Curriculum

PhD, Psychology and Social Intervention

How to Apply
PhD, Psychology and Social Intervention

The 51- to 66-credit PhD Program in Psychology and Social Intervention is a research-intensive program that prepares you to understand processes that occur in schools, communities, workplaces, organizations and other settings in order to transform and maximize growth, development, and thriving. Throughout the program, you will learn theories and methods for understanding and assessing social settings, systems, and policies; creating, improving, implementing and evaluating prevention and intervention programs; and understanding various forms of diversity and structural inequality among individuals, institutions, communities, and societies. 

Core Course Sequence

Courses in the PhD in Psychology and Social Intervention core curriculum cover the principles needed to understand human development, social change, psychological and social intervention strategies and tactics, and the understanding and measurement of social contexts. In addition, you will take a sequence of at least three courses that provide comprehensive training in quantitative and qualitative methods required to conduct rigorous research in psychology and social intervention. You will also have the opportunity to participate in a one-year-long practicum in a government, research or community-based organization as a part of the core curriculum.

Sample Electives

You have the opportunity to take methodology and specialty electives. Methodology electives may include advanced statistics offerings, mixed methods design, or qualitative research methods. Specialty electives include course offerings by program faculty on various aspects of intervention and social change, and courses on a substantive area of specialization chosen by the student (e.g., feminist studies, school-based/educational issues, women’s health, and criminal justice).

Culminating Experience

The doctoral dissertation represents the culmination of your doctoral training in the form of an independent piece of scholarship. The dissertation should represent a unique, valuable, and rigorous contribution to research in the area of Psychology and Social Intervention. A breadth of methodologies may be used to fulfill the dissertation requirement. You can choose between submitting a chapter-based dissertation and submitting a dissertation that includes a minimum of two empirical papers alongside an overarching introduction and conclusion that ties them together.

Program Requirements

Students with a Master’s degree will complete a minimum of 51 and a maximum of 66 credits, based on their primary mentor’s advice, while students with a Bachelor’s degree must complete a total of 66 credits.

Course Title Credits
Core Requirements
Foundations Requirement
APSY-GE 3009Departmental Seminar: Theories of Change in Applied Psychology3
APSY-GE 2094Development & Prevention Science:3
or APSY-GE 2826 Intervention and Social Change
APSY-GE 2825Understand and Measuring Social Contexts of Development3
Methodology Requirement
APSY-GE 3073Research Design and Methodology in the Behavioral Sciences I3
Select an additional 6-15 credits in consultation with a faculty advisor. Options include:6-15
APSTA-GE 2001
Statistics for the Social and Behavioral Sciences I
APSTA-GE 2002
Applied Linear Modeling for the Behavioral and Social Sciences
APSTA-GE 2003
Interm Quantitative Methods: General Linear Model
APSTA-GE 2004
Introductory Statistical Inference in R
APSTA-GE 2012
Causal Inference
APSTA-GE 2013
Missing Data
APSY-GE 2524
Psychological Measurement
APSY-GE 2604
Running Field Experiments in Education
APSY-GE 2835
Research: Using Mixed Methods
INTE-GE 2007
Qualitative Methods in International Education
INTE-GE 2008
Quantitative Methods in International Education
PSYCH-GA 2229
Regression
PSYCH-GA 2239
Anova
PSYCH-GA 2248
Methods for The Analysis of Change
Core Electives
Select 2 additional courses relevant to training goals. Options include:6
Child Development and Social Policy in a Global Society
Women and Mental Health
Development of Immigrant Origin Youth
Intervention and Social Change
Risk and Resilience
Culture, Context, and Psychology
Conflict Analysis and Resolution
Social Psychology, Intervention, and Social Change
Specialty Area
Select 9 credits in a specialty area. See Policies for more information on specialty areas.9
Practica
APSY-GE 2827Practicum in Intervention-Research or Policy-Research I3
APSY-GE 2828Practicum in Intervention-Research of Policy-Research II3
Research and Program Seminars
Research Seminar
The course below is repeated, for credit, for a total of 6 credits6
APSY-GE 2839
Project Research Seminar: PSI
PSI Program Seminar
The course below is repeated, for credit, for 3-12 credits3-12
APSY-GE 2830
Advanced Seminar in Psychology and Social Intervention
Total Credits66

