The Psychology Department at Brooklyn College offers many opportunities for undergraduate students to gain research experiences with faculty mentors. Research experiences at the undergraduate level provide opportunities to develop hard skills (data-analysis, experiment design, coding, and writing) and soft skills (presentation, clear and compelling communication, simplifying complex material) that prepare students for a wide variety of careers, and especially for students looking to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees. And, it is possible for students to gain credit toward their degree in courses specifically designed for mentored research experiences.

Faculty in the psychology department conduct research on a wide variety of topics including neuroscience, clinical psychology, cognition, developmental processes, social psychology, and others. It is possible for students to pursue research experiences in any of these areas, and work with faculty and other researchers in their labs. Undergraduates in our programs who have pursued research experiences have gone onto master’s and doctoral programs in their areas of research, as well as onto professional degrees, and some of our undergraduates have even published their research in peer-reviewed journals. The research products (e.g., honors thesis, research report, conference poster) created across the research experience builds a student’s portfolio and provides high-quality evidence students can use to showcase their skills to employers and graduate programs.

Although there are numerous ways to get involved in research, faculty are limited in the number of students they can supervise. The rest of this page lists common research experience opportunities that involve or do not involve course credit, and provides useful tips for connecting yourself with these opportunities.

Research opportunities in Psychology

PSYC 2001-2004 Laboratory Experience 3 credits

PSYC 5001-5004 Independent Research 3 credits

Honors Thesis in Psychology

REU Program (Research Experiences for Undergraduates)

Tow Mentorship Initiative

CASE programs

Seek volunteer opportunities in a faculty research Lab

Tips for students interested in gaining research experience

All psychology majors are required to take PSYC 3450W Experimental Psychology, which includes a laboratory component where students will get some experience with major elements of a research experience, including developing a research question, creating a method to gather data about the question, collecting and analyzing the data, and writing an APA style paper that communicates the findings of the project. 

Students interested in more in-depth mentored research experiences like the ones listed above need to make connections with faculty in the psychology department, and find a faculty mentor willing to supervise the research project. To form these connections, students are encouraged to:

1. Review faculty websites to learn more about their research interests.
2. Take classes with full-time faculty, get to know them by going to their office hours, and let them know you are interested in working with them. 
3. It is helpful to take PSYC 3400 in your sophomore year, and PSYC 3450W in your junior year. These courses provide foundations in statistics and experiment design that will serve you well in a research experience, and will provide evidence to a faculty member that you are prepared for a research experience.
4. The most comprehensive research experience available is to pursue an undergraduate honors thesis, which involves two semesters of independent research courses (PSYC 5001 and 5002), learn more about honors thesis requirements on the honors thesis page, and how to plan your degree so that you have identified a potential faculty mentor before your senior year.
5. Be persistent and plan ahead. A potential faculty mentor may not be able to offer you a research experience on short notice. Instead, start making connections with full-time faculty in your sophomore and junior year.

If you complete a research project with a faculty member consider presenting it at Brooklyn College Science Research Day!

First of all, congratulations! The Department of Psychology and BC Psychology Club would like to celebrate your achievements, so we are holding an informal commencement cap decorating party, details below:

Date: Tuesday, May 19^th

Time: 12:30pm – 2:00pm

Location: 5117 James Hall, Brooklyn College

PLEASE RSVP using the link below:

RSVP Psychology Department 2026 Psychology Commencement Cap Decorating Party – Fill out form

Food, refreshments, and cap decorating materials will be provided, but please feel free to bring more decorations! Even if you don’t want to decorate your cap, please come and join us to celebrate your achievements before commencement.

Thanks!

Suggestions for Fall 2026

The Department of Psychology is offering many courses this Fall 2026. Please use CUNY Global Search to search for individual classes, including classes listed below.

Our advising office receives numerous requests from students about which classes to take in a given semester. These are some general suggestions for students to consider.

PSYC 1000

If you have never taken a psychology course before, start with our introductory course!

PSYC 1000 is a requirement for BA and BS majors in psychology, and is pre-requisite for most other psychology courses offered by the psychology department.

• PSYC 1000 Introductory Psychology  

2000 level Psychology courses

Both of the BA and BS major requirements include taking three of the following courses, one from each set: 

1. One of: PSYC 2100 Social Psychology, PSYC 2200 Lifespan Development, OR PSYC 2210 Intro Child Psychology
2. One of: PSYC 2300 Intro Personality OR 2810 Psychological Disorders I
3. One of: PSYC 2530 Intro Cognitive Psychology OR PSYC 2600 Mind, Brain, and Behavior

If you still need to complete the above requirements, consider taking a PSYC 2000 level course from above that would complete a requirement toward your degree.

