Course Listing

The Clinical Psychology program at Teachers College (TC) offers three degrees: a 95-credit Ph.D. program; a 36-credit “General Track” MA program; and a 36-point “Personality and Psychopathology” MA program. Graduates from these programs seek positions in teaching, research, policy, administration, consultation, and psychotherapy; it should be noted, however, that the MA degree programs are not designed as NY-state license-eligible programs. The coordinator (Director of Clinical Training) of the PhD program is Professor Barry A. Farber; the coordinator of the MA programs is Professor Elizabeth Midlarsky.

There are 8 core (full-time) faculty members in the Clinical Psychology program, and, in any given year, 15-18 additional adjunct faculty members. The range of research interests among the full-time faculty is considerable (see individual web pages) and virtually all have published extensively, served on editorial boards of prominent journals, and held important leadership positions in the field. A recent (2007) report in the journal Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice ranked the Teachers College Clinical Psychology program 14th in the country (of 166 clinical PhD programs nationwide) based on the mean number of scholarly publications per faculty member. Based on this criterion, the TC Program was highest-ranked among the many clinical psychology programs in the New York City area.

The Ph.D. Program in Clinical Psychology has been continuously accredited by APA since accreditation began in 1947-1948. Notable graduates of the program (both before and after 1948) include Carl Rogers, Rollo May, Albert Ellis, Virginia Axline, Chaim Ginott, Perry London, Rollo May, M. Powell Lawton, and Donald Spence. The program is currently run in accord with a scientist-practitioner model of training. Its primary theoretical model is psychodynamic, although other modalities (e.g., CBT; IPT; family therapy) are included in the curriculum. The program provides rigorous training in both contemporary clinical science and clinical assessment and intervention. More specifically, this program is dedicated to training students to generate empirically-based knowledge in clinical psychology and to perform clinical work that is constantly informed by traditional and emerging scholarship in the field. We expect our students to learn to expertly produce, analyze, and discuss scientific material. We expect our students to become proficient at providing clinical services to a diverse population. And, most importantly, we expect our students to learn to integrate these goals. The program is not designed to meet the needs of those whose career goals are focused primarily on the practice of psychotherapy. 

The MA programs are appropriate both for students who have obtained undergraduate degrees in psychology and for those with a more limited background in the field. For many, these programs are of considerable help in clarifying their interest in professional psychology; for others, it is an appropriate first step toward doctoral education in the field. Thus, some graduates of these programs are now pursuing doctoral study in psychology, or degrees in other professional fields (e.g., education, law, or medicine). Others are employed as MA level mental health workers or research assistants in hospitals, research institutes, community organizations, business, and educational settings. Both tracks allow students enough elective credits to design individualized programs, including the opportunity to work with a faculty member on his or her research projects.

• Students in the General track (PsyG), many of whom have little formal background in psychology, are provided with opportunities to obtain a broad exposure to the research and applied aspects of clinical psychology.
  
• Students in the Personality and Psychopathology track (PsyA), many of whom were undergraduate psychology majors, are often interested in eventually applying to doctoral programs in the field. These students are offered introductory graduate training in adult and child psychopathology, research methods, and comparative psychotherapies.

We encourage you to utilize this website as you explore our Program.  There is a wealth of information available about our faculty, students, and programs of study, and we have attempted to design the site so that key information can be easily located.  You will notice that information about the degree programs is available through the links on the left-hand side, while announcements and events are located on the right.  Welcome and thanks for visiting!