Psychology

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Faculty:

Chair: C. Jacobson; Professor Emerite: P. Jirik-Babb; Professors: P. Greene,  P. Oswald; K. Zaromatidis; Associate Professors: C. Jacobson; K. Kim, O.J. Sizemore, J. Theodore,  Assistant Professors: B. Cesario, O. Huk,N. Naqvi; S. Wong-Goodrich.

The MA in Psychology, with specializations in General-Experimental and Industrial-Organization domains,has been designed for persons who are considering a career in psychology, are already employed in the field, or see themselves en route to doctoral study in psychology. The program provides a balance of theoretical, methodological and practical expertise, as well as extensive training in written and oral expression. The program is designed to provide pertinent new experiences, to enhance knowledge in substantive areas, and to facilitate maximum development of essential professional competencies and attitudes.

The department also offers the MA in School Psychology and the MA in Mental Health Counseling. The School Psychology program is accredited by the National Association for School Psychology (NASP), and is designed to prepare students to apply for New York State certification as School Psychologists. The Mental Health Counseling program is approved by New York State to fulfill the educational requirements that enables graduates to take the examination for licensure as a Mental Health Counselor. Licensed Mental Health Counselors are permitted to present themselves to the public as private practitioners and providers of counseling, psychotherapy, and assessment for counseling purposes.

The ground floor level of Doorley Hall houses the Department of Psychology. A behavioral testing laboratory is available to faculty and student researchers (under faculty supervision) for the study of human behavior and cognition, including learning and memory, perception, social cognition, decision-making, language, personality, and more. A computer laboratory with a projector system and 15 computer workstations is also available to faculty and students for course- and research-related projects, including data analyses and experimentation. Each computer is equipped with statistical software for data analysis procedures. Psychology graduate students have access to a testing library within the Department that contains a wide variety of current cognitive, achievement, social-emotional, personality, and vocational assessment measures. Students are able to borrow these materials in order to gain practice in the administration and scoring of the measures under faculty supervision throughout their course of study. Students also have access to the online scoring for many of these assessment instruments.

Goals

The graduate programs in psychology have the following student learning goals.

Knowledge base in psychology: MA students should demonstrate fundamental knowledge and comprehension of the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, historical trends, and empirical findings to discuss how psychological principles apply to psychological development and behavioral problems.

Scientific inquiry and critical thinking: The skills in this domain involve the further development of scientific reasoning and problem solving, including effective research methods.  Emphasis is given to scientific inquiry as part of a systematic and comprehensive process of effective decision making and problem solving with individuals, groups, and organizations.

Ethical, social, and legal responsibility in a diverse world: The skills in this domain involve the further development of ethically and socially responsible behaviors for professional and personal settings in a landscape that involves increasing diversity, including diversity of: age/developmental status, disabilities, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, language, national origin, race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, social economic status.

Communication: MA students should demonstrate competence in written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills, and communication via the use of technology.

Professional development: The emphasis in this goal is on the application of psychology-specific content and skills, effective self-reflection, project-management and consultation skills, teamwork skills, and career preparation.

For the MA in School Psychology, the following are Additional Graduation Requirements:

Dignity for All Students Act Workshop (No credit).

Workshop in Child Abuse Identification (No credit).

SAVE Workshop (No credit).

Praxis II Exam (No Credit)

Notes: Courses taken as part of an undergraduate degree cannot be credited toward the School Psychology or Mental Health Counseling degree requirements.  Permanent School Psychologist Certification requires two years of experience in a pupil personnel service position.

Admission

Non-Matriculated Status

The department does not accept non-matriculated students.

Matriculated Status

See “Academic Information - Matriculated ” in this catalog for requirements to be met, in addition to the following:

1. A BA or BS in psychology.
2. Completion of experimental research methods in psychology and quantitative research methods in psychology.

If the student has not earned a BA or BS in psychology, alternatively, a student may demonstrate proficiency in psychology as evidenced by completion of nine credits of undergraduate work in psychology, including experimental research methods in psychology, quantitative research methods in psychology, and one other upper level psychology course. These courses are available at Iona.

Academic Standing

Students are required to earn no grade less than “B” in their graduate courses and to maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average. If a student receives a course grade lower then “B” (i.e., C+ or lower), the student must discuss this grade with his/her advisor. A student who earns more  than two course grades of less then “B” will be placed on probation. As part of the probation, students will be required to repeat the courses chosen by the advisor. The number of courses repeated will determined by the number of below “B” grades the student has earned and by the advisor. If the student’s cumulative GPA falls below 3.0, they will be dismissed from the program.  Discussions on academic standing are made by the program coordinator  and the transition committee. Students have a right to appeal any decisions made (please refer to the Iona College graduate bulletin for said procedures).

Graduation Requirements

1. Completion of the required credits for each program, including the appropriate distribution of credits.
2. A minimum GPA of 3.0.
3. All requirements must be completed within five years from the date of admission.
4. Students may not graduate if they have received two or more grades of less than “B”.

Programs

• Mental Health Counseling, MA (2104.10)
• Psychology (General-Experimental Specialization), MA (2001)
• Psychology (Industrial-Organizational Specialization), MA (2001)
• School Psychology, MA (0826.02)

• Human Resources Advanced Certificate (2199)
• Organizational Behavior Advanced Certificate (2005)

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