Be mindful that 2000 level courses often serve as pre-requisites for more advanced psychology classes at the 3000 level. You can use our Psychology courses and pre-requisites guide to look ahead and see what 3000 level course you might be interested in taking, and then plan accordingly.

PSYC 3400

Both of the BA and BS majors require PSYC 3400.

• PSYC 3400 Statistical Methods in Psychological Research
• PSYC 3400 is strongly recommended to be completed early on, preferably by the beginning of junior year.

PSYC 3450W

Both of the BA and BS majors require PSYC 3450W.

• PSYC 3450W Experimental Psychology
• PSYC 3450W is strongly recommended to be completed early on, preferably by the beginning or end of junior year.
• IMPORTANT: PSYC 3400 is a pre-requisite for PSYC 3450W, so make sure you complete them both early.

Advanced Psychology Courses 3000 and above

There are many advanced psychology courses on offer this upcoming Fall (see them all on CUNY global search). Advanced courses may also complete major requirements for the Psychology BA and the Psychology BS.

This course list below may change as the semester approaches. Classes may be cancelled if they are under-enrolled, so please register as soon as you can!

PSYC 3020 Ethics in Psychology

PSYC 3030 Psychological Perspectives in Diversity Science

PSYC 3110 Psychology Of Prejudice

PSYC 3120 (COMM 3100) Cultural Psychology 

PSYC 3130 Relationship Science

PSYC 3140 Small Groups

PSYC 3171 Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology     

PSYC 3174 Organizational Diagnosis and Intervention

PSYC 3180 (HNSC 2111) Health Psychology

PSYC 3220 Cognitive Development     

PSYC 3230 Social and Personality Development of Children   

PSYC 3240 Psychological and Developmental Disorders of Childhood    

PSYC 3250 Psychology of Adolescence    

PSYC 3260 Psychology of Aging     

PSYC 3270 Psychology of the Family 

PSYC 3300 Theories of Personality

PSYC 3360 Psychology of Gender     

PSYC 3400 Statistical Methods in Psychological Research   (Highly recommended to take in as a late sophomore or early junior; this course is required for the BA and BS majors in Psychology.)

PSYC 3450W Experimental Psychology (Highly recommended to take in junior year, requires PSYC 3400 as a pre-requisite; this course is required for the BA and BS majors in Psychology.)

PSYC 3470 Data & Social Behavioral Sci

PSYC 3510 Learning

PSYC 3530 Advanced Cognitive Psychology

PSYC 3540 Psychology of Language

PSYC 3550 Psychology of Emotion

PSYC 3580 (PHIL 3423/CISC 1410) Phil and Artificial Intelligence

PSYC 3600 Behavioral Neuroscience

PSYC 3660 Drugs and Behavior

PSYC 3810 Psychological Disorders II

PSYC 3820 Fundamentals of Psychotherapy

PSYC 3825 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

PSYC 3830 Counseling Process:Theory and Tech

PSYC 4210 Fieldwork in Child Psychology

This is a course announcement for a special version of BIOL 5003W that will be counted as an equivalent course of NEUR 3510W (which will satisfy a requirement for the soon-to-be announced BS in Neuroscience)

Course: Special BIOL 5003W Course: An Independent Research Course specializing in Neuroscience Research Methods ​

3 Credits

When: Spring 2026, Wednesdays, 11:00 am -2:00 pm​

Where: Room # 2233​

How to join: Instructor Permission Needed, please contact:​

Dr. Sreyashi Samaddar (sreyashi.samaddar@brooklyn.cuny.edu)​

Limited seats available (15)

Prerequisites:  Biology 1001 and 1002; or Psychology 1000 and one of the following: Psychology 2600, 3600 or Biology 1001; Pre-requisite or co-requisite: BIOL 2020/PSYC 2610.​

Note: This special 5003W will be counted as an equivalent course of NEUR 3510W towards BS, neuroscience major​

More information about the forthcoming BS in Neuroscience will appear soon on the main Brooklyn College Website. If you would like to learn more, please contact the neuroscience program director Dr. Andrew Delamater (AndrewD@brooklyn.cuny.edu).

​

​

We’re hoping to recruit talented undergraduates, from groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields, who have an interest in gaining research experience in psychology/neuroscience prior to graduate school. Applications are due by December 15, 2025.

