Our Mission
Department Mission Statement
The ETSU department of psychology advances the scientific understanding of human behavior and mental processes; first by conducting and applying original and substantive scientific inquiry, and second by apprenticing students, through both hands-on experience and classroom didactics, in the process of conducting and applying original and substantive scientific inquiry. The Department provides sufficient didactic experiences to enable students to make continuous and adequate progress toward completion of the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree, in psychology and in other disciplines more generally. Individual faculty strive to contribute to the collective good of the department, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the university; and to advance the good works of the community and profession at large.
Experimental Mission Statement
The primary mission of the PhD concentration in Experimental Psychology at East Tennessee State University is to provide students with broad and general training in translational research in the psychological sciences, including the areas of developmental, cognitive, and social psychology, personality, affective behavior, and behavioral neuroscience.
Clinical Mission Statement
The primary mission of the articulated master's/doctoral concentration in Clinical Psychology at ETSU is to provide training in clinical psychology emphasizing rural behavioral health and practice in the context of integrated primary health care.
Department of Psychology Diversity Plan
The Department of Psychology at East Tennessee State University has established programs of training designed to equip students with tools to leverage the science and profession of psychology in the service of promoting and affirming inclusion, equity, and diversity. We consider diversity as including (but not limited to) race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious orientation, religion, disability status, socioeconomic status, national origin, and the intersection of these multiple identities. In support of our systematic and multiple year diversity plan the department has established The Committee on Inclusion and Equity in Psychology which has guided the development of this document. In it we describe the department's efforts to infuse attention and sensitivity to diversity through 1) a long-term, systematic plan for the recruitment and retention of diverse staff and students; (2) education of students; and (3) establishment of a climate of respect.
A new diversity plan is in development via the CIE strategic planning process in 2023-24.