Psychology Internships and Research Opportunities

Student research opportunities

Students interested in directed research or independent study have opportunities to work with psychology faculty members under the following research interests:

  • Dr. Emily Bloesch: Cognitive aging, visual attention and perception, action-perception links.

  • Dr. Neil Christiansen: Personality in the workplace, personnel selection, and structural equation modeling in I/O psychology.

  • Dr. Stephen Colarelli: Personnel psychology, evolutionary psychology and influence on HRM utilization.

  • Dr. Christopher Davoli: Perception, attention, visual cognition, embodied cognition, action, tool-use.

    Dr. Daniel Drevon: Academic and behavioral interventions conceptualized from a behavior-analytic perspective.

  • Dr. Gary Dunbar: Behavioral neuroscience and stem cell and pharmacological treatment of brain damage and neurodegeneration diseases.

  • Dr. James Gerhart: Personal and social consequences of anger, stress, and trauma in individuals with chronic and life-limiting conditions, such as cancer.

  • Dr. Bryan Gibson: Self-presentation, smoker-non smoker interaction, and psychology of gambling.

  • Dr. Kyunghee Han: Scientific study of culture, quantitative methods, psychological test/scale development, and evaluation.

  • Dr. Michael Hixson: Behavior analysis, direct instruction, precision teaching, behavior development, and curriculum-based measurement.

  • Dr. Yannick Marchalant:  Neurodegenerative disease, in particular Alzheimer's disease, and the role of neuroinflammation in brain aging and the influence of the endocannabinoid system on the regulation of inflammatory processes in the context of Alzheimer's disease.

  • Dr. Elizabeth Meadows: Anxiety disorders, especially post-traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder.

  • Dr. Sandy Kanouse Morgan: Academic and behavioral assessment/intervention, and pediatric consultation.

  • Dr. Larissa Niec: Child clinical; parent-child interactions; child conduct problems; dissemination of evidence-based treatment; child maltreatment.

  • Dr. Kimberly O'Brien: Job stress, organizational citizenship behavior, counterproductive work behavior, mentoring, and emotional abuse.

  • Dr. Hajime Otani: Human memory and cognition.

  • Dr. Kevin Park: Examining the pathological mechanisms of neurodegeneration using transgenic mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, and Alzheimer's disease, with the aim of preclinical therapy development.

  • Dr. Matt Prewett: Team performance management: staffing, training, group motivation, and performance appraisal.

  • Dr. Mark Reilly: Experimental analysis of behavior, operant/respondent conditioning, quantitative models, animal learning, behavioral pharmacology, and substance abuse.

  • Dr. Katrina Rhymer: Academic, behavioral assessment/intervention, and pediatric consultation.

  • Dr. Michael Sandstrom: Brain plasticity, compensatory neuronal activity, and behavior associated with deteriorative diseases such as animal models.

  • Dr. Kyle Scherr: Psychology and law.

  • Dr. Reid Skeel: Ecological validity of neuropsychological assessment; cognition and medication adherence; influence of affective variables on cognitive performance; decision-making and risk-taking; malingering. 

  • Dr. Nathan Weed: Psychological assessment; validation of clinical inferences from psychological tests; the MMPI-2, MMPI-A, and MMPI-2-RD.

Internship opportunities

Job opportunities

Fellowships

Volunteer opportunities

The Mt. Pleasant area offers a number of volunteer opportunities for psychology students. Volunteering offers a chance to help others, explore your interests, gain valuable educational or job-related experience, grow as a person, and increase your competitiveness as a job applicant. Moreover, some graduate program admissions committees consider volunteer experience when evaluating applications. Opportunities are available to work with all age groups.  Examples include the following:

  • Adult Literacy Tutor
  • After School Tutor
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Crisis Phone Line Worker
  • Friendly Visitor for Seniors
  • Big Brother Big Sister
  • After School Mentoring Program
  • Peer Advocate for Healthy Living

The primary resource for students interested in volunteering is The Volunteer Center at CMU.  The Volunteer Center compiles a comprehensive list of area volunteer opportunities so that students can find a match for their interests and skills. Sign up online and search for opportunities that appeal to you.

Mount Pleasant volunteer opportunities 

Many students find a placement by contacting the following agencies directly:

Listening Ear (a crisis line)
107 E. Illinois
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
Phone (989) 772-2918

Summit Clubhouse of Community Mental Health
 120 South Pine Street
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
 (989) 317-3330

United Way of Isabella County
 524 E. Mosher St., Suite 400
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
 Phone (989) 773-9863