Forty-five years ago, the Graduate School of
Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers, The State University of
New Jersey, became the first professional school located within a major
research university to offer the doctor of psychology degree. We remain one of
only a very few Psy.D. professional schools at a public institution with the
infrastructure and scholastic dynamism to qualify among the Association of
American Universities' 62 leading universities in the United States and Canada.
Instruction began with
two specialties: clinical and school psychology and the addition of an
organizational Psy.D. specialty in 1988. The clinical psychology degree does
not adhere to a single model for training all students. It aims to provide the
student with a solid foundation in clinical work, including the basic areas of
psychology, within which much of clinical practice is grounded. Didactic
training in basic psychological principles is coupled with practical, graduated
instruction in a range of assessment and intervention modes. While advancing
through the training program, the student has the opportunity to specialize in
intervention modes oriented around several of the most widely accepted
theoretical positions, and within particular problem areas of clinical treatment.
The doctor of psychology
(Psy.D.) program in school psychology was evaluated by the National Association
of State Directors of Teacher Education Certification (NASDTEC) and was granted
program approval in 1979 for school psychologist certification as well as
director of student personnel services certification. The school psychology
program prepares doctoral-level psychologists for professional practice with
children and youth in schools and other community settings. We emphasize
integration of scientific knowledge with innovation in the delivery of
psychological services to individuals, families, groups, and
organizations.
In 2018 the school began
offering its first master of applied psychology (M.A.P.) program. The 42-credit
M.A.P. offers instruction in foundation knowledge
of the scientific basis of psychology and education and training in applied
areas of psychology. The program embraces the mission of the school by
offering instruction that has an emphasis on civic and global citizenship,
social justice, and cultural diversity. This course of study provides students
with knowledge needed to understand individual and collective behaviors;
develop quantitative and qualitative statistical analysis and research design
skills needed to analyze the corresponding physical and environmental contributors to
human behavior; and an understanding of the analysis and treatment of behavior
problems and disorders. The M.A.P. degree will prepare students with the requisite
theoretical knowledge, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills needed to
successfully participate in employment or scholastic activities.
As a unit of Rutgers,
GSAPP is accredited by the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges,
and its school and clinical psychology programs are fully accredited by the
American Psychological Association (APA). The APA conducted site visits for the
clinical Psy.D. and school Psy.D. programs in 1977, 1982, 1987, 1993, 1997,
2004, 2007, 2014 (school psychology) and 2017 (clinical psychology) for
accreditation renewal. Each time, reaccreditation of both the clinical and
school programs was approved. The GSAPP Psy.D. programs are also recognized by
the New Jersey Board of Psychological Examiners, the Association of State and
Provincial Psychology Boards, and the National Register.
GSAPP was described in 1993 as "the very best school for the Psy.D.
degree" and "the standard of quality against which other Psy.D.
programs should be measured" in a report prepared by nationally prominent
professional and academic senior psychologists from around the country. The
report was prepared as part of an external review of GSAPP, which the
university requires all units to undertake. These observations were reaffirmed
in 1999 when GSAPP was honored with the Outstanding Training Program Award
bestowed by the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy (AABT), now
the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT).
The GSAPP faculty
recognizes the impact of evolving health care delivery systems and other social
and professional changes in the practice of professional psychology and
continuously reviews its training goals and curricula. The combination of
full-time core faculty and part-time faculty, who are professionals working in
the community, enables GSAPP to offer both rigorous theoretical courses based
on current research and practice-oriented courses that build upon this
scholarly foundation. Currently, there are 17 full-time
scholarly/instructional faculty; three full-time research/psychological service
program faculty; six visiting faculty-practitioners who spend one full day per
week at the school teaching, supervising, and serving on academic and
administrative committees; and 13 contributing faculty-practicing psychologists
who each teach one course. There are also 15 joint-appointment faculty from
other Rutgers departments, centers, bureaus, and institutes, and from Rutgers'
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School who actively teach and supervise. Students
have access to relevant full-time faculty from all of these units for
individual study, dissertation committees, and other training activities. A
large number of psychologists, listed in this catalog, serve as practicum
placement supervisors and supervisors for GSAPP's onsite psychological clinic.
The GSAPP faculty participated in the pivotal
1978 Virginia Beach Conference on the training of professional psychologists,
which enunciated the principle that professional training is best accomplished
in a university setting.
GSAPP enrolls
approximately 185 Psy.D. students in its two programs: clinical Psy.D., and
school Psy.D. Students are also represented on most major school committees.
The goals and activities of these student groups are more fully described in
the section on Student Groups at GSAPP. There is also a Student Alliance (SA) in
which all students come together to participate in the life of the school.
For almost two decades,
GSAPP's students and faculty have explored, promoted, and celebrated diversity
within the school's community. GSAPP currently supports the following diversity
groups: Asian Student's Association (ASA), Black Graduate Student and Allies
(BGSA), Committee on Diversity, the Hispanic Organization of Professional
Psychology Students (HOPPS), the Jewish Student Alliance (JSA), National
Association of School Psychologists (NASP), Psychoanalytic Community at Rutgers
(PCAR), and the Queer Student Association (QSA).
The dean's Multicultural
Alumni Advisory Council first convened in 1995 to examine ways in which alumni
can work with individual students and with student groups at GSAPP, with
attention given to developing sensitivity toward the domains of race,
ethnicity, gender, nationality, and sexual orientation. In 1995, the dean
established a schoolwide Committee on Diversity, with representatives selected
from the student body, staff, faculty, and administration.With approximately 1,200 graduates, the GSAPP Alumni Organization has been a firmly established presence
since 1992, with its own bylaws and officers. Regional alumni play an active
role in annual mentoring activities designed to ease the journey from academics
to professional practice. Our alumni are currently practicing throughout the
United States and across the globe.
About the School 
