Pace University Offers PhD in School Psychology

Pace University is adding an advanced degree to its offerings --- a new doctoral program in School Psychology on its New York City campus.

The Department of Psychology launched the program this fall, in part, to meet the growing demand for school psychologists. With a greater awareness of mental health and the importance of supporting students emotionally, socially and academically, school psychologists play an important role in learning. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the field to grow by 8 percent over the next decade.

“The PhD in School Psychology is an invaluable degree that prepares skilled professionals to meet the needs of the public,” said Tresmaine R. Grimes, dean, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences and School of Education. “With a special focus on the developmental processes of children and youth within the context of schools, families, and other systems, this program will provide our graduates the training and knowledge required to address a range of psychological services that serve as an integral component in support of the mental well-being of our children, which is greatly needed in today’s world.”

Housed in the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, the program is designed to train school psychologists who are equipped to assume leadership, academic and research roles within the field. The program will train students to conduct research, provide indirect service delivery in areas such as preventive mental health and program development and evaluation, and function as doctoral-level school psychologists. It is designed to provide education and training in school psychology within a scientist-practitioner model.

“Graduates of the program will be critical forces in identifying the mental health needs of youth, families, and schools during and after the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Anastasia Yasik, PhD, program director and psychology professor. “They will not only be equipped to identify risk but will also be skilled in establishing and evaluating programs to address these risk factors. In addition, our graduates will be key players in combatting issues of social injustice within schools and communities.”

“I decided to pursue Pace University’s PhD in School Psychology because of the resources they provide to prepare students for the field and the opportunity to learn from renowned faculty,” said Ji Hoon Park, first-year student. “With their extensive experience and knowledge, Pace faculty help students integrate their interests into thesis and dissertation topics that are relevant to current trends in research.”

These doctoral-level, licensed school psychologists will be called upon to develop prevention as well as intervention services, provide supervisory services, and consult with educators, other healthcare providers, and parents. The program’s curriculum will provide students with the education, experience, and training necessary to provide first-rate school psychological services.

Students will gain the skills to address educational and developmental problems bearing upon school achievement, adjustment, specific disabilities/disorders, chronic or acute situations or conditions that influence learning or mental health, school crises, and difficult social conditions that elevate risk to healthy development. The program prepares students to develop competencies in psychological assessment, measurement, and intervention, act in accordance with professional values consistent with the highest ethical standards, properly use and benefit from supervision, and implement evidence-supported practices in intervention.

Through the promotion of research and scholarship by faculty and students, the PhD in School Psychology program will broaden the scope of knowledge in school psychology by addressing individual, group, and system issues along with biological, developmental, environmental, psychological, and social factors affecting well-being. The program emphasizes scientific research pertinent to the recognition of distinctions among, and effective preventions and interventions for, young individuals facing the many types of risk that compromise developmental potential. Graduates will also be equipped to analyze efficacy in the educational system, as well as pediatric healthcare and other systems, and to inform policy creation in education and mental health care.

Graduates of this program will have opportunities for professional careers in teaching, research, and educational settings. They also will be qualified to function as licensed psychologists and certified school psychologists.

The PhD Program in School Psychology joins the Psychology Department’s long-standing, highly regarded, APA-accredited PsyD Program in School-Clinical-Child Psychology and recently approved PhD in Clinical Psychology (Health Emphasis). The PhD program is open to applicants with a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree who show evidence of potential to excel in realms of scientific research and practice.

For more information about the program, visit the website. To learn more, please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at (212) 346-1531.

About Dyson College of Arts and Science’s Department of Psychology (NYC)

A leader in the field of education and professional training, the Department of Psychology (New York City downtown campus) offers a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and an MA in Psychology with three research tracks: Behavioral and Social Sciences, Global Psychology, and Industrial and Organizational Psychology. An MSEd in School Psychology, as well as a PsyD in School-Clinical-Child Psychology, PhD in School Psychology, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology (Health Emphasis) are offered.

About Dyson College

Pace University’s liberal arts college, Dyson College offers more than 50 programs, spanning the arts and humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and pre-professional programs (including pre-medicine, pre-veterinary, and pre-law), as well as many courses that fulfill core curriculum requirements. The College offers access to numerous opportunities for internships, cooperative education and other hands-on learning experiences that complement in-class learning in preparing graduates for career and graduate/professional education choices. Visit .

About Pace University

Since 1906, Pace University has educated thinking professionals by providing high quality education for the professions on a firm base of liberal learning amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university, Pace has campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, enrolling nearly 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lubin School of Business, College of Health Professions, School of Education, School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.