Program Overview

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Introduction to the Psychology and Social Intervention PhD Program

The Psychology and Social Intervention (PSI) doctorate prepares action scientists for diverse roles in academia and social research. This program focuses on understanding, transforming, and improving the contexts and systems in which humans develop across the lifespan.

Degree Details

Official Degree Title

The official degree title is PhD in Psychology and Social Intervention.

Format

The program is offered in a full-time format.

Credits

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

Start Date

The program starts in the Fall.

Application Deadline

The application deadline is December 1.

Program Overview

The PSI program is a research-intensive degree with a strong quantitative training component. It places a strong emphasis on:

• Understanding and assessing social settings, systems, and policies
• Creating, improving, implementing, and evaluating prevention and intervention programs
• Understanding various forms of diversity and structural inequality among individuals, institutions, communities, and societies

Degree Goals and Objectives

The program aims to provide students with the framework to:

• Develop methodological skills that enable analysis of change over time and within and across levels of human ecology
• Acquire abilities to apply psychological and social science principles to the understanding of social settings, social/cultural contexts, and social and policy interventions
• Develop abilities to conceptualize, interpret, evaluate, and disseminate evidence-based social and policy interventions
• Develop the ethical, interpersonal, organizational, and technical capacities to undertake high-quality professional work in psychology and social intervention

Careers and Outcomes

The PSI doctorate trains social scientists to work in a variety of settings, understanding the experiences of people in the contexts and systems in which they develop across the lifespan, and transforming and improving these contexts and systems. Graduates are well-positioned for jobs in psychology, human development, education, public health, and public policy, as well as applied research roles in research organizations, policy institutes, social service agencies, community-based organizations, and advocacy.

Research Areas

Program faculty study a wide range of ecologies, including families, schools, neighborhoods, policy contexts, and programs, locally, nationally, and internationally. They also conduct research on how cultural factors and identities influence and interact with experiences of these ecologies and interventions.

Faculty and Mentors

The doctoral program in Psychology and Social Intervention at NYU is a small training program, paying close attention to the match between the candidate and the program's faculty and resources. Admitted students participate in a mutual matchmaking process with faculty at the start of their training to determine their initial mentor.

Funding

NYU Steinhardt offers a competitive funding package for PhD students who study full-time.

Application Guidelines

• Please review the application requirements and FAQ page for more information about the PSI program and application process.
• The GRE (both the general test and the GRE subject test) is not a requirement for applications to the Psychology and Social Intervention PhD Program.

International Students

International students may be eligible for Optional Practical Training (OPT) off-campus work authorization and the STEM OPT extension, allowing them to extend their time in the United States to pursue degree-related work experience.