For more information, check out the following link on the College Website:

https://www.brooklyn.edu/psychology/undergraduate/reu

Or, you may apply directly here: 

https://forms.gle/d97Uk27NcoKmfJXU

For any questions, please email infobc.reu@gmail.com.

Arthur’s scientific research was hugely influential, emphasizing the study of the cognitive foundations of statistical learning processes when the field of cognitive psychology showed relatively little interest in the topic. His best-known work used his “artificial grammar” paradigm to examine the nature of implicit learning: a form of learning in which participants acquire knowledge about the structure of a set of stimuli without explicit awareness of the nature of that structure or even the fact that they have learned it. His 1965 Master’s thesis was the first demonstration of that phenomenon, and his unique methodology moved the field forward in important ways, eventually becoming widely adopted and generating tremendous interest in the so-called cognitive unconscious. Arthur’s later research ranged fearlessly over topics as diverse as the implicit acquisition of attributions of affect, assessments of implicit and explicit learning and memory, the psychology of risk and gambling, tacit knowledge in psychology and sociology, the evolutionary origins of consciousness, and candidate biochemical mechanisms for the emergence of sentience. Among other honors, he was a Senior Fulbright Fellow at the University of Innsbruck (Austria, 1977-1978), an NEH Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Psychology of Mind (1983), and a Fellow of the American Psychological Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. To date, his scientific work has garnered over 22,000 citations.

Arthur earned his BA in Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania (1961) and MA and PhD in Psychology at Brown University (1965, 1967), working under Richard Millward. Arthur was an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia before joining Brooklyn College, CUNY, in 1970. He remained at Brooklyn College until his retirement in 2006, serving as Psychology Department Chairperson (1985-1988) and Head of the Experimental Psychology MA and PhD programs (1998-2005). Beginning in 1998, he was Broeklundian Professor of Psychology, an honor awarded only to truly outstanding faculty at Brooklyn College. Among other roles, Arthur’s remarkable contributions included mentoring numerous junior faculty colleagues and dozens of students at all levels – something he was particularly proud of. He was an engaging classroom instructor, a happy warrior who sparked critical thinking and disparaged pseudoscience at every opportunity. He also frequently participated in seminars run by other faculty and engaged in spirited and stimulating discussions. After retirement, Arthur returned to the University of British Columbia as a visiting professor, and his research productivity continued unabated. His latest book, The Sentient Cell: The Cellular Foundations of Consciousness (2023, co-authored with František Baluška and William Miller) appeared when Arthur was 83.

Besides more than 70 academic papers, his other academic books included Toward a Psychology of Reading(1977, co-edited with Don Scarborough), Implicit Learning and Tacit Knowledge: An Essay on the Cognitive Unconscious (1993), The First Minds: Caterpillars, Karyotes, and Consciousness (2019), and The Cognitive Unconscious: The First Half Century (2022, co-edited with his wife, Rhiannon Allen, formerly a Psychology professor at Long Island University). He also wrote The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology (four editions, 1985-2009, some co-authored with Rhiannon Allen and daughter, Emily Reber), which has sold half a million copies in six languages.  

Arthur often joked about living two parallel lives: “In one I am a semi-degenerate gambler, a poker junkie, horse player, and blackjack maven; in the other, a scientist specializing in cognitive psychology and related topics in the neurosciences, the origins of consciousness and the philosophy of mind.” On the topic of gambling, he published hundreds of columns and several books, including The New Gambler’s Bible (1996), Gambling for Dummies (2001, co-authored with Richard D. Harroch and Lou Krieger), and Poker, Life, & Other Confusing Things (2012). In 2015, he also published a novel, Xero to Sixty.

Arthur was truly a larger-than-life personality – if you never met him, picture George Carlin as a professor, with everything that would entail – always ready with strong opinions on just about any topic, and that fortunate ability to disagree without being disagreeable. He was an exceptional colleague who immediately put people at ease with his laid back, highly scholarly style, and he championed academic pursuits and promoted his own and others’ students at every opportunity.  To his students, Arthur was more than an advisor: he was an inspiration—and their friend.

He is survived by his wife, three children, and five grandchildren. Numerous colleagues and former students preserve his memory. There was no one else quite like him.

– A tribute from colleagues and friends

First of all, congratulations! The Department of Psychology would like to celebrate your achievements, so we are holding an informal reception (pizza party) for graduating psychology students, with details below. Please RSVP below.

