Diversity Science Specialization – continuing to enhance and engage

Through the work of the Diversity Steering Committee, the Psychology Department has offered a Diversity Science specialization. Initially offered in 2008, the specialization is designed to enhance graduate training for psychology students. Completing the specialization helps students understand how the experiences of diverse populations can be utilized to advance the student’s major area of study and cultivates an understanding of the relationship between diversity and psychological issues.

This past year, Cara Guthrie from the child clinical area and Sarena Sabine from the developmental/quantitative area each earned specializations to enhance their Ph.D. training. To understand the impact the specialization has had on students’ training, we asked these recent recipients about their experiences after obtaining the specialization.

The Diversity Science Specialization was a natural extension of my interests and values as a clinical psychology student. Many of the courses I took in the Social Work and Global Health departments have broadened the way I think about psychological science and practice. I’ve found that clinical psychology, both as a field and our departmental training specifically, can sometimes take a narrow view of human experience. This specialization offers a structured way to step outside that focus—to learn from other disciplines that center diverse populations and global perspectives, and to bring those insights back into my own clinical and research work. It’s been an important reminder that developing as a psychologist also means expanding how we define expertise and whose voices we include. I’d definitely encourage other students to pursue the DSS—it’s a meaningful way to deepen both your cultural awareness and your curiosity about how people and systems shape each other.