Albizu University facts for kids
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| Type | Private university |
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| Established | 1966 |
| President | Nelson E. Soto |
| Students | 3421 |
| Undergraduates | 682 |
| Postgraduates | 2119 |
| Location |
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United States
18°28′00″N 66°06′50″W / 18.4666°N 66.1138°W |
| Campus | Urban (San Juan, Mayagüez), Metropolitan (Miami) |
| Website | albizu.edu |
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Albizu University is a private university in the United States. It has its main campus in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There is also a campus in Miami, Florida, and another teaching spot in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The university teaches about psychology, health, education, and helping people.
Contents
History of Albizu University
The story of Albizu University began in 1966. A psychologist and teacher from Puerto Rico, Carlos Albizu Miranda, started the Puerto Rico Institute of Psychology. He saw that there was a big need for trained psychologists in Puerto Rico. At that time, there were no advanced psychology programs on the island. People had to go to schools in the United States to study psychology.
When these psychologists came back home, they found it hard to use what they learned. Their training was based on American culture, but they needed to help people in a Hispanic community. Carlos Albizu Miranda himself faced this problem after studying in the U.S.
Puerto Rico was changing a lot in the 1960s. It was becoming more industrial, moving from farms to cities. This led to new social issues like confusion and violence. The population grew to almost three million people. But there were only five trained psychologists to help everyone.
Carlos Albizu Miranda wanted to create a psychology program in Puerto Rico. This program would teach students how to help people from different cultures. It would also train more psychologists to meet the growing needs.
After trying for two years to work with the University of Puerto Rico, Albizu Miranda decided to start his own school. On August 1, 1966, he officially opened the Puerto Rico Institute of Psychology. The first students started classes in 1967.
Later, in 1980, Albizu Miranda opened a campus in Miami, Florida. He saw a similar need for culturally aware psychology training there, because of the large Hispanic population. In January 2000, the two main campuses joined together. They were named Carlos Albizu University to honor their founder. Today, the university is usually called Albizu University.
Albizu University Campuses
Albizu University has three main locations. The main campus is in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There is a branch campus in Miami, Florida. There is also an extension of the San Juan Campus in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Each campus has a special clinic. These clinics offer mental health services and help with speech and language. They serve the local community. They also give students a place to get real-world training.
San Juan Campus
The San Juan Campus is in the middle of Puerto Rico's capital city. It was the first independent school for psychology in North America. Carlos Albizu Miranda based the school on European psychology institutes. In these institutes, students learned by doing and by working in internships. Today, the San Juan Campus has over 1,600 students. It also has its own training clinic on campus.
Students at San Juan
In Fall 2019, the San Juan Campus had 483 undergraduate students. It also had 1,145 students in graduate programs. Most students (93%) are from Puerto Rico. The other 7% come from other parts of the United States.
Albizu Clinic in San Juan
The Albizu Clinic is a non-profit organization connected to the university. It helps children, teenagers, and adults in San Juan with their mental health. This clinic is also where graduate students from Albizu University get hands-on experience. Students in the Psy.D. and Ph.D. Clinical Psychology programs can do their internships here.
The clinic also helps children and adults with speech and language issues. This includes problems like autism, speaking difficulties, and developmental delays. Graduate students in the Speech and Language Pathology program work closely with trained experts.
Miami Campus
The Miami Campus is in the Miami, Florida, area. It offers many different programs for students. These programs are in fields like psychology, education, speech and language, and criminal justice. They also teach English to speakers of other languages (ESOL).
Goodman Psychological Services Center
The Goodman Psychological Services Center opened in 1980. It is a private, non-profit mental health center supported by Albizu University. It helps children, teenagers, and adults in South Florida. The Goodman Center is also a training site for Albizu psychology and speech/language students. It has a special internship program for doctorate students in clinical psychology.
Since it started, the Goodman Center has helped almost 15,000 people. Many of these people might not have gotten help otherwise. This is because of reasons like money problems, no insurance, or not speaking English well. The Goodman Center also works with the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. They do special evaluations for students. Services are offered in both English and Spanish.
Mayagüez University Center
In January 2015, Albizu University opened a new location in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. This center is part of the San Juan Campus. It was created to offer classes and health services to the western part of Puerto Rico. It is called the Mayagüez University Center. It has programs in psychology and speech and language pathology. The center also has a clinic. This clinic gives students practice and helps the community.
The Mayagüez University Center is located in the city of Mayagüez.
Students at Mayagüez
In Fall 2019, the Mayagüez University Center had 80 undergraduate students. It also had 359 students in graduate programs. Most students (95%) are from Puerto Rico. The other 5% come from other parts of the United States.
Albizu Clinic in Mayagüez
The Albizu Clinic at the Mayagüez University Center helps children, teenagers, and adults. It provides mental health and speech and language services to the community. This clinic also serves as a place for Albizu graduate students to get practical training.
See also
In Spanish: Universidad Carlos Albizu para niños
