Cuny queens Colleg

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by the Graduate Committee on Admissions
for students of special promise.
Requirements for the Master of Arts
Degree
These requirements are in addition to gen-
eral requirements for the Master of Arts
degree.
General Psychology Program (30 credits
plus thesis or 36 credits without thesis)
This program is intended for students
who:
1. want to explore their interests fur-
ther or expand their backgrounds in psy-
chology;
2. want to learn more about the area of
mental health (but without seeking the
field placements and special course work
offered in the Clinical Behavioral Applica-
tions program); and/or
3. see themselves en route to doctoral
study, with the goal of pursuing a career as
independent researchers, particularly in
the areas of neuropsychology, learning
processes, or experimental psychology.
Requirements for the 
General Psychology Program
1. Ten semester courses in psychology
(30 credits), which must be distributed as
follows:
a) History (Psych. 700)
b) Advanced Experimental Psych. I
(Psych. 701)
c) Statistical Methods I (Psych. 705)
d) 7 additional courses distributed over
at least three of the following areas:
Applied (Psych.), Comparative (Psych.
716), Developmental (e.g., Psych. 720 or
721), Learning (Psych. 730 or 731), Percep-
tion (Psych. 735), Personality (e.g., Psych.
740 or 741 or 742), Physiological (Psych.
610 or 708.1 or 708.2 or 710 or 711),
Psychopathology (Psych. 755 or 756), and
Social (Psych. 746)
2. Students may complete the program
in 30 or 36 credits, as follows:
a) Students who elect to complete the
program in 30 credits must take and pass a
comprehensive examination and submit an
approved thesis which may be either a lit-
erature review or an empirical investiga-
tion.
b) Students whose grade-point averages
are 3.7 or better may elect to complete the
program in 30 credits and do an empirical
thesis. The comprehensive examination
will be waived.
c) Students who elect to complete the
program in 36 credits are required to take
and pass a comprehensive examination.
Clinical Behavioral Applications in
Mental Health Settings Program
(48 credits with no thesis)
The Clinical Behavioral Applications
program features course work and training
in the intervention modality of applied
behavior analysis. The program also
includes training in intellectual and per-
sonality assessment. A broad perspective
on contemporary clinical practice and
research is provided by a number of acade-
mic survey courses in areas such as psy-
chotherapy and counseling, psychoanalytic
theory, and psychopathology. Research
training in single-subject design and statis-
tics is included in this program.
The Clinical Behavioral Applications
program, which includes practica and 630
hours of field-work experience, is designed
to prepare students for M.A.-level careers
using behavioral assessment and interven-
tion skills.
Type of Training
The CBAMHS Program seeks to provide
students with skills in Applied Behavior
Analysis (a type of behavior modification)
and in intelligence and personality testing.
Extensive hands-on experience is provided
in the two practica associated with the two
Applied Behavior Analysis courses and in
the Externships. Typically, each student
spends two semesters out in the field work-
ing in two different Externship settings.
The first Externship experience focuses on
mastering Applied Behavior Analytic skills;
the second focuses on mastering skills in
intelligence testing and personality testing
(with objective-type instruments).
Type of Settings and Nature of Client
Populations
It is important to note that the actual
training during the two practica and the
Externships involves direct contact with
low-functioning populations. Students are
assigned to such agencies as the Associa-
tion for Children with Retarded Mental
Development, where the trainees work
with adult retardates. Students have also
been assigned to agencies where they work
with adolescents diagnosed as autistic.
Most of the testing training is carried out
at a large state psychiatric center (e.g.,
Creedmoor).
Institutions (federal, state, local, and
private) typically employing graduates
with training in the intervention modality
of Applied Behavior Analysis include psy-
chiatric facilities and institutions for the
developmentally disabled, for emotionally
disturbed children and adults, and for geri-
atric individuals. Applicants should note
that this program does not prepare the stu-
dent to function either as a School Psychol-
ogist, or as a Clinical Psychologist at the
level of independent practice for which
both a doctoral degree and a state license
are required.
Full-time CBA students can complete
the requirements for the degree in four
semesters by taking both day and evening
courses. This includes a 630-hour extern-
ship (field-work placement) taken during
the last two semesters of study.
Courses are offered during the day,
afternoon, and evening. Part-time students
can therefore be accommodated and can
complete requirements more slowly, in
accordance with their schedules. However,
all students must arrange their schedules
to accommodate the externship, which is
held during daytime-weekday hours only.
Degree Requirements for the 
Clinical Behavioral Applications Pro-
gram (48 credits)
1. Completion of following courses in
psychology:
760. Psychometric Methods
774. Assessment of Intellectual Function-
ing
771. Ethical Issues in Psychology (not to be
confused with U771)
730.01 & .02. Theory and Method in
Applied Behavioral Analysis I and II
(with practica)
764. Assessment of Personality with Stan-
dardized Objective Measures
743. Survey of Psychotherapy and Counsel-
ing: A Case Study Approach
755. Psychopathology I
756. Psychopathology II
748. Self-Awareness Training I
749. Self-Awareness Training II
705. Statistical Methods in Psychology I
2. An externship (field-work placement)
of at least 630 hours taken during the last
two semesters of study (Psych. 795, 796).
This externship is offered during daytime-
weekday hours only.
3. Psych. 797 Externship Seminar.
4. Nine credits of elective courses.
5. Completion with a passing grade of a
skills-oriented Clinical Behavioral Applica-
tions Comprehensive Examination, which
includes evaluation of the student’s skills
in assessment and behavioral intervention.
Responsible training for work in the
area of mental health requires that stu-
dents have the personal characteristics
appropriate for workers in a mental health
setting. At the end of each semester, the
Psychology Department’s M.A. Committee
will evaluate each student’s suitability for
continuation in the program, considering
information from all sources. The decision
that a student must leave the program on
personal grounds will be made by the Pro-
gram Head and the Department’s M.A.
Committee. This decision may be appealed
to a special Ad Hoc Appeals Committee,
which will include no one who participated
in the initial evaluation.
Requirements for Continuance in the
Psychology M.A. Program
All students enrolled in either Master’s pro-
gram who, after taking 12 graduate credits,
have not achieved an academic index of 3.0,
will be placed on probation or dropped from
the Master’s program in psychology.
Non-Matriculated Studies
Certain graduate courses are open to quali-
fied professionals and career specialists in
psychology or other fields. These courses
may fulfill a particular need for skill acqui-
sition or credential maintenance for teach-
ers, social workers, et al. Students who
believe that a course or course sequence is
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