INSTITUTE OF PSYCHOLOGY

Table of Contents

The Institute of Psychology is the first institution of higher education that enabled students to obtain a degree in Psychology. Every year, from its founding to the present day, the Institute faculty has been educating tens of students – future psychologists, many of whom have become quite successful in their chosen profession. The idea to found an Institute of Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje as an independent academic unit goes back to the 1960s. According to the information at our disposal, this idea was discussed on two occasions during the Teachers’ Councils at the Faculty of Philosophy – once on January 14, 1969, and then on February 20, 1973, at the initiative of professor Risto Gjorgjevski, PhD, who, in fact, became the first Department Chair. The first curriculum for the studies in Psychology was prepared in 1974, and the academic year 1974/75 marked the start of the academic activity of the then Department of Psychology, today known as the Institute of Psychology.

The Psychology group of study began its activity with one full professor, one assistant professor, one lecturer, and three teaching assistants. In the second year of its existence, in 1976, two more teaching assistants joined the faculty – Ružica Keramičieva and Ilina Todorova; in 1977 – Miroslava Nikolovska was taken on, and in 1978 – Linka Kjostarova-Unkovska. These teaching assistants, as well as the TA Blagoja Janakov, MA, who joined in 1988, received their education in Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. The other teaching assistants, who joined the faculty later, were graduates of Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje. From time to time, renowned experts and adjuncts were engaged to hold lectures, such as Kiro Popovski, MA, specialist in clinical psychology, Julka Zdravkovska, Dragoslav Kopačev, PhD, and others.

The professors who contributed in the formation of the Institute of Psychology that we know today, and to whom we are greatly indebted, are professor Risto Gjorgjevski, PhD; assistant professor Naum Todoroski, PhD; professor Jakov Lazaroski, PhD; professor Tome Nikoloski, PhD; professor Zoran Stojanovski, PhD; professor Olga Murdževa-Škarić, PhD; professor Ružica Keramičieva, PhD; professor Ilina Todorova, PhD; professor Elisaveta Sardžoska, PhD; and others. From the very start of its activity, the Institute has had to engage professors from other Faculties, and as such, in the past it requested the teaching services of professors Predrag Ognenović, PhD; Aleksandar Bukvić, PhD; and Josip Berger, PhD, from the Department of Psychology at the University in Belgrade, then, professors Mikloš Biro, PhD, and Đorđe Durić, PhD, from Novi Sad; professor Ante Fulgozi, PhD, from the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, professor Vladimir Nešić, PhD, from the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš, and others.

The Institute of Philosophy has ongoing collaboration with the other institutions of higher education at our University. That collaboration is carried out through the direct involvement of certain faculty in the creation and realization of various courses. In the 46-year existence of the Institute, a number of professors have been engaged from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, such as: Risto Buzalkov, PhD; Milka Šopova, PhD, Petar Angelovski, PhD; Jordanka Dimovska, PhD; Živko Sekovski, PhD; Icko Gjorgoski, PhD; and Gordana Dimeska, PhD; as well as eight faculty from the Medical Faculty: Stefan Stefanovski, PhD; Stojan Aleksievski, PhD; Vitomir Micev, PhD; Georgi Čadlovski, PhD; Vesna Pejovska Gerazova, PhD; Marija Raleva, PhD; Antoni Novotni, PhD, and Branimir Stefanovski, PhD.

There is continued interest in the study of Psychology among the younger generations. In that context, it is clear that it is the students who are the principal figures at the Institute of Psychology. They secure the highest academic achievements during their studies as compared with the other students at the Faculty of Philosophy, and, at the same time, they are the best high school seniors in terms of GPA scores when applying for admission to the Faculty of Philosophy. Many of them continue to achieve success in the post-graduate and doctoral studies at numerous renowned universities abroad. These students display a readiness to pose critical questions, show open-mindedness and a desire to learn, and are a genuine pleasure to teach.

Besides the four-year undergraduate program at the Institute of Psychology within the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje, upon the completion of which the students have acquired 240 ECTS credits, and a degree in Psychology, there is also a one-year post-graduate program (60 ECTS credits), as well as a three-year doctoral studies program. The post-graduate studies are, in fact, master’s studies in Psychology, upon the completion of which the candidate obtains an MA in Psychology. Upon the completion of the three-year doctoral studies, the candidates acquire 180 ECTS credits, and become a PhD in Psychology.

The fast-paced advances in psychology worldwide are followed by the Institute, who make changes to the course curricula on an ongoing basis, adding new, contemporary titles to the reading lists, while the course programs at all three levels of studies are regularly updated in order to keep up with all the new trends in the study of psychology. The members of the Institute of Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy have initiated and have been involved in the realization of numerous projects, and have participated in a number of symposiums, congresses, and round table discussions in the country and abroad. In addition, they have authored a number of papers published in national and international journals and collections, monographs, and course books in different areas of the study of psychology.

At the moment, the teaching staff at the Institute of Psychology is composed of 12 members, all of whom are making contributions in the further growth of the study of psychology in the country. The current faculty of the Institute is made up of the following full-time professors: Violeta Petroska-Beška, PhD; Violeta Arnaudova, PhD; Mihajlo Popovski, PhD; Elena Ačkovska-Leškovska, PhD; Nikolina Kenig, PhD; Ognen Spasovski, PhD; Orhideja Šurbanovska, PhD; Katerina Naumova, PhD; Ana Frichand, PhD, Biljana Blaževska Stoilkovska, PhD; as well as assоciate professor Kalina Sotiroska Ivanovska and assistant professor Filip Sulejmanov, PhD.