Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology

Nationally recognized for research excellence and pioneering contributions to the field, Fordham’s Ph.D. program in applied developmental psychology focuses on human development across the life span with a strong commitment to social justice.

Fordham's psychology professor, Celia Fisher, helped establish applied developmental psychology as a field of study, which conducts rigorous research and advances policies and programs that improve lives. In our doctoral program, you’ll gain hands-on experience and work closely with our renowned faculty, who have won prestigious awards and secured millions in grant funding.

Concentrations are offered in three areas:

• Health, Illness and Well-Being across the Life Span
• Development in the Context of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture
• Development within Family, School, and Neighborhood Context

Program Highlights

• Strong foundation in developmental theories and research methods
• Yearlong practicum in a community-based organization
• Emphasis on ethical decision-making
• Collaboration with Fordham’s highly regarded psychometrics program on statistical analysis of data

Program Basics

• Designed as a five-year program for full-time students
• Mentored research apprenticeship in the first two years
• Curriculum requires 66 credits
• Students earn M.A. degree in the first two years
• Dissertation required
• Teaching and research fellowships available

Careers

Many graduates go on to work for nonprofit organizations including the Foundation for Child Development and The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Alumni have gone on to tenure-track and postdoctoral positions at colleges including the State University of New York, St. John’s University, and Dickinson College as well as postdoctoral work at Yale University, Arizona State University, Mount Sinai Hospital, and the City University of New York.

• Congratulations to Dr. Celia Fisher for chairing the taskforce for the recently released updates to SRCD's Ethical Principles and Standards for Developmental Scientists.
• First-year ADP student Daniel Alonso (Mentor, Dr. Selin Gülgöz) was selected as a 2021 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) awardee for his project, "Concealment, Preferred Identification, and Collective Action Among Transgender Adults.
• Dr. Li Niu, ADP Alumni 2020, and current Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, was selected as a 2021 NIH OBSSR Matilda White Riley Early Stage Investigator Paper Competition awardee for her paper, “Profiles of childhood maltreatment: Associations with sexual risk behavior during adolescence in a sample of racial/ethnic minority girls.”
  • Niu, L., Brown, J. L., Hoyt, L. T., Salandy, A., Nucci-Sack, A., Shankar, V., Burk, D. R., Schlecht, N. F., & Diaz, A. D. (2021). Profiles of childhood maltreatment: Associations with sexual risk behavior during adolescence in a sample of racial/ethnic minority girls. Child Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13498
• Sheniqua Jeffrey (3rd year doctoral student) was selected to join the inaugural (2020-2021) cohort of the Researchers Investigating Sociocultural Equity and Race (RISER) Network fellowship program.
• Dr. Tiffany Yip edited an SRCD volume of briefs addressing educational inequities among historically and currently marginalized children and youth during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Congratulations, Dr. Fisher!

Dr. Celia Fisher with APA Ethics Committee (Photo by Stephanie Gross)

Fordham University’s Center for Ethics Education Director Dr. Celia Fisher is the 2017 recipient of the ninth annual American Psychological Association (APA) Ethics Committee Ethics Educator Award for her outstanding contributions to ethics education at the national level! Dr. Fisher was presented with the award earlier this month by APA Ethics Committee Chair Patricia L. Watson, Ph.D., at the 125th APA Annual Convention in Washington, D.C.