Applied Psychology (BS)

Program Description

The Bachelor of Science program in Applied Psychology is an interdisciplinary program designed to teach students to bridge psychological theory, research, and practice to solve everyday problems in a multicultural world. Applied psychologists focus on diverse issues such as learning development, and schooling, race, culture, and ethnicity, sexuality, religion, public health, and mental health and wellness. Applied psychologists work with diverse populations including children and youth, families and communities, educators, as well as practitioners and policymakers across various agencies and other organizations.

The program provides students with practical learning experiences that help them understand the range of work environments in the field of psychology and the many ways that psychology is applied in both research and real-world settings; invaluable knowledge that helps our students make informed career decisions.

The undergraduate major in Applied Psychology combines a broad-based liberal arts component with required courses in counseling/clinical work, developmental, social/community psychology, as well as statistics and research methodology.

Specialization electives enable our students to deepen their knowledge on a specific subfield of their choice within psychology or to explore an area of interest in a related discipline.

A two-semester fieldwork sequence offers students the opportunity for professional development and career exploration in research and community-based settings, which helps each student build a portfolio of experience for seeking an entry-level position or pursuing graduate study.

Students who select a supervised field experience in a community-based setting gain essential professional skills as they perform intake interviews at community centers, mentor children or adolescents in schools or after-school programs, or volunteer in hospital settings. Students who select the research option gain essential research skills such as collecting, coding, and analyzing data. Applied psychology students have participated in a number of faculty research projects, including an intervention study bridging home and school practices for culturally and linguistically diverse children, an advocacy research project with young girls who are involved with the juvenile justice system, and an intervention study serving families of youth exhibiting behavioral disorders such as ADHD and ODD.

Students have the opportunity to combine the applied and research options. All Applied Psychology majors conclude their studies with a qualitative research project that integrates the knowledge they have gained through their fieldwork experience with the psychological theory and research learned in their coursework. Select seniors have an opportunity to present their work to fellow students and faculty in a professional forum, the Applied Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference.

Double Majors & Dual Degrees

Applied Psychology majors may double major or minor in another subject. Students typically pursue a double major or minor in the social science, science, or humanities discipline they choose for their required sequence. Depending on the choice of second major or minor, students may need additional courses beyond the 128 units required for the bachelor’s degree.

See Applied Psychology for additional details.

Honors 

• Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology
• Departmental Honors: Senior Honors Seminar for selected students with at least a 3.5 GPA, culminating in an independent, data-based research project on a topic of your choice within the field of psychology under the mentorship of an Applied Psychology faculty member

Applied Psychology students with a record of exceptional achievement are welcome to apply to our Honors Program. Seniors accepted to the program are required to conduct an independent research project on a topic of their choice under the close mentorship of an Applied Psychology faculty member.

In many cases, the Honors project will be part of a larger project being worked on by a research mentor and their team. Conversely, a student might also develop an original small-scale research project to conduct under the supervision of their research mentor. Students who are accepted into the Honors program will have the opportunity to submit their project for review and presentation to the annual Undergraduate Research Conference website held late in Spring semester.

Please note: Once a student has been accepted into the Honors Program, and they have confirmed their intention to join the program, the student must continue with the program until the end of that semester.

Criteria for Acceptance into Honors Program

Each student's application will be evaluated by three blind reviewers, faculty members, who rate the application on the following areas, from a scale of one to five (5 being the best score):

• Quality of proposed project
• Feasibility of proposed project
• Relevance to the field of Applied Psychology
• Student's academic record
• Evidence of a solid relationship with the research mentor
• Evidence of mentor's commitment to the project

Graduating with Honors

All students in the Honors Program are required to take a two-semester Honors seminar. This seminar must be taken in the Fall and Spring semesters of the Senior year.

To graduate with Honors, students must have a cumulative and major GPA of at least a 3.65 at the time of graduation, as well as an A in both Honors seminars and at least an A- in Seminar in Applied Psychology I and II.

Admissions

New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU.  For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply. 

Program Requirements

The Bachelor of Science in Applied Psychology requires students to complete a total of 128 credits: 60 credits in liberal arts and 68 credits in the major. In addition to 32 credits of specified liberal arts courses, students complete a 12-credit concentration of courses in a single discipline of their choice, other than psychology. There are 16 credits of liberal arts electives that allow students to explore a variety of liberal arts subjects or to declare a minor.

The Applied Psychology major consists of 12 credits of required courses in psychology, 16 credits of core electives in psychology, 12 credits of research skills courses, 8 credits of field experiences, 8 credits of specialization electives, and 12 credits of unrestricted electives.

Note: Steinhardt requires all first-year and transfer students to enroll in SAHS-UE 1 New Student Seminar.

Dual Degree Requirements

Applied Psychology/Education Studies (BS/BA)

Applied Psychology and Education Studies offer a double major totaling 128 credits. Students have until the start of their junior year to declare this double major. Students selecting this double major follow the program of study for each major. An adviser helps students in the program to meet all requirements within the standard timeframe for graduation. This double major provides excellent preparation for careers and graduate programs in psychology, education, policy, and related areas.

Global Public Health/Applied Psychology (BS)

The Global Public Health/Applied Psychology major provides interdisciplinary training that combines psychological theory, research, and practice with public health principles with the goal of improving health outcomes among diverse populations. The undergraduate major connects with the mission of the Department of Applied Psychology to prepare students to understand and to intervene in human development across contexts and cultures.

¹

Choose one discipline other than psychology in the social sciences, sciences or humanities and take one introductory course and two advanced courses in the discipline.

²

Please visit the Applied Psychology website for a list of courses categorized by content area.

Applied Psychology/Counseling for Mental Health (BS/MA)

The program combines core courses and content electives with counseling labs and internships. In addition to undergraduate applied psychology courses, students will complete graduate courses in counseling foundations, theory and process, ethical issues, group dynamics, crosscultural counseling, abnormal psychology, and human growth and development. All students are required to complete an internship. After completing the required courses, students can seek New York State Licensure in Mental Health Counseling.

¹

Students choose a discipline other than psychology in the social sciences, sciences or humanities and take one introductory course and two advanced courses in that discipline.

Sample Plan of Study

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will:

1. Demonstrate a broad understanding of psychology as a social and behavioral science, and explore its connection to other disciplines.
2. Demonstrate a solid scientific and research background, develop critical thinking skills, and apply knowledge gained in lectures and reading to research and the practice of psychology.
3. Use effective written and oral communication skills to analyze, synthesize, and disseminate information.
4. Demonstrate readiness to enter the field as a professional as defined by the fieldwork core competencies (i.e., cognitive, behavioral, and communication).

Policies

STEM OPT Benefits for International Students

If you’re an international student, you may be able to work in the United States after graduation for an extended period of time. Most students studying on F-1 visas will be eligible for 12 months of Optional Practical Training (OPT) off-campus work authorization. F-1 students in this program may also be eligible for the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) OPT extension, allowing you to extend your time in the United States to pursue degree-related work experience for a total of 36 months or 3 years. For more information on who can apply for this extension visit NYU’s Office of Global Services: STEM OPT.

NYU Policies

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.

Steinhardt Academic Policies

Additional academic policies can be found the Steinhardt academic policies page.