and MA degrees in Psychology at Cal State Fullerton, and was recently recognized as “Outstanding Teacher of the Year” by the Orange County Department of Education. Michelle is a professor at Coastline Community College where she teaches students with traumatic brain injuries. Michelle began working with these students when she enrolled in the department's internship class. In addition to being honored at a recognition ceremony at the Disneyland Hotel, Michelle received a $15,000 award from the James Hine Foundation.

Summer Session at CSUF

Thinking about summer school? The psychology summer schedule is set and available on the Web site: http://psych.fullerton.edu/classes.html Watch for the summer session bulletin to come out soon.

Commencement

Commencement will be held on Saturday, May 26. The large University commencement ceremony for the College of Humanities & Social Sciences and the College of Business Administration & Economics will be followed with a special event for Psychology majors and their families in which each graduate is recognized individually. This event will be at approximately 9:30 at the lawn area north of the Education Classroom building. Details will be sent to graduating seniors later this semester.

Conference on Domestic Violence

Attend a conference on "Boys, Bullies, and Batterers: Exploring the Links between Male Gender Socialization and Domestic Violence" on Thursday, March 22 from 8:30am to 12:30pm in the Titan Student Union. The keynote speaker will be William Pollack, author of Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood. The conference is free, but you must register by calling 714-278-3928 or visiting the Women's Center in UH-205.

Psi Chi

Psi Chi, the national honor society for psychology majors, sponsored a recent forum on the Human Genome Project. The forum was well-attended by students, faculty, and the public. Congratulations to the Psi Chi officers pictured below: Nhu-Ngoc Ong, John Fike, Tonya Clark, and Viki Bertram. For information on joining Psi Chi, visit the department Web site.

In Memory of Albert Lay

Psychology major Albert Lay passed away on January 17th. He was an outstanding student at Santa Ana College before transferring to CSUF where he continued his excellent academic work. Considered a child genius who was recruited to attend UCLA when he was just 13 years old, he was passionate about many different intellectual pursuits, including mathematics, computer science, and, in his last two years, gerontology. In fact, it was his ambition to serve the elderly as a social worker. He worked on gerontology research in addition to taking classes in that area, and was awarded the Beverly & Arnold Miller Scholarship, which is given for outstanding promise in the field of gerontology. Albert Lay was a humanitarian and a scholar whose presence will be missed by all who knew him, including the faculty and many of his fellow students, and by the field of psychology and aging.

Department News

Dr. Birnbaum recently published two books, Psychological Experiments on the Internet (Academic Press) and Introduction to Behavioral Research on the Internet (Prentice Hall). Dr. Birnbaum was also elected  Fellow of Division 3 (Experimental) of the American Psychological Association.


Undergraduate student Tracy Callari is co-author with Dr. Marelich of a paper titled "HIV/AIDS Patient Involvement in Antiretroviral Treatment Decisions" published in AIDS Care.

Samantha Etchells, a graduate student in the M.S. program who works with Dr Nancy Segal, was notified that she is a National Collegiate Education Awards winner. Congratulations!

Congratulations to the students who completed their master's degrees in January:

Dr. Woll was interviewed for a story titled "On the Internet, Love Really is Blind" published in the New York Times (January 18, 2001). 

Do you have news or suggestions for the next newsletter? Contact Dr. Cozby via e-mail at cozby@fullerton.edu.

Read previous on-line newsletters:
November 2000

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