The Clarkson family crest in stained glass occupies the window of the second floor staircase landing in Holcroft House.
Clarkson offers 50 programs of study within three schools: the Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering, the School of Business, and the School of Arts & Sciences. Our historic strengths in business, engineering, liberal arts, and science remain at the core of the curriculum. But these programs have also been combined into cross-disciplinary majors, such as engineering and management, environmental science and policy, and digital arts and sciences.

Students taking classes outside on the Clarkson campus

Research Projects

Our low faculty-to-student ratio allows us to provide all psychology majors with hands-on learning experiences. These include the directed research, where the student works closely with a faculty member on an experiment of mutual interest (see faculty research interests).

The research experience provides the student with the opportunity to apply information learned in the classroom, as well as acquire a number of skills sought after by employers, namely, critical thinking, problem solving, working in teams, and communication skills.

Clarkson student psychology research projects are often presented at undergraduate research meetings, scientific meetings, and occasionally are published as research articles. Examples include:

Recent (last 2 years) Student Presentations at the Clarkson University Symposium on Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) (Clarkson students in bold):

Sullivan, M., Norton, T. Caffeine consumption in the college population. Annual Symposium of Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University, August 2008.
Lowenstein, K.,  Dowman, R. Modeling the brain mechanisms of detecting and orienting attention towards threat. Annual Symposium of Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University, August 2008.
Roper, J., Stephens, J., van Arsdale, S., Dowman, R. Developing protocols to study how threats to the body are detected and capture attention. Annual Symposium of Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University, August 2008.
McHugh, C., O’Brien, S., & Dowman, R., and ben-Avraham, D. An artificial neural network model of threat detection. Biomedical Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) Symposium, Clarkson University, April 2007.
McHugh, C., O’Brien, S., & Dowman, R. An artificial neural network model of threat detection. Annual Symposium of Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University, April 2007.
Thimm, D. & Fodor, E. The Power Motive and interpersonal considerations. Annual Symposium of Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University, April 2007.
Trombley, T. (’07), Norton, T.R., & Lazev, A. (2007, August).  Perceptions of the college-aged
smoker.  Poster presented at the 9th Annual Summer Symposium on Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University.
Trombley, T. (’07), Norton, T.R., & Lazev, A. (2007, July).  Perceptions of the college-aged smoker. 
Poster presented at the 13th Annual University at Buffalo McNair Research Conference.
Renodin, D. (’07) & Norton, T.R. (2007, April). Patterns and predictors of smoking among college-
aged students.  Poster presented at the 8th Annual Symposium on Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University.
Fraser, J. (’07), Lajoie, R. (’07), & Norton, T.R. (2007, April). Social support exchanges between
patients with cancer and their caregivers.  Poster presented at the 8th Annual Symposium on Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University.
Trombley, T., Dowman, R. Brain computer interface control of a robotic arm: Parameters optimizing accuracy. Annual Symposium of Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University, August 2006.
Lajoie, R., Tucker, S., Gregoire, S., Ingrim, D, Dowman R. Gender differences in altruistic behavior among college students. Annual Symposium of Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University, April 2006.
Denesha, N., Fraczek, J., Dowman, R. Neural mechanisms of threat detection. Annual Symposium of Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University, April 2006.
Gazerro, J. (’06), & Norton, T.R. (2006, April). The effect of stigma on the likelihood to seek
psychological treatment.  Poster presented at the 7th Annual Symposium on Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University.
Renodin, D. (’07), & Norton, T.R. (2006, April).  Potential family impact on college students’
smoking behaviors.  Poster presented at the 7th Annual Symposium on Undergraduate Research Experiences, Clarkson University.

Student Research Publications:
Fodor, E.M., Wick, D.P., Hartsen, K.M. & Preve, R.M. (in press) Right wing authoritarianism in relation to proposed judicial action, electromyographic response, and effective attitudes toward a schizophrenic mother. Journal of Applied Social Psychology.
Fodor, E.M., Wick, D.P., and Hartsen, K.M. (2006).  The power motive and affective response to assertiveness.  Journal or Research in Personality.40, 598-610.
Dowman, R., Glebus, G. & Shinners, L. (2005) Effects of response conflict on pain-evoked medial prefrontal cortex activity. Psychophysiology, 42, 555-558.
Dowman, R., Glebus, G. & Shinners, L. Pain-evoked anterior cingulate cortex activity is not involved in response conflict. Program No. 746.15.2004. Abstract Viewer/ Itinerary Planner. Washington D.C.: Society for Neuroscience, 2004.
Fodor, E.M., & Laird, B.A. (2004).  Therapeutic intervention, bipolar inclination, and literary creativity.  Creativity Research Journal, 16, 149-161.