From MA Psychology CCNY – October 2019
Sebastian Cordoba
MA General Psychology, 2016
Doctoral candidate, De Montfort University
“I truly believe that I made the most out of my time as an MA student at CCNY: I took courses that enriched my research skills; I had the opportunity to teach undergraduate courses, such as Applied Statistics and Lifespan Development; and I had the opportunity to be mentored by Dr. Vivien Tartter, the director of the MA program, whose research and teaching experience closely resembled mine.”
Before starting studying General Psychology at CCNY, Sebastian taught English as a second language, first in South Korea and later in Japan. This experience ignited his desire to do research in the psychology of language and identity, which he briefly explored while working on his BA in Human Development at California State University Long Beach.
Sebastian took courses such as Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, and Psycholinguistics taught by Dr. Tartter. With her guidance, he was able to develop a research plan for his master’s thesis, which focused on the general effects of second language learning on sexual identity among self-identified gay Japanese individuals who learned English as a second language. This thesis was awarded first place at the 9th CCNY annual graduate student research symposium.
In the summer (2018), Sebastian went back to CCNY to teach a summer course entitled ‘Psychology of Gender and Sexuality,’ which he proposed and developed for the Psychology Department.
Sebastian is currently a PhD candidate in Psychology at De Montfort University in the United Kingdom exploring the psychology of language and identity. His doctoral research at DMU – which was awarded a 3-year full scholarship – aims to gain a better understanding of the psychological, linguistic, and social experiences of non-binary people living in the UK.
Dr Sebastian Cordoba 