Scott Franz

Scott Franz is working towards his calling of being a psychology professor; he wants to teach others what it means to live a good life.

Scott graduated from PLNU with a B.A. in Therapeutic and Community Psychology and is completing a research intensive M.A. in experimental psychology at Oakland University in Michigan, with his final goal being a PhD in experimental psychology.

In his Master’s program, he works in a lab studying prosocial behavior and moral development. His research is focused on how mothers talk to their children about bullying. This research is part of his interest in how behaviors helps people.

At PLNU, Scott took Dr. Michael Leffel’s capstone course called Pursuing Goodness. In this class, he says they didn’t have a textbook, instead they read a series of books on research about how to live a good life. This class made him start seriously considering his vocation, purpose, and a way he could help share what he’d learned from Jesus and all of his PLNU classes.

“Dr. Leffel was a big influence. Still I look back on what I read, and that made me realize I want to dedicate my life tho this type of work.” 

In the class, Scott read moral exemplar research. A moral exemplar is someone who is thought of being morally upstanding, often working in some kind of volunteer or humanitarian effort. The research suggested moral exemplars all have a relationship with a higher power and people who do good things feel they have a calling.

Scott was so taken with the study of moral exemplars that it’s the focus of his Master’s thesis. He’s comparing personality traits and social cognitive approaches between moral exemplars, nominated by volunteer and nonprofit organizations, to those not considered to be moral exemplars.

Scott says PLNU focused on teaching what is needed to get into graduate school. “I love the way Point Loma  was set up because I was able to make really close relationships with a few professors who I could go to with questions. I think it gave me an advantage applying to grad school, knowing what to expect and how to do the work.”

Along with his academics, Scott says he’s glad he savored the entirety of his PLNU experience. He met his wife while fixing a retaining wall as a grounds crew student worker, tried to learn to surf with his roommate, and took part in all the school sponsored activities that helped him forget that schoolwork can be stressful.