School of Professional Psychology to Become School of Graduate Psychology, Effective Jan. 1, 2017

University Community members,

Pacific University’s School of Professional Psychology will become the School of Graduate Psychology, effective January 1, 2017.  

This name change reflects expansions in the school to include a variety of programs, such as the PhD program in clinical psychology and the master's degree program in applied psychological science, both research-oriented programs. The name change further aligns the school with national trends in healthcare and psychology’s role within these developments. Finally, it complies with the spirit of a directive by the American Psychological Association, the accrediting body for several of our programs, to identify psychology as a healthcare profession that embraces research and clinical practices.  

The process for determining the new name was participatory and inclusive of the faculty. It was reviewed and approved per university policy and procedures through the shared governance system and ultimately approved by the Board of Trustees. The school is using fall 2016 as a transition period during which web and other materials will reflect both names and during which the school will place advertisements in relevant publications to announce the impending name change. 

We are discontinuing the use of our acronyms “SPP” and GSP (the latter having been used for course prefixes only). Our new acronym for all purposes is SGP. Our school’s address and fax number remain the same, along with all individual phone numbers and email addresses for faculty, staff, and students.

Our gratitude goes to all of you who are helping us with this shift. We also appreciate your patience as we no doubt encounter little challenges and glitches in the transition.

With kind regards,

Christiane Brems, PhD, ABPP, RYT500, C-IAYT

Dean