Leah Gensheimer, Program Director
(816) 235-1065 phone
lgensheimer@cctr.umkc.edu e-mail
(816) 235-1062 fax

For application materials contact:
Sally Conrad
(816) 235-1318 phone
sconrad@cctr.umkc.edu e-mail
(816) 235-1062 fax

The mission of UMKC’s Community Psychology Ph.D. Program is to produce social scientists competent to address pressing social problems by adopting ecological, system-level approaches. The program seeks to equip students with the conceptual knowledge, value orientation and methodological skills necessary to conceptualize community processes and to solve contemporary social and environmental issues through theory and research.

The program emphasizes analysis of psychological and social problems at the community and system level, and interventions at the level of institutions, communities and policies. Focus is on developing and evaluating theoretically based approaches to improve individual and community well-being. The program encourages students to address traditional psychological problem areas e.g., mental health, substance abuse as well as nontraditional areas such as health care system, unemployment, urban blight, and minority relations.

The program has a dual emphasis on academic an experiential knowledge. This emphasis is realized through theoretically driven and methodologically rigorous research and intervention to address significant issues in the community.

UMKC’s Community Psychology Ph.D. Program is best suited for those who are:

• Concerned about societal problems (e.g., crime, health risk factors, urban blight).
• Interested in problem assessment at multiple levels of analysis.
• Interested in the development and evaluation of possible solutions.
• Can adapt comfortably to a multidisciplinary, problem-oriented, research perspective.
• Committed to both methodological excellence and addressing significant social issues.
• Willing to accept the challenge of critically analyzing the existing systems and attempting to institute change.

To reinforce the program’s multidisciplinary perspective, students also acquire specialization in a chosen area of interest e.g., health psychology, community development and organizing, organizational behavior, public policy, developmental disabilities. Courses related to such specialization may be those offered by the Department of Psychology, other UMKC Departments, or courses offered by cooperating Universities in the area. Further, to augment academic training, students gain direct experience with community issues and research through supervised field practicum and research.

Kansas City is an optimal setting for a community psychology program. With a population of over 1.5 million, Kansas City offers numerous opportunities for community involvement and research addressing social problems inherent in urban communities. There are numerous agencies, organizations, businesses, schools and so forth that offer students practicum sites and research settings, providing an excellent means of developing a partnership between the University and the community.

Aside from the education advantages the city has to offer, Kansas City is a great place to live. It provides everything a city can offer, yet also maintains some "home town" qualities, which makes it truly a city of choices. The city is known for its internationally recognized museum, acclaimed Repertory Theater, State Ballet, Lyric Opera, zoo and numerous parks. If sports is your style, there is the Truman Sports Center home to the Kansas City Chiefs football and the Royals baseball teams.