Heather Frederick, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Psychology
Dr. Heather R. Frederick earned both her Ph.D. and her M.A. in Social/Developmental Psychology at Brandeis University with
concentration in quantitative methods in psychology and lifespan development. Her B.A. in Psychology is from San Diego State
University
Frederick's extensive experience in the online learning community was preceeded by a teaching post at San Diego State University NS employment
as a research analyst for a private health care company. She also ran her own independent consulting business. Immediately prior to joining Northcentral
University she served as an Associate Director for Student Research at an online graduate institution. During her time there she developed a
deep passion for assisting graduate learners in realizing the completion of their degree. Thus, she studied barriers to degree completion and
launched initiatives that sought to remove or lessen common reasons learners sometimes become “stuck” at the dissertation stage of graduate education.
Dr. Frederick thoroughly enjoys mentoring all levels of student research, from undergraduate honor theses to dissertations,
and her favorite courses to teach are statistics and research design.
She has been involved in community-based interventions for over 16 years; her research interests include chronic pain, social support,
control beliefs, exercise behavior, ethnic disparities in health, successful aging, and online learning. She has collaborated on
articles published in peer-reviewed journals, technical manuals, and numerous professional presentations.
Dr. Frederick is dedicated to being a part of the movement that seeks to offer educational opportunities without the barriers
typically associated with traditional brick and mortar institutions. As Associate Professor of Research, she is intimately
involved in dissertation research at NCU.
Dr. Frederick joined the NCU team in 2008. A native Southern Californian, she currently resides in Prescott Valley, Arizona.
Her three-year-old twin daughters, who share her love of music, keep her busy. When time allows, she hopes to one day
rekindle hobbies that include swing dancing, inline skating, and reading entire books in one sitting. Her areas of research interest include
chronic pain, social support & strain, control beliefs, exercise behavior, ethnic disparities in health, successful aging, online learning