UGA Psychology Department

10/07/2026

Read all about it! The Fall 2026 UGA Psychology newsletter is here! 🎉

For the latest from UGA Psychology, please visit: https://apps.dar.uga.edu/html-emails/-/gail-email/summer-newsletter-2025-5

Catch up on news from across the department, including student and faculty accomplishments, new academic programs, recent events and milestones, and highlights from our psychology community.

10/06/2026

Leverage the VPA process to enhance the motivation and commitment of your volunteers

The UGA Professional I-O Psychology Master’s Program (IOMP) is proud to partner with the Volunteer Program Assessment (VPA) at UNC Charlotte to help nonprofit organizations leverage listening data to implement targeted efforts to improve their volunteer program experience.

Check out the flyer below to learn more about VPA and how your organization can participate.

Learn more about UGA IOMP’s partnership with VPA: https://psyc.franklin.uga.edu/vpa-consulting

Apply to participate: https://vpa.charlotte.edu/apply/

Interested in working with the UGA team? Note your preference for UGA in the referral section of the application.

09/29/2026

Celebrating the science of kindness!

In partnership with Psi Chi and NAMI on Campus at UGA, we'll be hosting activities throughout October 7th!

Stop by the Psychology Building between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. for free cookies and small acts of kindness. Then, join us in Psychology Room 120 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. to help pack goodie bags supporting Nuçi's Space.

To learn more about the initiative, please visit: https://sites.google.com/umd.edu/good-deed-day-tracker/home?authuser=0

09/23/2026

What makes work, work better?

UGA’s Industrial-Organizational Psychology doctoral program uses psychological science to better understand people at work.

Students study topics including employee selection and training, leadership, performance, work-life issues, teams, and more, while developing strong research and methodological skills. Through UGA’s scientist-practitioner approach, students learn to both study workplace challenges and apply their research in real-world organizational settings.

Graduates pursue careers in academia, industry, consulting, government, and military settings.

🔗 Learn more about the Industrial-Organizational Psychology doctoral program here: https://psyc.franklin.uga.edu/industrial-organizational-doctoral-program

09/22/2026

How can psychological science improve mental health and well-being?

UGA’s Clinical Psychology doctoral program prepares students to understand and address psychopathology and other forms of psychological impairment through research and practice.

With a clinical science orientation, the program develops students’ expertise in studying human behavior and behavior change while gaining experience in research, teaching, and clinical services.

The program prepares graduates for research-oriented and applied careers, including roles in academic and medical settings.

🔗 Learn more more about the Clinical Psychology doctoral program here: https://psyc.franklin.uga.edu/clinicalprogram/home

09/18/2026

Welcome to the UGA IOMP, Cohort 14!

For those who may not be familiar, UGA’s Professional I-O Psychology Master’s Program (IOMP) is based at the UGA Gwinnett Campus and is designed for working professionals who want to better understand people at work and help organizations thrive.

The program combines the science of industrial-organizational psychology with real-world application, giving students tools to address workplace challenges in areas like leadership, employee well-being, performance, and organizational change.

We’re excited to welcome Cohort 14 to the UGA Psychology community!

For more information about the IOMP, please visit: https://psyc.franklin.uga.edu/iomp

09/17/2026

What can the brain tell us about how we think and behave?

UGA’s Cognitive Neuroscience doctoral program prepares students to explore the connections between brain structure, function, and mental processes through independent research.

Students work alongside faculty investigating questions about cognition, behavior, and the brain using neuroimaging, EEG, computational modeling, behavioral experimentation, and more.

With access to advanced research facilities and interdisciplinary collaboration, students gain hands-on experience with a wide range of approaches to studying the brain.

Graduates pursue careers in academia, policy, industry, and biomedical neuroscience.

🔗 Learn more about the Cognitive Neuroscience doctoral program here: https://psyc.franklin.uga.edu/cogneuro

09/17/2026

What happens when a passion for psychology runs in the family?

UGA Psychology alumni Tony Puente (Ph.D. ’78) and his son, Nick Puente (Ph.D. ’14), took different paths to careers in neuropsychology.

Originally from Cuba, Tony came to the U.S. as a child and later studied clinical psychology and biopsychology at UGA. He went on to become a clinician, professor, and president of the American Psychological Association. Nick earned his doctorate in clinical psychology at UGA before training at Duke and Johns Hopkins.

Today, the two practice together at the Puente Neuropsychology Institute in Wilmington, North Carolina, and volunteer at a local free clinic.

Read more about their paths from UGA Psychology and what brought them together professionally in this story by Joy Pope:

At the Wilmington, North Carolina, neuropsychology practice Antonio Enrique “Tony” Puente recently opened with his son, one distinction had to be settled early.

09/16/2026

What shapes who we are, how we develop, and how we navigate the world around us?

UGA’s Social, Developmental, and Health Psychology doctoral program explores human behavior across social, developmental, and health contexts.

Research spans topics including relationships and family environments, personality, cognitive development, stress and coping, health behaviors, emotion regulation, sociocultural influences, prejudice, and risk and resilience across development.

Through close faculty mentorship and interdisciplinary research, students develop the skills to investigate complex questions about people, their environments, and their well-being.

🔗 Learn more about the Social, Developmental, and Health Psychology doctoral program here: https://psyc.franklin.uga.edu/sdh

09/04/2026

Congratulations to UGA Psychology alumna Muriel Clauson Closs, Ph.D., on being named the inaugural executive director of the American Psychological Association’s new Center for Behavioral Science and AI!

In her new role, Closs will help bring behavioral science into conversations about how AI is developed and used.

Read more about her new role and the center’s work here: https://psyc.franklin.uga.edu/news/stories/2026/uga-psychology-alumna-muriel-clauson-closs-named-executive-director-new-apa