About Transylvania

“If psychology as a whole were a tree and different divisions of psychology were its branches, I teach my students to see the tree rather than concentrating on a particular branch.”

Academic psychology can be very specialized. But instead of requiring students to concentrate on one area—social, clinical, biological, or cultural—Transylvania offers a variety of perspectives that leads to an understanding of psychology as a whole instead of individual parts.

"It gives students the bigger picture," says Iva Katzarska-Miller, assistant psychology professor.

Within that philosophy, Transylvania's small classes and close relationships between students and professors add to the rich learning environment. "I enjoy the interaction with students and the mutual learning that can occur in the classroom," says Katzarska-Miller.

She presents subject matter both as content and as process. "Content is the knowledge that students need if they are to be able to think critically about it," Katzarska-Miller explains. "Process is an understanding of how knowledge is created and disseminated in society, as well as how one's position in the cultural space promotes a particular approach to understanding and creating knowledge."

Publications

• Katzarska-Miller, I., Reysen, S., Kamble, S. V., & Vithoji, N. (2011). Cross-national differences in global citizenship: Comparison of Bulgaria, India, and the United States (in press).
• Jenkins, S. T., Reysen, S., & Katzarska-Miller, I. (2012). Ingroup identification and personality. Journal of Interpersonal Relations, Intergroup Relations and Identity, 5, 9-16.
• Snider, J. S., Reysen, S., & Katzarska-Miller, I. (in press). How we frame the message of globalization matters. Journal of Applied Social Psychology.
• Katzarska-Miller, I., Phillips, N.L., Gungor, G, Salter, P., Adams, G., & Schoemann, A. (in press). Internationalizing social psychology: Implications for national and global identity. Proceedings from Global Citizenship for 21st Century conference.
• Reysen, S., Lloyd, J. D., Katzarska-Miller, I., Lemker, B. M., & Foss, R. (2010). Intragroup status and social presence in online fan groups. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 1314-1317.
• Biernat. M., Collins, E., Katzarska-Miller, I., & Thompson, E. (2009). Race-based shifting standards and racial discrimination. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 16-28.