Welcome to the Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences, which houses a multidisciplinary faculty committed to rigorously training the next generation of counseling, school, quantitative and learning scientists, and competently educating undergraduate students to prepare them for work in the fields of health and human development & family sciences.

As a department, we value excellence, student success, community engagement, diversity, social justice and academic integrity. It is through intentional behavioral execution of these values that we doggedly pursue our mission to advance scientific knowledge, effect real-world change, maximize student potential for global competitiveness and enhance the quality and length of life in all segments of society through our scholarship, teaching and service.

Over the last few years, our faculty has grown at an unprecedented pace both in numbers and in accomplishments. We are a vibrant group: different in disciplines but drawn together through our shared values and a common mission. This is a place where excellence is incarnated, diversity is embraced and change is recognized as vital to growth. Our goal is to facilitate our continued momentum through the development and refinement of faculty, trainee and student initiatives that will solidify our place among the top departments of psychological, health and learning sciences – whatever their nomenclature – while nurturing and promoting that which makes us unique among them.

Explore our website and learn more about our degree programs, innovative research and teaching initiatives and community-focused work. Feel free to reach out to our faculty if you are interested in learning more. We hope that you will join our dynamic department and become an active part of our commitment to make a positive and meaningful difference in the lives of those we touch. We are the powerhouse — we are the University of Houston — we are where you want to be.

Milena Keller-Margulis, Ph.D.

Department Chair

I am a professor of school psychology and former program director and am honored to serve as department chair. My research agenda evolved from my doctoral training and early work in public schools. Specifically, my work centers on the use of curriculum-based measurement (CBM), a topic with national and international applications given the critical need for early identification of students who are at-risk for poor academic skills and need interventions. My work has received federal funding from the Institute of Education Sciences, and I lead the Promoting Academic Skills Success (PASS) research team.

Virmarie Correa-Fernández, Ph.D.

Associate Department Chair

I have been affiliated with the Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences since 2015 and now proudly serve as its associate chair. I am a clinical psychologist by training and a tobacco treatment specialist. My practice background entails community mental health, trauma-related clinics, inpatient and residential treatment settings, tobacco cessation clinics and private practice. I completed a postdoctoral fellowship in health disparities research. My clinical and research experiences have informed my primary research interests in tobacco cessation among Latinx individuals and those with behavioral health comorbidities. My research aims to understand factors that predict cessation outcomes and to develop and test interventions that are culturally competent for Latinx groups. As associate chair, my vision is to promote an atmosphere of excellence and collaboration in research. I also support the department chair and the leadership team in leading the training of the next generation of diverse scientists and practitioners.

Erica Jordan, Ph.D., CFLE

Assistant Chair for Student Success

I have been affiliated with the Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences at the University of Houston since 2015 and now proudly serve as its assistant chair for student success. Over the course of my time here, I have taught hundreds of undergraduate students, and I am passionate about helping them to understand the connection between scientific inquiry and communities beyond the classroom. I have also served as the inaugural graduate teaching assistant coordinator, charged with delivering training and ongoing professional development to departmental teaching assistants and teaching fellows. My vision as assistant chair is to advocate on behalf of students through strategic initiatives that foster a sense of academic community, engage students in a vibrant culture of research and provide support for graduate and undergraduate students as they progress toward their own future endeavors.