Department of Psychology
Undergraduate Advising Office

Have you applied for April graduation? If so, please plan to join us for a celebration of your success!

More details can be found here.

If you’re graduating in August, please email psyadvis@pitt.edu to let us know—we’d love to invite you to the reception.

With the changing seasons and the holidays approaching, food insecurity can become a greater concern for some in our community. Community members will find on-campus and off-campus resources on this webpage.

Pitt affiliates impacted by the recent disruption in SNAP benefit disbursements are encouraged to utilize available campus and community resources, including the Pitt Pantry and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. The Pitt Pantry will continue operating on its regular fall semester schedule and is closely monitoring inventory in anticipation of increased demand. All students (graduate and undergraduate), faculty, and staff are welcome to visit the Pantry to supplement their nutrition with healthy, no-cost food options.
Additionally, students are encouraged to contact the Care and Resource Support Office for assistance in accessing additional resources. This office is dedicated to addressing a wide range of student needs and connecting students with appropriate support services.

Dr. Stephanie Stepp’s lab in the Department of Psychiatry is hiring up to 4 undergraduate research assistants/data processors for paid summer positions supporting NIH-funded research studies. Responsibilities may include data processing, data entry, quality control, participant support tasks, and other general research activities.

This is a great opportunity for students interested in gaining research experience before applying to graduate school or pursuing careers in psychology, psychiatry, medicine, or related fields. Preference will be given to students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher and some prior research experience. Strong students may also have the opportunity to continue beyond the summer.

To apply, please send a CV/resume, brief statement of interest, and GPA to Dr. Salome Vanwoerden at vanwoerdens@upmc.edu.

The Eating Anxiety and Treatment laboratory in the Department of Psychology at the University of Louisville is seeking full-time or part-time Research Assistant II ($16.51/hour). The position primarily involves assisting with clinical and non-clinical studies centered around the topic of eating disorders.

Please see the full job desctiption for additional details.

The Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program, located within the Department of Psychiatry, is a nationally recognized leader in advancing research for individuals living with bipolar disorder. Our work focuses on better understanding the condition, identifying factors that influence outcomes, and developing more effective, personalized treatments.

Through our flagship Prechter Longitudinal Study of Bipolar Disorder, we build long-term partnerships with participants to better understand how bipolar disorder unfolds over time. Combining clinical information, treatment experiences, overall health data, and genetic insights, the study helps identify patterns in the course of illness. In addition to this longitudinal study, the program conducts a variety of other research projects aimed at improving outcomes for individuals living with bipolar disorder.

This position will primarily support the PRIORI Ambient study, an innovative study conducted in partnership with the College of Engineering and funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). PRIORI Ambient uses a smartphone app to collect short voice samples during the day. The app looks for patterns in speech that may reflect changes in mood and energy levels in people living with bipolar disorder.

By combining these speech patterns with participant feedback and clinical information, the study aims to better understand mood changes and create practical tools that help individuals monitor and manage their mental health.

See the full desctiption for details.

Candidates are being considered for a NIMH/NIAAA-funded post-baccalaureate Study Coordinator position in the laboratory of Dr. Alex Shackman in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland at College Park.

The overarching mission of the lab is to have a deep impact on the fields of affective and clinical/translational neuroscience. To that end, we do our best to perform innovative studies that can lead to significant discoveries, to disseminate our discoveries as widely as possible, and to mentor trainees to become top-notch scientists.

Under the supervision of Dr. Shackman and other senior staff, the Study Coordinator will play a central role in ongoing NIAAA- and NIMH-sponsored projects aimed at understanding the neurocomputational architecture of fear and anxiety and its role in adult anxiety and alcohol use disorders. This position will provide opportunities to gain experience with neuroimaging (fMRI), smartphone ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and structured clinical interviews. This is an exciting opportunity to receive top-notch mentorship and establish a competitive research record—including publications and conference presentations—in preparation for graduate training in clinical psychology, affective neuroscience, or medicine. You can learn more about former Study Coordinators on our Alumni page.

This is a 1-year position that is renewable, contingent on performance and NIH funding. Duties may include, but are not limited to, subject recruitment and scheduling; data acquisition, processing, and archiving; study/database management; general grant and lab administration; and manuscript/figure preparation. Some duties (e.g. MRI sessions) will occur during evening or weekend hours.

Applicants should send: (1) a Cover Letter summarizing relevant experiences, skills, and interests—please be specific and concrete; (2) a CV/Resume, (3) relevant Transcripts (unofficial copies are fine), and (4) Contact Information for 2-4 references. Please send your materials to Jennifer Cunneen (jcunneen@umd.edu). Formal letters of recommendation are not required for the initial application and will only be requested for short-listed applicants.

The Personality Processes and Outcomes Lab in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan is seeking a Research Operations Lead to support the lab's research program on personality, psychopathology, and quantitative methods. The lab conducts research on the structure, dynamics, and clinical implications of personality and psychopathology, with a particular emphasis on ecological momentary assessment (EMA), passive sensing, intensive longitudinal methods, using large language models to code and analyze narrative text, and the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) framework.

The Research Operations Lead will be responsible for the day-to-day management of research operations, including coordinating data collection for EMA and longitudinal studies, managing IRB protocols, overseeing participant recruitment and scheduling, supporting data management and quality assurance, and providing functional supervision to undergraduate research assistants. The position also supports the lab's involvement in collaborative, multi-site research projects with investigators from other universities. This is an ideal position for someone with research experience in psychology or related field who is interested in gaining further experience in a highly productive and methodologically innovative research environment. Previous project managers have been very successful in applying to graduate school.

Please see job desctiption for additional details.

January 23, 2026          Add/drop ends
January 30, 2026          Extended drop ends
February 1, 2026          Summer graduation application opens
February 9, 2025          Grade option (S/NC) deadline
February 16, 2026        Summer term enrollment begins
March 1, 2026               Fall graduation application opens
March 10, 2026             Last day to resign from spring term
March 20, 2026             Monitored withdrawal deadline
March 23, 2026             Spring term 2026 enrollment begins
April 24, 2026                Last day of classes
May 1, 2026                  Psychology Celebration of Graduates

Announcements will run bi-weekly throughout the summer.