General FAQs for prospective students:
Thank you for your interest in the Psychology and Social Intervention (PSI) PhD program in the Applied Psychology department at NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. The admission process can be daunting and we appreciate your personal inquiries and questions about the program. To make the admission process equitable, I am providing prospective applicants with general - and equal - information about what our program looks for in a PhD applicant.
Where can I get information on the doctoral admission process?
You can get all the information on the PSI program here: https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/programs/psychology-and-social-intervention. The program holds an online information session for all prospective students where faculty and students discuss general topics about the program, including the admission requirements, research conducted by members of our research program, funding packages, among other things. This will also be a great opportunity for you to ask questions to students and faculty about the program. You can check the website for the dates and times of the information sessions and to rsvp as well.
An important distinction between our program and other programs is that faculty members in the program do not directly admit students. Instead, the admissions committee pays close attention to the match between the candidate and the program as a whole to decide on whether to admit a prospective student.
Where can I get more information about your work?
For more information on my research, you are welcome to check this website. Please note that this website is updated as of October, 2024 and thus provides you with a good sense of my ongoing research projects and publications (including those in preparation or under review). This will give you a sense of the kind of topics I am interested in and give you insight into whether our research interests align.
You can also access my Google Scholar page which has updated information on published work.
Are you able to discuss my interests/ application prior to my acceptance?
For practical and ethical reasons, I do not communicate or meet (either in person, via zoom, or on the phone) with prospective applicants prior to admission. In addition, I do not read draft personal statements or other materials outside the department admissions process. On the practical front, faculty receive numerous inquires from prospective applicants throughout the academic year and simply cannot make time to respond substantively to prospective applicants. On the ethical front, I believe strongly in leveling the playing field and do not wish to favor students who have received advice on how to connect with prospective advisors or who have connections to me via my research network. Furthermore, personal connections with faculty may not really yield that much benefit as our program reviews applications as a whole, and individual faculty do not get to directly choose who gets admitted. Please note that before we make final decisions on who gets admitted into the program, there will be an interview day where shortlisted applicants will get to visit the campus and to have one-on-one discussions with their desired mentors, graduate students, and researchers in the department. Those who are unable to physically come to campus will still attend the interview day online.
Can you provide me with feedback if my application is unsuccessful?
Unfortunately, providing this sort of feedback is typically not possible.