ADMISSIONS FAQ
The following are some questions that we often get from prospective students about our program. These will be questions that you cannot find the answers to anywhere else on the website. If any of the following does not answer a question or concern that you have, please email the SP program head here. To submit new questions, you may also email the website manager here.
Do I need to take the GRE Subject Test in Psychology?
What does my GRE score/GPA have to be to get in?
What are the pre-requisites for applying to the program?
Can you apply to more than one psychology subprogram at CUNY in the same year?
How long does it take to get through the program?
Can I go to the program in Social/Personality psychology part-time?
Can I transfer credits?
Where can I find information about tuition and financial aid?
What are my funding options?
What do I do about financial aid?
Should I contact an individual faculty member to inquire about working with him or her?
Can I work with more than one mentor?
If I am assigned a mentor, do I have to stay with them?
Will I be published once I graduate?
Where are people usually placed once they graduate?
I am an International Student, who can I talk to about my application?
What research opportunities are available?
What is the theoretical orientation of the program?
Do I need to take the GRE Subject Test in Psychology?
The GRE subject test is recommended but not required.
What does my GRE score/GPA have to be to get in?
Obviously, the higher your score the better your chances, but we do evaluate each application very carefully and qualitatively. The most accurate information we can give is that most students have GRE scores above 650 on each section and high GPAs (over 3.2), but there are always exceptions.
GRE scores are good for five years. Please make sure you take the GRE so that the scores arrive by the January second deadline. Do not send GRE scores directly to the clinical program. YOUR GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATION SCORES MUST BE SENT TO THE GRADUATE CENTER, 365 FIFTH AVENUE, and NOT to The City College. The ETS Code number for The Graduate Center (CUNY) is R2113-9. The TOEFL number is the same.
What are the pre-requisites for applying to the program?
We require a major in psychology or substantial course work including Social Psychology, Research Methods and Statistics. In addition, the general GRE is required and the Psychology GRE highly recommended. There are many students in our program who have undergraduate degrees in subjects other than psychology, so that in itself is not a problem; in fact, we like to see a diversity of backgrounds. However, all applicants must take at least 15 undergraduate credits in psychology.
Can you apply to more than one psychology subprogram at CUNY in the same year?
Unfortunately, you cannot apply to more than one subprogram at a time. In order to apply to more than one CUNY program in a year you would have to have received an official rejection from one program before applying to another, if they are still reviewing applications.
How long does it take to get through the program?
Typically four years of courses, 60 credits; plus the first doctoral examination, second year project, second doctoral examination, dissertation proposal meeting, dissertation defense.
Can I go to the program in Social/Personality psychology part-time?
No, this is a full-time program. Although most students work in addition to the funding they receive from the Graduate Center, we expect students to be full time for years one and two. Classes are usually held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays all day. Many students continue to work part-time throughout the program despite this schedule.
The only credits that are transferable to our PhD program are graduate-level classes (either Master's or PhD-level). The maximum number of graduate credits that you can transfer in is 12; transfer credits are always at the discretion of the director. Those credits generally go to elective courses because everyone receives the same, required, training.
Where can I find information about tuition and financial aid?
Please visit The Graduate Center's Financing Your Studies web page for current tuition and fee information: http://www.gc.cuny.edu/prospective_students/viewbook/master_finance.htm
Financial aid for doctoral matriculants consists of fellowships, grants, assistantships, loans, and college work-study assignments. Special fellowships for minority students are also available.
We encourage students to apply for pre-doctoral fellowships prior to acceptance. Once at the Graduate Center there are varied fellowships, including Teaching Fellowships, Science Fellowships and Graduate Fellowships available. Please see the CUNY Graduate Center website on Fellowships.
There are a number of ways in which students receive funding to cover full or partial tuition costs. They include University Fellowship awards as described above. In addition, students who receive multi-year financial aid packages, including Enhanced Chancellor's Fellowships, Chancellor’s Fellowships, or Science Fellowships, receive full in-state tuition during each year of the award. Students who receive Gilleece or MAGNET Fellowships receive full in-state tuition in each year of their award or out-of-state tuition paid up to a limit of 12 credits per semester. In-state tuition awards are also available to Ph.D. students who are adjuncts or hold a Graduate Assistantship A or B at an undergraduate CUNY campus and who are within their first then semesters of study at the Graduate Center.
