Saint Leo University’s Key West Education Center Now Offering Bachelor’s in Psychology
The university has educated students in the Florida Keys since 1975 and now is adding a 13th degree to its program offerings.
Saint Leo University’s Key West Education Center is now offering a new bachelor’s degree program, adding to the center’s 12 existing degree programs. Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology - general is the latest addition.
“We at Key West Center want to see the center itself grow and adding the program to this location has truly opened doors for us; our students are excited to have a new program at this location and to gain the new experience that comes along with it,” said Jeffrey Hite, center director.
Saint Leo University began educating students in Key West in 1975. Now, the education center is located at Naval Air Station Key West, A-718 Essex Circle, Key West, FL 33040. While Saint Leo’s location on base makes it accessible and convenient for military-affiliated students, the center staff also are able to sponsor anyone who may then attend classes on base, Hite said.
“Earning a psychology degree means that students have learned skills that are essential and applicable to a wide variety of career paths,” said Dr. Keith Burton, associate chair of Saint Leo’s Social Sciences Department and an assistant professor of psychology. “These skills include critical thinking, independent and group work experience, research techniques, a familiarity with statistics, and both written and oral communication. Thus, there are few limits on what kinds of careers students can build for themselves. I like to point students to the BLS's [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics] Occupational Outlook Handbook's psychology page to help them start digging more into what's possible.”
Prospective psychology students should think about what interests them in that field, Burton said. “If they want to help people in need, there are many careers within the helping professions that they could look to, such as community and social service roles,” he said. “If they're interested in education, there are many roles they could pursue there, too. There are many management, business and sales roles they'd be qualified for, and there are plenty of roles for them in the healthcare field. Some of these paths would require additional education or training, and a psychology undergraduate degree would offer an excellent foundation.”
While professionals are needed in all fields, Hite said he thinks that the Florida Keys population, “can highly benefit from this program and the many benefits that it brings to us all.”
Additional degree programs offered on-ground and online at the Key West Education Center include: Associate of Arts degrees in liberal arts, business administration, and criminal justice; Bachelor of Arts degrees in business administration: management, marketing, and technology management; criminal justice: criminalistics and homeland security; elementary education; human resource management; and middle grades education: English and social science.
Saint Leo University is a nonprofit, Catholic university that is regionally accredited, and its residential campus is in St. Leo, FL, north of Tampa. At its Key West Education Center, students have access to onsite advising, library resources, and a computer lab.
“The most important thing is that the students who become affiliated with the Key West Center have staff who are local and are present,” Hite said. “We are able to be here for one-on-one meetings to accommodate students’ needs.”
Students at Saint Leo’s Key West Education Center also have opportunities to join clubs, honor societies, and organizations as well as giving back by participating in community service projects to benefit the area. In addition, Saint Leo students complete internships and externships with Key West businesses.
For the convenience of students — most of whom are working, adult learners — classes are held after 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, The Summer 1 Term begins May 8, Summer 2 classes begin July 5, and the Fall 1 Term classes start August 28.
For more information, email Jeff Hite, interim Key West Education Center director, jeffrey.hite@saintleo.edu or (305) 293-2847. He also may be reached at Ext. 3621.