Colorado State University’s online bachelor’s program in psychology has risen from 10th to 9th among public universities in the 2022 U.S. News and World Report rankings.
“It’s very gratifying to receive recognition from U.S. News and World Report, and it affirms what we already knew: that we are delivering a world-class educational experience,” said Bryan Dik, professor and associate chair in CSU’s psychology department and director of the department’s online bachelor’s degree program. “We offer students an educational product that’s very high quality, and it is extending the reach and advancing the mission of our department and the university as a whole.”
The program is ranked 11th overall, something Dik said is a testament to the strength of its faculty and partnership with CSU Online.
“What makes the program distinct is the heavy involvement of our department’s core faculty, each of whom is active in conducting research,” Dik said. “Many of them spend the day in their labs and then package what they learn from their research into what they teach, both on campus and online. This gives our students direct access to leaders in the field who are constantly generating and sharing new knowledge.”
A total of 146 students enrolled in the program in spring 2022, a number that’s grown by 70% since 2017.
Dik said it’s gratifying to see so many non-traditional students enroll in the program and receive a CSU education that would have otherwise been all but impossible due to work and family commitments.
“As a land-grant institution, access to education is a core value,” he said. “The online program offers an amazing opportunity for a broader array of students to earn a CSU degree.”
And in a world where misinformation plays a large role in the social media landscape, Dik said a psychology degree equips students with skills that are more important than ever.
“Our courses equip students to critically evaluate popular claims about human behavior, and to push back on the ‘misinformation pandemic’ and instead promote truth and clear-thinking,” Dik said.
Many online psychology students also continue their education with graduate programs, including those that prepare them for helping people with mental health concerns.
“There’s a huge demand for what psychology students can offer the world, and being able to offer a non-traditional way of delivering an education to help people meeting those challenges is a very meaningful and satisfying experience for us,” Dik said. “We’re excited for the program’s continued growth.”
