Faculty Fellow
Monique Major PhD
Master Instructor, Department of Psychology
Howard University
Monique's Story
Monique A. Major, Ph.D. is a Master Instructor in the Department of Psychology at Howard University. She is an alumna of Howard University where she earned her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in painting. From there, she earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Personality Psychology from Howard as well. She conducts research about creativity, its relationship to health and well-being, and creative identity development. Of particular interest is the critical and protective role of the arts for Black survival and well-being throughout the diaspora.
She began teaching at Howard in 2018 and has taught graduate and undergraduate courses including Statistics I, Statistics II, Seminar on Mental Health & The Arts, Research Design & Analysis, Social & Personality Development Seminar, Advanced Seminar on Qualitative Methods and Introduction to Psychology. In 2023, Dr. Major won an outstanding teaching award from Howard University’s College of Arts and Sciences. The same year she was awarded Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library Richard A. Long/HBCU Fellowship.
Dr. Major coauthored a book chapter about innovative teaching methods for Intro to Psychology courses. It will be published in 2025 by Edward Elgar Publishing. Other coauthored research is published in the Journal of Human Behavior and the Social Environment. She presented her research at the Association for Psychological Science, American Art Therapy Association, Association for Black Psychologists, American Association for Service Coordinators, and other local conferences.
In addition to researching creativity and the arts, she is also a visual artist. She co-owns Alice & Daisy's Kin, a Philadelphia based-design house, that offers design services and art instruction for people at varying skill levels. In 2026, they will be opening a community art center in the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood. The center will feature a space for classes and workshops, studio spaces for visual artists, and an art therapy suite. Dr. Major is a proud Philadelphia native with South Carolina roots.
Monique's Research
Quilts for the Heart: Using Quilting to Share Hypertension Experiences
Quilts are tangible networks formed from fabric and thread that meet physical and/or financial needs, but they often hold metaphors, symbols and codes that convey cultural, social, and political messages. The purpose of this project is to explore how quilts were and can be used to document and understand how hypertension health knowledge is transferred within family networks in Washington, D.C. People living in Wards 7 and 8 will be asked to participate in quilting circles where they discuss and document through their quilts their diagnostic journeys and lived experiences with hypertension. The quilts and results from the study will be featured in an exhibit.