Portland State University’s Department of Psychology is fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our department fosters a vibrant intellectual environment in which human diversity is recognized and valued in all its forms. We support learning, research, and outreach activities that promote the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Portland State University is located in downtown Portland, Oregon in Multnomah County. We at the Diversity Committee give our appreciation to the Indigenous people whose traditional and ancestral homelands we stand on, such as the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tumwater, Watlala bands of the Chinook, the Tualatin Kalapuya, and the many other Indigenous Nations of the Columbia River. We conduct our work on Indigenous land. We acknowledge that this is merely a statement, and only the bare minimum when it comes to healing past and present traumas, and striving for an equitable future.
We honor the communities of Black people who helped build the state we currently occupy, who have been subject to injustices such as Oregon’s Black exclusion laws, redlining, and gentrification, and who continue to contribute greatly to our community despite ongoing discrimination and police violence.
We honor the Mexican, Puerto Rican, Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino Americans and immigrants who also experienced exploitation, internment, persecution, and taken land in the early foundation in this country, some in this place.
We strive to aid in creating an equitable future for all disenfranchised groups that have been subject to discrimination and trauma, and we commit to dismantling systems of white supremacy and colonialism in our work. We invite critique and ideas on how to improve the work being conducted by the Diversity Committee.
About the Psychology Department's Diversity Committee— Portland State’s Department of Psychology is fully committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout our research, teaching, department, and broader community. As part of that commitment, the department features a dedicated Diversity Committee, composed of both graduate students and faculty.
Some example responsibilities of the Diversity Committee include, but are not limited, to:
- Support departmental efforts to recruit and retain faculty and students of diverse backgrounds.
- Promote awareness and understanding of diversity-related topics, and foster the capacity of faculty and students to work competently with people of diverse populations and in diverse settings.
- Enhance efforts to incorporate diversity as an important aspect of psychological science.
- Propose diversity-related policies and procedures for consideration by department faculty.
- Support the graduate and undergraduate programs in a way that strengthens students’ capacity to learn about, embrace, and promote diversity.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Related Research and Outreach by the PSU Psychology Department
Reflecting its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, the Department of Psychology conducts innovative applied research and outreach with diverse community partners in collaborative teams. Our research translates into theory development, practical solutions, and effective social policy that reflect the value of diversity. Community partners include businesses, schools, non-profits, public and private organizations, neighborhoods, and underrepresented community member groups.
Learn more about recent research and outreach
Learn more about recent community partners
PSU Psychology Teaching Curriculum
To prepare students to understand and interact in our increasingly diverse society with cultural competence and diversity skills, the Department of Psychology offers a variety of upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses that address Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Students in the undergraduate psychology program are required to take a course on Human Diversity. Example courses include:
- PSY 310U Psychology of Women;
- PSY 410 Cross-Cultural Psychology;
- PSY 410 LGBTQ Psychology;
- PSY 410 Native American Psychological Healing;
- PSY 425 Psychology of the Black Manhood in America;
- PSY 426 Psychology of Stigma & Social Inequality;
- PSY 428 Diversity, Prejudice, & Intergroup Relations;
- PSY 431U Psychology of Men and Masculinity;
- PSY 463 Development & Education of Immigrant Children & Youth;
- PSY 469 Psychology of Human Sexuality
Students in the graduate program have the option to complete a Diversity minor. Example courses include:
- PSY 5/610 Advanced Diversity in the Workplace;
- PSY 5/610 Development & Education of African-Diaspora Children & Youth;
- PSY 5/610 Intergroup Relations & Diversity;
- PSY 5/610 Implicit Social Cognition;
- PSY 5/610 Stigma & Health
Additional diversity related resources that Portland State provides:
Global Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity & Multicultural Services
TRIO Student Support Services
Disability Resource Center
International Student Services
Cultural Resource Center
Native American Student and Community Center
Queer Resource Center
Veterans Resource Center
Resource Center for Students with Children
Ph.D. Alumni Spotlight on Diversity and Inclusion Issues
We are proud of the training our graduate program provides on diversity, equity, and inclusion and the work of our Ph.D. graduates which reflects these values. Check out these reflections from some of our recent Ph.D. graduates about how their diversity training in our Ph.D. program has shaped their approach to their research and work.
How did your training in the Applied Psychology graduate program prepare you for working with diverse populations and communities?
“Some of the most beneficial lessons I've learned as part of my training in Applied Psychology is the value of inclusion, collaboration, and transparency when working with diverse populations, and the importance of acknowledging multiple perspectives. People come from all walks of life and carry with them a wealth of experiences which shape how they process and respond to life events. As researchers, we must not assume that our own experience or knowledge is somehow universally shared or more valuable than that of others. Although we may have a specific topic of interest or specialty, it is critical that the research we conduct reflects issues central to our population if we are to have a positive impact on people's lives. Including individuals from your community or population of interest in the research process through focus groups, advisory boards, or simply by leaving yourself open to feedback helps ensure that the knowledge gained will serve its intended beneficiaries.”
-Cameron T. McCabe, PhD
Portland State Applied Psychology PhD in 2016
Current position:
Research Psychologist
Wounded Warrior Recovery Project
Naval Health Research Center