Practicum for Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology

Practicum is a hallmark of the Fordham Applied Developmental Psychology (ADP)  program. The year-long course provide students with the opportunity to fully take on the role of an applied developmental psychologist in the public sphere under the close supervision of ADP faculty. The goal of this course is to provide a range of experiences in many of the professional and applied activities that are required of professional ADP scientists.

Practicum Highlights

  • Conduct research and/or policy related work at a field site
  • Work in diverse settings on unique applied research projects
  • Complete an empirically based research project in which data is used (quantitative or mixed method approaches) to address theory-based questions important to the site's mission and connected to students' own research interests
  • Regular oral and written presentations of your research project
  • Receive ongoing supervision from key site personnel about research projects

Former Practicum Sites

Student Testimonials

"My practicum in the Content Research Department at Sesame Workshop involved conducting formative and summative research on educational media content for young children. This often entailed collecting data in preschools, assessing children's engagement with and comprehension of TV content as well as digital games and apps. I also had the opportunity to work with data from large-scale parent surveys and to code qualitative data from interviews and focus groups. My practicum project was an experimental study examining the impact of educational media content delivering information about incremental ability and brain development on preschool children's perseverance during a challenging task." - Christina Rucinski

"Branching Minds is an online response-to-intervention platform which connects educators with interventions and supports to help struggling students. The website also allows teachers to monitor intervention implementation and student progress. During my practicum at Branching Minds I used data collected through the website and from teacher surveys to study how teachers were using the platform and if educators' experiences and beliefs affected their level of engagement with the different website tools and components. I also worked on the website's social-emotional learning content and evaluated the evidence base for each intervention and support using the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) accountability guidelines." - Essie Sutton

"Practicum is one of the most important components of the Applied Developmental Psychology program at Fordham. My work with ExpandED schools has given me the chance to apply my understanding of program evaluation, research design and data analysis to real-life settings as well as better understand how the knowledge we learn in class and in lab can be translated to intervention work and policy decisions." - Natasha Chaku

"My practicum with Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation (now called New York Edge) was an opportunity for me to get involved in an applied setting where I was able to take the lead in creating a project of use to the organization. I was able to try my hand at grant-writing, curriculum creation and editing, and a whole host of other tasks that come along with a big non-profit organization. It was one of the most unique experiences I had in the graduate program." - Richmond Carlton

"I did my practicum in the international group of AIR, which conducts program evaluation in developing countries in several fields, such as education and agriculture. My work was mostly related to program evaluations of development and early learning programs in Mozambique, Senegal, and Laos. I did some measurement analysis using item response theory and confirmatory factor analysis, and learned a lot about the statistical programs STATA and R. Because it is an international group, most of my work environment was virtual, which worked just fine for me." - John Aníbal Gómez Varón

"Practicum allowed me to apply the techniques that we learned in class to a real-world research setting. The personalized attention from faculty and feedback from the entire cohort were extremely useful." -Lindsay Feldman

"The practicum course gave me the opportunity to engage in applied and translational research in a real-world setting. Working with the director of Anti-Human Trafficking Initiatives at Covenant House New York, I was able to partake in novel projects with far-reaching translational impact. Our research efforts were used to secure a large programming grant for Covenant House, have been cited in the NY Times and Huffington Post, and most recently, were cited in a Senate Judiciary Hearing introducing a new bill titled Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act." -Stefanie Vuotto

"The practicum experience was an essential component of my development as an applied researcher. The evaluation work I conducted at my practicum site continued beyond the length of the actual course. I am now expanding the work from my practicum experience for my dissertation. Ultimately, the practicum work experience allowed me to network and establish long-lasting professional relationships in an applied setting." - Amanda Leeder

"Working at iMentor, a school-based mentoring program in NYC, allowed me to translate both my theoretical and statistical knowledge into useful output for the organization. I gained a much greater understanding of the ways in which the research we generate is utilized as well as an appreciation of the immense opportunities (and the messiness!) of real-world data." - Sheena Jeswani

"The ADP practicum course is one of the defining components of the ADP program, as it affords students the opportunity to learn about research, program evaluation, and intervention design in actual applied settings. I found that the practicum course really aided my academic and professional growth, and it has meaningfully impacted my career." - Zachary Kornhauser