Excellence in Education: Psychology

Troy University's College of Education houses the Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation and Interpreter Training, the Department of Leadership Development and Professional Studies, the Department of Psychology, and the Department of Teacher Education. 

The students within these departments are all on different paths to be educators, counselors, and professionals in their fields. To highlight students from each of these departments, student spotlights will be posted weekly on this blog! 


The first student spotlight, studies within the department of psychology. Her name is Pratibha Gautam! 



She was chosen by Dr.  Kristen Rost, a professor in the department of psychology and the Troy University Psi Chi honor society advisor.

Pratibha is the current president of the Troy University Psi Chi Chapter, the International Honor Society in Psychology. She was chosen by Dr. Ross for her outstanding leadership and academic merit in the field. 

Psi Chi's mission statement is to, "to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship of the individual members in all fields, particularly in psychology, and to advance the science of psychology." 

The requirements for joining Psi Chi include being enrolled as a major or minor in a psychology program or a program psychological in nature, having completed at least 3 semesters or equivalent of full-time college coursework, having completed at least 9 semester credit hours or equivalent of psychology courses, having earned a cumulative GPA that is in the top 35% of their class compared to their classmates across the entire university or the college that houses psychology, and having a minimum 3.0 GPA average for psychology courses 

Pratibha is a Psychology major and Psychological Research minor. 

Along with being the Troy University Psi Chi chapter president, she was recently awarded the Chelsea Rae Huggins Memorial Psi Chi Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Psychology at the 2019 Troy University Honors Convocation. 


The annual award honors a junior or senior psychology major who has demonstrated academic excellence, and who has emerged as a leader among the students in the psychology program. 

Madison Huggins, Chelsea Huggins sister and one of the founders of this scholarship says, "Chelsea was a huge advocate for education and thrived on knowledge. In fact, she was awarded Student of The Year by the State of Alabama in 2017 and was inducted into many scholastic societies throughout her time at LBW and Troy. It is only fitting we establish a scholarship in her name to help others striving to better themselves through higher education.”

Pratibha strives to do just that! 

She is seen here presenting a research poster at a recent Troy University Psychology Conference! 

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