Reception for: Graduating psychology students
Date: Thursday, May 22nd
Time: 2-4pm
Location: 5117 James Hall, Brooklyn College

PLEASE RSVP using the link below:
https://forms.office.com/r/3G0MnqKF1H

Student attendees may bring up to one guest. Brooklyn College Security requires a list of guests who are not BC faculty, staff or students to let them on campus. If you plan on attending with a guest please RSVP above with their name.

Thanks!
Psychology Department Reception planning team

Undergraduate Scholarships and Awards

The Department of Psychology offers the following scholarships and awards for undergraduate psychology majors and, in some instances, students continuing their studies in one of the Department’s graduate programs. The Psychology Department Honors and Awards Committee recommends recipients to the college on an annual basis, toward the end of spring semester.

HOW TO APPLY

Deadline: March 31, 2026 11:59 p.m.

Applications must be completed and submitted through the college’s online scholarship system, accessed through WebCentral > E-Services > Scholarship Management System, or through this link. Current students should click on the “student login” button and sign in with their WebCentral credentials

Preview the Application

The application questions and requested information are depicted on this PDF, so that students can prepare their responses prior to completing the online application.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Students interested in applying should note that “graduating senior” means students graduating at the end of the current spring semester, or who graduated after the preceding summer or fall semesters. Students who are not graduating until the upcoming summer or fall after this year’s Commencement are not considered graduating seniors for this year’s awards, but they would be eligible to apply as a graduating senior next spring.
Funds for anything designated as a scholarship are not given directly to students, but instead applied toward lowering the cost of tuition, whereas an award does involve funds that will be given to recipients in the form of a check. The amounts vary, but mostly in the range of $100 to $2,000.

Besides the awards and scholarships listed below, students can also apply for the Philip G. Zimbardo Award for $2,000, if they are a graduating senior (as specified above) who has had to overcome adversity in order to successfully attend and graduate from Brooklyn College.

All of the current potential awards/scholarships and their required criteria are listed below. However, the actual availability of specific scholarships/awards varies according to the funds in corresponding accounts and other factors, such that they are not all awarded every year. The new online system will “slot” students into consideration for the scholarships/awards for which they are eligible based on their responses on application questions and information automatically obtained from college databases.

List of Undergraduate Scholarships and Awards

The Carolyn R. Freeman Award
Awarded annually to the graduating senior majoring in psychology who is most proficient in psychology.

The Alvin and Stanley Snadowsky Award for General Academic Excellence in Psychology
Awarded annually to an undergraduate student who has an excellent scholastic record in psychology. This award was established in memory of the Snadowskys’ parents, Jack and Florence Snadowsky.

The Sheldon J. Korchin Memorial Scholarship
For an outstanding graduating senior intending to pursue a master’s degree in psychology at Brooklyn College.

The Department of Psychology Award for Excellence in Statistics in the Field of Psychology (Wantman Prize) Awarded annually to a graduating senior majoring in psychology who received an A in statistics, has taken or is taking experimental psychology, and produces the best performance in a statistics competition.

The Myrtle Mandiberg Scholarship
Awarded annually to a psychology major who plans to pursue a career in a field related to child psychology.

The Martin Balser ’48 Memorial Scholarship
For a sophomore or junior with an overall GPA of at least 3.20 and a declared major in a department in the School of Natural and Behavioral Sciences, who has demonstrated exceptional ability and dedication in both their schoolwork and extracurricular activities.

The Essel Foundation Scholarship
For undergraduate students with explained financial need and demonstrated course work and interest in neuroscience, leading to the pursuit of a Ph.D. or M.D. degree.

The Susan Lee & Robert C. Walling Scholarship for Civic Engagement
For an undergraduate psychology or sociology major with a minimum 3.00 GPA, demonstrated financial need, and spirit for civic engagement, as exhibited by involvement and leadership in school/campus organizations, registered student organizations, and/or volunteering with nonprofit organizations in the community.

The Florence Horowitz Award
For a graduating senior intent on pursuing a career in social work. Preference will be given to students planning to attend graduate school for an M.S.W. degree.

The Joseph and Norma Satten Scholarship (shared across departments and not awarded by Psychology every year)
For an undergraduate student on a premedical track or a student who has expressed an interest in pursuing graduate work or a career in psychology or criminology.

The Balambal Palaniyandi Memorial Scholarship
For an undergraduate or graduate student with demonstrated character and a parent or spouse who is/was a firefighter, police officer, or other type of first-responder or emergency personnel, particularly if they were injured or died in the line of duty.

Graduate Scholarships and Awards

Brooklyn College offers a number of scholarships to incoming graduate students, who are automatically considered on the basis of their admissions application.