What do I do about financial aid?
We make every effort to provide some form of financial support to every student who needs it. But the availability of financial aid may depend on circumstances beyond our control, and so we cannot guarantee it on a blanket basis. In general, any applicant who is interested in receiving financial aid should send in the financial aid form that is included in the application package. All applicants need to wait until they have been accepted to the clinical psych program in order to apply for specific teaching or research positions. (Also, just so you know, it is usually not possible for students to begin teaching until their second year in the program.) If you do earn admission to CUNY's program, we will inform you of any paperwork necessary in order to apply for these positions. For more information, please go here.
Should I contact an individual faculty member to inquire about working with him or her?
Once students are admitted, they have the opportunity to explore the research activities of as many faculty members as they like and can choose to work with whichever faculty members have a mutual interest. You may contact an individual faculty member as an applicant but you are applying to the program, not to work with a specific person. In many programs, students are admitted specifically to work with a particular faculty member, and that faculty member virtually chooses the student on his or her own. Our admissions process is very different. All applicants are considered by the entire admissions committee and are compared to all other applicants to provide us with a strong and diverse incoming class.
Can I work with more than one mentor?
Yes. In the first year, students will participate in a Research Apprenticeship with their advisor. Once students begin work on their second year project, we encourage students to work with one or more than one mentor. The faculty are extremely diverse. They represent a range of theoretical perspectives, methodological orientations and approaches to research. Students are encouraged to develop close working relationships with mentor(s), participate in their labs/research groups and publish with varied faculty.
If I am assigned a mentor, do I have to stay with them?
Students are assigned an advisor for the first year and then are invited to remain with, select another or involve an additional mentor for subsequent work.
Will I be published once I graduate?
Students are encouraged to join ongoing research projects and then initiate independent research. In all of these projects, they are expected to publish. Please review students’ and professors’ CVs and you will notice varied publications with multiple authors. The program has an explicit commitment to students’ broad access to involvement in diverse research projects, opportunities to publish and teaching prior to graduation.
Where are people usually placed once they graduate?
Most graduates have secured faculty positions in Psychology departments, Sexuality Studies, Human Development, Women’s Studies, Medical Schools and Schools of Education. Many have been awarded post-doctoral fellowships. Some work for not for profit organizations, think tanks, community agencies or corporate positions.
I am an International Student, who can I talk to about my application?
The program welcomes applications from international students. If you have a question regarding the admissions process you should contact the Graduate Center admissions office at admissions@gc.cuny.edu. If you have questions regarding specifics about whatr life will be like if you are admitted to the program you should contact the Office of International Students at the Graduate Center: intstugc@gc.cuny.edu. In addition, we have a number of international students presently in our program who have volunteered to consult with applicants from their countries. They have direct experience with the questions and ambiguities that may arise in both directions and are happy to assist you in clarifying for you the nature of our own requirements and clarifying for the admissions committee the nature of your own experience and credentials. If you would like to check if there is a student in our program from your country, you may send an email to clinicalphdinfo@ccny.cuny.edu with the subject line ‘International Student’ and someone will get back to you at his or her earliest convenience.
What research opportunities are available?
Students in the program have a variety of opportunities both on and off campus to participate in research. Some students participate actively in research projects conducted by individual faculty members and varied research teams and Centers at the Graduate Center and throughout NYC. Others take advantage of the wealth of opportunities that are available in New York. In recent years, for example, students have worked in research projects with schools, health care facilities, youth development organizations, prison reform groups, international human rights organizations, evaluation and research not for profits, and community based organizations.
What is the theoretical orientation of the program?
The social/personality program focuses upon the history of psychology, classic and critical theory within social/personality psychology, wide exposure to varied research methods and practices and a commitment to research for social change. Students take classes across the three theoretical concentrations of Identity and Lives, Intergroup Relations and Social (In)justice. All of our courses take seriously the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, disability and other axes of inequality as they affect the lives we live, the communities in which we participate, the structural conditions in which we develop and the social movements we engage to create change.