Critical Social/Personality Psychology

At the center of this work is our strong, interdisciplinary, and collaborative community cultivated at the intersection of the academy and public life. We inhabit many communities – those concerned with social and environmental justice, place and public life, identity, and community. We are committed to the idea that, as psychologists, our social inquiry can contribute to social justice and human welfare. By doing so, we hope to contribute to a vital and engaged social psychology.

Many faculty at the Graduate Center also serve as faculty at other CUNY campuses (e.g., Hunter, Queens, Brooklyn, College of Staten Island, Kingsborough Community College, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice). They draw from a number of disciplines and interdisciplinary programs (e.g., anthropology, sociology, education, social work, geography, American studies, gender/women’s studies, and Africana studies). In addition, our program often benefits from visiting faculty from other universities in the USA and abroad. All doctoral and visiting faculty are encouraged to participate fully in the life of the program as advisors, teachers, and research supervisors for Ph.D. students.

From the first-year forward, students engage in intensive studies and collaborations with faculty and students from other cohorts. Doctoral students are invited to become actively involved in all phases of faculty research. They are encouraged to develop their own research foci and work with several faculty members to enjoy a diverse range of research experiences. Most students are also deeply involved with our community, community-based organizations, and social movements within and beyond CUNY and New York City.

Our program is designed so that students will develop deep discipline-based knowledge and skills along with a broad, interdisciplinary exposure to social science history, theory, and diverse methodologies. Toward this end, students have the opportunity to take courses across psychology as well as in other disciplines represented at the Graduate Center (e.g., history, sociology, English, geography, criminal justice, urban education, social welfare, public health, anthropology, women’s studies); enroll in courses at several other universities via the Graduate Center’s consortia arrangement with other universities in New York City (see the Graduate Center Student Handbook); and/or pursue concentrations that include qualitative methods, quantitative methods, health psychology, Women’s Studies, Africana Studies, New Media Studies, and/or take courses at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies.

Doctoral candidates at the CUNY Graduate Center can gain certification in such interdisciplinary areas as Women’s Studies and Advanced Social Science Methods as well as pursue the Qualitative and Quantitative Methods Concentrations. They can also participate in Graduate Center-based research centers such as: the Center for Human Environments (CHE), the Center for Urban Education, the Center for Lesbian/Gay/Queer Studies (CLAGS), the Center of African American and Caribbean Diaspora (IRADAC), Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, and the New Media Lab.