Noted at its December 2, 2021, Commencement Ceremony, Albizu University Miami Campus has graduated the most Hispanic female psychologists in Florida from its Doctor of Psychology program (PsyD), meeting a critical need for Latin psychology professionals nationwide who are called a “rare commodity” by the American Psychological Association (APA).
Known worldwide for its culturally competent approach to higher education, Albizu University is number one in both the United States and Florida for graduating Hispanics with advanced degrees—particularly women. Specifically in the metric of graduating female Hispanic PsyDs, Albizu shares the top national spot with only one other school.
“Albizu University was founded to meet the need for culturally sensitive mental health care,” explained Albizu Miami Chancellor Tilokie Depoo. “Particularly when it comes to psychology, barriers to treatment can be especially formidable in the Latin community.”
Indeed, the APA cites language differences, Latin cultural misperceptions about the need for mental health care, discrimination and family-based cultural conflict among these challenges.
According to national data consensus, there are just over7,000 Hispanic psychologists in the United States, representing approximately 8.8 percent of all psychologists nationwide. The disparity between Spanish-speaking providers and patients seeking care has been particularly notable in South Florida, with its large Hispanic population.
By 2060, the U.S. Hispanic population is expected to reach 119 million people, representing more than 28 percent of the population, Census projections say.
During the 1960s, Carlos Albizu Miranda, a World War II Army veteran and one of the first U.S. Hispanics to earn a PhD in psychology, realized during his teaching career that the few Hispanic psychology graduate students were being trained with models and techniques that were not always sensitive to the needs and sociocultural characteristics of Spanish-speaking clients.
“It’s our goal at Albizu University to change that paradigm one student at a time,” Depoo said.
Albizu University offers a number of different types of psychology undergraduate and graduate degrees, both online, on-campus and in a hybrid format. It also offers a Master’s of Psychology degree available fully online.
About Albizu University
Proud of its roots and commitment to excellence in program offerings, Albizu University is a private, non-profit institution of higher learning with campuses in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Miami, Florida, and a University Center in Mayagüez, P.R. It was the only regionally accredited secular University in the continental United States named in honor of a Hispanic, the distinguished Puerto Rican psychologist Dr. Carlos Albizu-Miranda. To date, over 9,000 graduates call Albizu University their Alma Mater—a university that prides itself on educating culturally competent individuals capable of serving the diverse populations of our global community.
Albizu University offers undergraduate and graduate programs in psychology, education, speech-language pathology, human services, and criminal justice, as well as an ESOL program, taught by a diverse, expert faculty. Albizu’s enrollment in its two campuses and the University Center of Mayagüez is over 2,000 students representing 65 countries. The University thrives in a modern facility in Miami, the main campus in the heart of Old San Juan, and the University Center of Mayagüez. Albizu University’s Miami Campus was recently recognized as the top institution for Best Online Master’s in Organizational Psychology Programs 2020 by BestColleges.com. For more information, visit albizu.edu.
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