Becoming a Difference Maker
The Department of Psychology at ACU encourages students to lead, serve, and pursue their many and varied goals, interests, and passions. Psychology students participate in student organizations, social clubs, service opportunities, and other activities on- and off-campus. The department provides its undergraduate students with these specific opportunities to help in the Abilene community and around the world while building their psychological skills:
- Community experiences through work with local agencies such as the Abilene Boys and Girls Club, the Noah Project, Hospice of Abilene, YMCA, and Crisis Hotline.
- Research experiences in medical, psychiatric, forensic, developmental, academic and industrial environments
- Service-learning internships in Montevideo, Uruguay and Leipzig, Germany
Service Matters
Aside from the structured opportunities presented through the department, many students create their own opportunities for service-learning and research through research teams, interaction with local congregations, employment, and community organizations. Psychology students participate to varying degrees in Spring Break Campaigns and other missions trips, in social clubs, in the ACU Students’ Association, and in other student organizations and local non-profit organizations. These activities create a warm environment for intellectual, social, and spiritual growth at ACU.
Research Opportunities
ACU psychology students regularly present research in the professional or scientific programs of regional and national psychology meetings. The practical necessity and the ethical responsibility to master the rapidly expanding scientific base of information underlying clinical intervention is emphasized through course work, individual and group projects, and thesis research. In each of the Masters of Science programs offered in psychology, students have the opportunity to build expertise in their field of interest and to prepare to contribute to that knowledge base. The psychology department actively supports student research.
