Lake Campus named a Best Accredited College for associate degree in psychology

Wright State University’s Lake Campus was named one of the Best Accredited Colleges in 2023 for its Associate of Arts in Psychology.

Best Accredited Colleges rankings are created using a proprietary system that includes data from the U.S. Department of Education and individual program details with a focus on quality and affordability over selective or exclusive programs.

Criteria considered in the rankings include financial aid, alternative tuition plans, tuition cost, retention rates, student-faculty ratio, admittance rates, support and resources, transfer credit programs, loan default rates and graduation rates.

Josh Ricker, Ph.D., an instructor of psychology at the Lake Campus, said multiple aspects of the program played a role in the ranking, including the ability to offer a broad range of psychology courses that give students multiple outlets to determine which area of psychology they would like to pursue.

“We also make a concerted effort to establish relationships with mental health organizations around the community,” Ricker said. “Forging these relationships provides our students with many opportunities for volunteer work, internships and hands-on experience in the field. Being a smaller institution really allows us to focus on our students as individuals and fine tune our actions to fit their needs.”

Dave Hochstein, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, said Lake Campus’ associate degree in psychology provides students with a foundation for success in both career opportunities and additional educational opportunities.

“Communication and writing skills are critical skills for both,” Hochstein said. “Being able to find relevant research, understand it and turn it into something that is valuable and easy for the general population to understand are also valuable skills for any career or additional higher educational achievements.”

Lake Campus students who receive an associate degree in psychology will be prepared to tackle a variety of fields including the arts, business management, conflict mediation, consulting, counseling and therapy, criminal justice, education, engineering, human resources, government, marketing, the military, public service, rehabilitation, sales, social policy and sports.

Students have also gone on to earn bachelor’s and graduate degrees, pursue careers with the Ohio Department of Social Services and the Mercer County Board of Developmental Disabilities and work on opioid addiction prevention and strategies in Ohio.