Additional Program Requirements

Research Experience

Students are required to participate on the research team of a PSI faculty member (or another Applied Psychology faculty, by program approval), beginning the first semester of their first year. Students are expected to allocate at least half of their time (20 hours per week) to this activity. By year 3, in line with our training expectations to be exposed to more than one project, students should spend a minimum of 5 hours (of the 20 hours per week) working with another research mentor (within or outside of the program by approval of primary research mentor). Students are free to transition onto new research teams throughout their doctoral training.

Milestones

Second Year Paper

All students in the program are required to complete an empirical paper at the end of the 2nd year of their doctoral training as their first milestone in the program.

Comprehensive Exam

The purpose of the Comprehensive Examination is to demonstrate students’ abilities to engage in the depth, breadth, and creativity of thought necessary for social scientists in psychology and social intervention. The comprehensive examination consists of two parts:

  1. Empirical research critique: The purpose of the Empirical Research Critique is for PSI faculty to certify that Ph.D. candidates have developed the ability to a) critically evaluate specific aspects of the conceptualization and methodology of selected articles and b) make recommendations for redesign and improvement. It is expected that Ph.D. students will develop both knowledge of content and advanced quantitative and qualitative methods in order to critically assess research during the Empirical Research Critique. 
  2. Specialty area paper: The objective of Specialty Area Paper is to produce a critical and integrative review of the theoretical and empirical knowledge base regarding research question(s) that are relevant to psychology and social intervention

Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Defense

The doctoral dissertation represents the culmination of your doctoral training in the form of an independent piece of scholarship. The dissertation should represent a unique, valuable, and rigorous contribution to research in the area of Psychology and Social Intervention. A breadth of methodologies may be used to fulfill the dissertation requirement. You can choose between submitting a chapter-based dissertation and submitting a dissertation that includes a minimum of two empirical papers alongside an overarching introduction and conclusion that ties them together. The doctoral dissertation has two phases: the doctoral dissertation proposal and doctoral dissertation defense.

Sample Plan of Study

Plan of Study Grid
1st Semester/TermCredits
APSY-GE 3009 Departmental Seminar: Theories of Change in Applied Psychology 3
APSY-GE 3073 Research Design and Methodology in the Behavioral Sciences I 3
APSY-GE 2830 Advanced Seminar in Psychology and Social Intervention 3
APSY-GE 2839 Project Research Seminar: PSI 0
Research Methods/Statistics 3
 Credits12
2nd Semester/Term
APSY-GE 2825 Understand and Measuring Social Contexts of Development 3
APSY-GE 2830 Advanced Seminar in Psychology and Social Intervention 3
APSY-GE 2839 Project Research Seminar: PSI 3
Research Methods/Statistics 3
 Credits12
3rd Semester/Term
Research Methods/Statistics 3
Specialty Area Course 3
APSY-GE 2830 Advanced Seminar in Psychology and Social Intervention 3
APSY-GE 2839 Project Research Seminar: PSI 0
PSI Core Elective 3
 Credits12
4th Semester/Term
APSY-GE 2094 Development & Prevention Science: 3
Specialty Area Course 3
APSY-GE 2830 Advanced Seminar in Psychology and Social Intervention 3
APSY-GE 2839 Project Research Seminar: PSI 3
 Credits12
5th Semester/Term
Research Methods/Statistics 3
PSI Core Elective 3
APSY-GE 2827 Practicum in Intervention-Research or Policy-Research I 3
 Credits9
6th Semester/Term
Research Methods/Statistics 3
Specialty Area Course 3
APSY-GE 2828 Practicum in Intervention-Research of Policy-Research II 3
 Credits9
 Total Credits66

Following completion of the required coursework for the PhD, students are expected to maintain active status at New York University by enrolling in a research/writing course or a Maintain Matriculation (MAINT-GE 4747) course.  All non-course requirements must be fulfilled prior to degree conferral, although the specific timing of completion may vary from student-to-student.

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