Featured Alumnus: Skyler Jackson, Ph.D. (2018, Counseling Psychology)

US News Recognizes Top BSOS Programs

Once again, the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice’s graduate program has been ranked #1 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools” guide for 2019.

“The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at UMD continues its legacy of excellence in scholarship and training in this field, and the efforts of our faculty, staff, students and alumni have been recognized by this well-deserved top ranking,” said Dean Gregory Ball.

The counseling program in the Department of Psychology, which is jointly offered with the College of Education, was also again ranked as #1.

Addressing Racial Disparities In Education: Introducing The Psychology Research Empowerment Program (PREP).

The undergraduate student body in the U.S. continues to grow increasingly diverse. In 2013, the National Center for Educational Statistics reported that 56% of undergraduate students in the U.S. were White, 16.5% Hispanic, 14.3% Black, 5.7% Asian. Between 1990 to 2013, Black student enrollment more than doubled and Hispanic student undergraduate enrollment increased by roughly 400%. These encouraging statistics are on par with the enrollment trends in the undergraduate psychology major at the University of Maryland, which very closely matches the national trend.

Diversity Statement

Advances in the Study of Culture and Society

Humans are unique among all species in their ability to develop and enforce social norms, but there is wide variation in the strength of these norms across human groups.  Tight cultures are more restrictive and have strong punishments for norm violations while loose cultures have weaker social norms and a higher tolerance for deviant behavior.  With over $8 million in funding from NSF, the Department of Defense, and a prize from the Humboldt Foundation, Dr. Michele Gelfand has been using field, laboratory, computational, and neuroscientific methods to understand the evolution of such differences their consequences for nations, states, organizations, teams, and individuals.  

Antecedents and Consequences of Managing a Concealable Stigma

Concealable stigmas are personal characteristics that are socially devalued but often not readily apparent to others, such as mental illness, transgender identity, sexually transmitted infections, and the experience of intimate partner violence. People with stigmatized attributes face prejudice and discrimination, which, in turn, has been linked with reduced social, emotional, and physical well-being. To avoid such negative experiences, people with concealable stigmas often have the option of hiding their stigmatized status. The Social Identity Lab, directed by Dr.