Yeshiva University

First established in 1886 by Eastern European immigrants for studying the Talmud, Yeshiva University is a premier private non-profit higher learning institution rooted in Jewish scholarship. Inspired by Modern Orthodox Judaism, Yeshiva offers a dual curriculum for obtaining a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree. Yeshiva enrolls around 3,000 undergraduates and 3,400 post-graduates each year. Yeshiva University is nestled on a 300-acre urban campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Satellite branches run in Greenwich Village, the Bronx, Queens, and Israel. Yeshiva has a student-faculty ratio of 7:1 and average retention rate of 90 percent.

According to the U.S. News, Yeshiva is ranked the 52nd best national university, 44th top value school, and 42nd best college for veterans in America. In particular, Yeshiva University is acclaimed for having the country's 145th best clinical psychology and 158th top graduate psychology programs. Forbes magazine has named Yeshiva the 90th best college in the Northeast with a financial grade of A. Consistently, Yeshiva is included within the Princeton Review's list for "353 Green Colleges." Times Higher Education also lauded Yeshiva University as the 156th best school globally. The School of Psychology won the Innovative Training Award by the Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Programs (CoPGTP) in 2014.

Yeshiva University Accreditation Details

Yeshiva University is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). In particular, the Psy.D. program is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) Commission on Accreditation. The counseling degree is accredited by the Council on Accreditation for Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Yeshiva also meets the standards of the Association of the Institutions of Higher Learning for Jewish Education (AIHLJE).

Yeshiva University Application Requirements

Even with an acceptance rate of 81 percent, Yeshiva University has a selective admissions process. First-year freshmen must be completing an approved high school diploma or GED equivalency. Following a college-prep curriculum with at least four years of English and mathematics is strongly preferred. Applicants are expected to carry a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Freshmen must also score at least 1100 on the SAT or 24 on the ACT. Each candidate's personality, moral character, and community service will also be considered. Transfer students are accepted from regionally accredited colleges with a minimum college GPA of 3.0.

Graduate students interested in Yeshiva's psychology or counseling programs must already have earned a four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. The Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology requires that applicants achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in the last 60 semester or 90 quarter hours of undergraduate studies. Taking the GRE Psychology Subject Test and submitting scores via code 2995 is recommended. Prerequisites in the liberal arts, social sciences, and natural sciences are specified. International students are welcomed from over 60 countries, but TOEFL scores of at least 600 (paper-based) are required.

Prior to the posted deadlines, anyone interested in attending Yeshiva University should send the following:

• Completed online application
• Official academic transcripts
• College entrance exam scores
• Two to three recommendations
• Current resume or CV
• $65 non-refundable application fee

Tuition and Financial Aid

Full-time undergrad students at Yeshiva are charged $37,930 per academic year. There's a $350 registration fee, $150 student activity fee, and $1,100 university fee. Total cost of attendance is estimated at $39,530 annually. Room and board typically costs around $7,500 every year. Full-time graduates in the School of Psychology will be billed $18,235 per semester. Part-time learners can pay $1,675 per credit. Graduate students also must afford the $65 registration fee, $75 activity fee, and $500 doctoral internship fee per semester.

Over 85 percent of matriculated full-time Yeshiva University students receive financial aid. Students can borrow tuition money with the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan, Federal Perkins Loan, or Grad PLUS Loan programs. Some students could qualify for the Federal Pell Grant, FSEOG Grant, or Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant. State residents should apply for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) or New York Educational Opportunity Program. Graduate teaching or research assistantships are available for psychology majors. Scholarships are numerous, such as the Honors Scholarship, JFEW Science Fellowship, Deans' Scholarship, and Anne Scheiber Scholarship.

Psychology and Counseling Degrees

Yeshiva University offers five degree options for aspiring counselors and psychologists, mostly in the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology. Celebrating its milestone 50th anniversary, the School offers state-of-the-art classrooms for learning predominantly in cognitive-behavior and psychodynamic therapy approaches. Students can receive on-site clinical training at the Max and Celia Parnes Family Psychological Clinic. Programs to consider include the:

Psychology (B.A.)

Housed in Belfer Hall, the Psychology (B.A.) program at Yeshiva is designed to introduce undergraduate students to the scientific methods used for studying human and animal behavior. The 120-credit program will include courses in statistics, experimental psychology, child development, cognition, social psychology, personality, abnormal psychology, psychobiology, etc. All students complete a six-credit guided research project. There's an accelerated B.A./M.A. option available too.

Mental Health Counseling (M.A.)

Consisting of 60 credits, the three-year Mental Health Counseling (M.A.) program allows Yeshiva graduate students to develop the theoretical and applied psychological counseling skills for clinical practice. The program fulfills requirements for becoming a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in New York State. Students complete three supervised field placements at the on-campus Counseling Center or off-campus in the New York City boroughs.

Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.)

Fully accredited by the APA since 1985, the Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) program provides doctoral-level training to Yeshiva students seeking therapeutic roles in clinical psychological services. The full-time program spans five years for completing 116 credits, including a culminating year-long clinical internship. With a 93% match rate, the program has produced over 600 licensed clinical psychologists for improving mental health.

School-Clinical Child Psychology (Psy.D.)

As a unique combined-integrated program, the School-Clinical Child Psychology (Psy.D.) at Yeshiva University allows graduate students to focus their training primarily on meeting the mental health needs of children, adolescents, and families. Within the five-year program, Psy.D. students complete around 3,500 hours of externship across the Tri-State area. There's also an accelerated track for master's-level applicants who are certified in school psychology.

Clinical Psychology Health Emphasis (Ph.D.)

Featuring a rigorous 104-credit curriculum, the Clinical Psychology Health Emphasis (Ph.D.) program is rooted in empirical research to produce scholarly professionals capable of making positive contributions to knowledge in health psychology. Coursework will range from behavioral medicine and public health to psychopharmacology and clinical interviewing. Yeshiva University offers Ph.D. students access to its high-tech Experimental Semiotics Lab.