United States Marine Corp veteran Chase Winterberg came to TU as an undergraduate, and earned his bachelor’s in psychology and sociology. But he didn’t stop there. After completing his undergraduate degrees, Winterberg chose to stay at TU and take advantage of the dual law and master’s degree program TU offers.
Dual Law Programs
The dual degree program allows students to earn both their Juris Doctorate in law and a master’s degree in one of several programs in about four years. Students start full-time in the law program during their first year, then take classes in their graduate program starting in year two.
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“I came to know and respect the TU faculty and community,” he said. “Many of the professors at TU are highly student-oriented and have had a tremendous impact on my professional trajectory.”
One of his favorite memories from his time at TU was watching Professor of Psychology Allan Harkness act out the different functions of neurons and other cellular structures in class.
“He is such an enthusiastic and inspiring professor,” Winterberg said. “I particularly enjoy the close knit atmosphere and the frequent opportunities to interact one-on-one with professors.”
Winterberg earned his Juris Doctorate and his master’s in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. However, he decided he still wasn’t finished. He began working on his Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology this semester.
“I was surprised with how challenging and rigorous the graduate coursework was in TU’s Psychology Department,” Winterberg said. “As a USMC veteran who had served on two tours, I thought I had seen it all, but TU continued to push me to the limit and encourage me to grow into a better professional and scholar.”
Research: Predicting Job Performance
Winterberg’s research follows two general trends. The first trend is applying I-O psychology’s scientific principles and practices to address legally or ethically related problems. An example of this was a multi-method study to triangulate characteristics of police officers that align with the public’s expectations and that predict successful job performance that Winterberg and his colleagues recently conducted.
The second trend is using the law to contribute toward legally defensible I-O psychology solutions. An example of this was his recent content analysis of disparate impact cases since 2010 used to identify the most frequently challenged psychological selection tools.
“Given my varied educational background and interests, my research always tends to follow a multi-disciplinary approach to some degree. This is exciting to me because it opens up the possibilities for new needs, ideas, and approaches,” Winterberg said.
Winterberg hopes his degrees will open the door to a professional opportunity to continue conducting research and solve practical, legal and psychological problems.