Currently enrolled students in the MHC, I/O, or Psychological Research master’s programs continuing their studies in the upcoming fall semester are able to apply for the scholarships listed below, which are awarded by the Psychology Department’s Honors and Awards Committee on an annual basis, near the end of spring semester. However, the actual availability of each scholarship varies according to the funds in the corresponding account and other factors, such that they may not all be awarded every year.

Students should also be aware that with the exception of the Marc Joseph Rosenblatt ’12 Award, scholarship funds are not given directly to students, but instead applied toward lowering the cost of their tuition for the upcoming academic year. The specific amounts vary, but are generally in the range of $500 to $2,000.

Since funds go directly toward reducing tuition cost, these scholarships cannot be awarded to students graduating this spring or summer, who are thus not eligible to apply.

HOW TO APPLY

Deadline: March 31, 2026 11:59 p.m.

Applications must be completed and submitted through the college’s online scholarship system, accessed through WebCentral > E-Services > Scholarship Management System, or through this link. Current students should click on the “student login” button and sign in with their WebCentral credentials.

All potential scholarships and their required criteria are listed below. However, their actual availability varies according to the funds in corresponding accounts and other factors, such that they are not all awarded every year.

The online system will “slot” students into consideration for the specific scholarships for which they are eligible based on their responses on application questions and information automatically obtained from college databases.

Preview the Application

The application questions and requested information are depicted on this PDF, so that students can prepare their responses prior to completing the online application.

Graduate Scholarships

• The Beatrice Ragen Edelman Memorial Scholarship for a student pursuing a master’s degree in psychology and in good academic standing.
• The Marc Joseph Rosenblatt ’12 Award for a mental health counseling student with demonstrated financial need and who has achieved academic excellence.
• The Balambal Palaniyandi Memorial Scholarship for a graduate or undergraduate student with demonstrated character and a parent or spouse who is/was a firefighter, police officer, or other type of first-responder/emergency personnel, particularly if they were injured or died in the line of duty. Specify parental/spousal occupation in application and describe circumstances in personal statement.
• The Harry Gideonse Scholarship to afford a student with the opportunity for full-time study in a liberal arts field in the graduate division of Brooklyn College.
• The BCAA Long Island Chapter Scholarship for a graduate student who commutes to Brooklyn College from Long Island.
• The Rose Goldstein Memorial Scholarship for a graduate student in psychology who demonstrates the greatest need for financial aid. Completion of the FAFSA is necessary to be considered for this award.

There are several opportunities for students to pursue honors in psychology, both at the level of individual courses and to graduate with departmental honors in psychology. These opportunities are open to all students. See the links below for more information:

• Graduating with Departmental Honors in Psychology
• Honors thesis in Psychology
• Honors credit in regular psychology courses
• 5000 Series Independent Research courses in Psychology
• 5010 Series Fieldwork Courses in Psychology

As a first step toward pursuing honors opportunities, we recommend that students review research areas of the psychology department faculty, and then contact faculty whose research fits your interests. When seeking a faculty research adviser, students should expect to have a conversation about their preparation for research (e.g., strong grades in PSYC 3400, 3450W, and other relevant course work).

The purpose of this page is to provide students with information about how many sections are usually offered for each psychology course, in each semester. The table can be helpful for planning a student’s course schedule.

The actual courses offered in an upcoming semester may change. Classes may be cancelled because of low enrollment and other factors. Nevertheless, this table should be a helpful guide.

How to interpret the table

The table below shows each Psychology Course by it’s PSYC course number. You can click the number, and it will take you to a webpage showing the bulletin description for the course. You can view an inventory of all psychology courses here.

The numbers in the table show the average number of sections that were offered for each semester (over the past few years). The historical pattern of course offerings shown in the table is a good predictor of whether or not a course will be offered in a given semester.

If the number is 1 or greater than 1, this means there was at least 1 section of the course offered on average during a particular semester.

If the number is less than 1 or 0, this means that the course was not offered, or is unlikely to be offered during a particular semester.

Some courses are offered every semester (e.g., PSYC 1000 is typically offered every semester, including Fall, Winter Intercession, Spring, and each summer session).

* Psyc 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 are laboratory courses requiring permission of the chair and a faculty mentor. These could be offered every semester.

* Psyc 5001, 5002, 5003, and 5004 are laboratory courses requiring permission of the chair and a faculty mentor. These could be offered every semester.

* Psyc 5011, 5012, 5013, and 5014 are Fieldwork Courses requiring permission of the chair and a faculty mentor. These could be offered every semester.