Instruction began in 1974 with two specialties: clinical and school psychology. The school psychology program, evaluated by the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education Certification (NASDTEC), was granted program approval in 1979 for school psychologist certification as well as director of student personnel services certification. The latter certification is available to advanced students with three years of school experience.

An organizational Psy.D. specialty was established in 1988, at which time the Department of School Psychology was reorganized to become the Department of Applied Psychology. This program is no longer accepting new students.

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 1977, 1982, 1987, 1993, 1997, 2004, and 2007 (school  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.

As of 2007, 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 the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-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 three programs: clinical Psy.D., organizational 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 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: the Hispanic Organization of Professional Psychology Students (HOPPS, established 1985); the Black Students of Graduate and Professional Psychology Programs (BSGPPP, established 1986); the Asian Psychology Students' Association (APSA, established 2000); the International Students Group (ISG, established 2002), and Jewish Students of Applied and Professional Psychology (J-SAPP, established 2007). In addition, the GSAPP Men's Group focuses on being a man and a psychologist, and on men's issues. 

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 830 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.