UMass Lowell Psychology

10/06/2026

We’re proud to share that our Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis program and Autism Studies has been recognized among the leading programs in Massachusetts in CounselingPsychology.orgs 2027 state rankings. 🎉

The program prepares students to apply evidence-based principles of behavior analysis while developing expertise in autism studies—equipping graduates to make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals, families, and communities.

This recognition reflects the strength of our faculty, curriculum, and commitment to preparing the next generation of professionals in applied behavior analysis and autism studies.

Congratulations to our students, faculty, alumni, and program community on this well-deserved recognition!

Learn more about the program: https://www.uml.edu/fahss/psychology/programs/graduate/autism-studies.aspx

College of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at UMass Lowell

09/24/2026

🎉 Please join us in welcoming Brett Gelino, Ph.D., to the UMass Lowell Department of Psychology!

Brett is joining us this fall as a tenure-track assistant professor, and we’re excited to have him as part of our Psychology community.

His research focuses on something we all do every day — make decisions. Using behavioral economics and quantitative modeling, Brett explores how and why people make choices and how those choices are shaped by the world around us. His interests include health and addiction, climate change adaptation, natural hazard preparedness and community resilience.

Before joining our department, Brett completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and held a faculty appointment at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

We’re thrilled to welcome Brett to Psychology and look forward to the new ideas, research, teaching and collaborations he’ll bring to our students and department.

Welcome, Brett! 👏

# of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at UMass Lowell

09/22/2026

🎉 Psychology Celebrates Three Faculty Promotions to Professor!

The UMass Lowell Department of Psychology is proud to celebrate the promotion of Stephanie D. Block, Ph.D., Urmitapa Dutta, Ph.D., and Megan H. Papesh, Ph.D. to the rank of professor, effective Sept. 1, 2026.

Their promotions recognize outstanding accomplishments in research, teaching, mentoring and service, along with their contributions to the department and the field of psychology.

🔹 Stephanie D. Block, Ph.D. studies children involved in the legal and child welfare systems, with research focused on child maltreatment, trauma, memory and eyewitness testimony.

🔹 Urmitapa Dutta, Ph.D. is a critical community psychologist whose scholarship explores decolonial and feminist approaches, epistemic justice, structural violence and community-engaged research.

🔹 Megan H. Papesh, Ph.D. is a cognitive psychologist whose research examines attention, perception and memory, including visual search, face recognition, eye tracking and applications to cancer detection.

Together, Professors Block, Dutta and Papesh represent the incredible breadth of research and teaching in UMass Lowell Psychology — from cognition and memory to child development, psychology and law, community psychology and social justice.

👏 Please join us in congratulating Professors Block, Dutta and Papesh on this well-deserved milestone!

09/22/2026

💙💛 Celebrating one of our outstanding Psychology students!

We’re proud to spotlight Nayeli Almanzar Lizardo ’27, a Psychology major with a concentration in behavior analysis. Nayeli’s passion for youth development, leadership and service is making a difference both at UMass Lowell and in the community.

Her dedication is a wonderful example of how our Psychology students take what they learn in the classroom and use it to make a positive impact on others.

We’re excited to celebrate Nayeli and look forward to seeing where her journey takes her! 🎓👏

Learn more about Nayeli’s UMass Lowell experience:

Year: ’27Major: Psychology, with a concentration in behavior analysis and a minor in businessActivities: Honors College, International Business Association co-president, YMCA of the USA National Youth Advisory Council Why UML? “UMass Lowell stood out to me not only because it is close and afford...

09/18/2026

🎓 Thinking about graduate school?

Join us for the UMass Lowell Virtual Graduate Open House on Saturday, September 26, from 10 a.m.–Noon ET!

Interested in Psychology? 🧠 The UMass Lowell Department of Psychology will be there to answer your questions and introduce you to our two graduate programs:

🔹 M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis & Autism Studies
🔹 Ph.D. in Psychology

Connect with our faculty, explore research and educational opportunities, and learn how graduate study in Psychology at UMass Lowell can help you take the next step toward your academic and professional goals.

📅 Saturday, September 26
⏰ 10 a.m.–Noon ET
💻 Virtual

To register go to https://www.uml.edu/grad/events/open-house.aspx

Learn more about our programs:
https://www.uml.edu/fahss/psychology/programs/graduate/autism-studies.aspx
https://www.uml.edu/fahss/psychology/programs/graduate/phd-psychology/

We hope to see you there! 💙

09/04/2026

🎉 A warm welcome to our Fall 2026 ABAAS cohort!

We were excited to welcome our newest M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis & Autism Studies students to the UMass Lowell Department of Psychology during orientation! 💙🎓

We’re so glad to have you as part of the UML Psychology community and can’t wait to see what you accomplish. Here’s to a great start to the semester!

Learn more about the M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis & Autism Studies:
https://www.uml.edu/fahss/psychology/programs/graduate/autism-studies.aspx

09/03/2026

https://www.uml.edu/news/department-news/2026/psychology-s-master-s-program.aspx

We have some exciting news to share from UMass Lowell Psychology!

Our Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism Studies (ABAAS) program has earned accreditation from the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI)!

This milestone recognizes the strength of the ABAAS program and the high-quality education and training it provides to students.

Through coursework, research and hands-on experience, students build the knowledge and skills they need to pursue careers in behavior analysis and make a difference in the communities they serve.

This achievement wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of our faculty, students, alumni and community partners who have helped the program grow and thrive.

Congratulations to the entire ABAAS community on this well-deserved accomplishment! 👏🎓

09/02/2026

🎓💙 Welcome to our Fall 2026 Psychology Ph.D. cohort!

The UMass Lowell Department of Psychology recently welcomed our newest doctoral students at orientation! 🎉

Please join us in welcoming Alec Sweatman, Alexandria (Lexi) Crank, Kathryn Duff, Sharmila Bhandari, and Allie Farone as they begin their Ph.D. journey at UMass Lowell.

We’re excited to have them as part of the UML Psychology community and look forward to seeing all they accomplish through their research, scholarship, and experiences in the years ahead.

Learn more about the Ph.D. in Psychology https://www.uml.edu/fahss/psychology/programs/graduate/phd-psychology/

Welcome to UMass Lowell! 💙

08/05/2026

🌟 See psychology making a difference—right here in Lowell.

This summer, Professor Andy Hostetler has been busy with AgeAction Lowell, the advocacy and resource group for older adults that he co-founded through the Age-Friendly Lowell initiative. Recent projects include:

🪑 Establishing Lowell's first Happy to Chat Bench downtown
🏘️ Bringing "mobile senior center" events to senior housing communities
🎉 Helping celebrate this year's Lower Highlands National Night Out

Want to learn more about the psychology of adulthood and aging from someone actively shaping our community?

Join PSYC.3600: Adult Development and Aging this Fall 2026! You'll explore adult development across the lifespan, examine current issues in aging, and learn how psychological science can help build healthier, more age-friendly communities.

📚 Register today and discover how psychology connects the classroom with real-world impact.

05/26/2026

What an amazing week at the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) 52nd Annual Convention in San Francisco! 🎉

This year, SEVEN students from our PhD and Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism Studies (ABAAS) programs attended and presented their research.

🎤 PhD student Jack Blake presented his talk on productivity analyses in a medical data entry task using different break schedules and was awarded the D. Chris Anderson Student Research Grant!

🎤 ABAAS student Jonathan Labrie delivered his very first conference presentation on distributed vs. accumulated breaks and impulsivity.

We also had:
📌 ABAAS student Tien Pham presenting his thesis
📌 ABAAS student Henry Champey and Jack Blake co-presenting Jack’s qualifying paper at the poster symposium
📌 PhD student Gloria Leyla Fanning Tacoaman presenting her work on language of instruction and culturally/linguistically diverse learners, with PhD student Karen Salazar chairing the symposium

And a special shout-out to our faculty member, Dr. Anita Li, who was announced as president-elect of the Organizational Behavior Management Network (OBMN) and received the organization’s Early Career Award. 👏

We are incredibly proud of all our students and faculty for representing the Department of Psychology so well at this year’s convention. Congratulations to everyone on an inspiring and successful week of scholarship, collaboration, and professional achievement — we can’t wait to see what next year brings!