NYU vs Teachers College, Columbia: MA in Psychology

[gradstudentMACP95]

Hey everyone! 

Is anyone else torn between NYU vs Teachers College for a MA in Psychology? I feel like I'm leaning towards Teachers College, but I honestly don't know which school is better. My ultimate goal is to obtain a doctorate after I complete the Masters program.

 

Thanks!

[PokePsych]

i think you also may want to consider what your research interests are - you'll probably be working with faculty and it could be helpful for your network + to learn relevant techniques to one of the two that closer aligns in that regard.

[JASON2788]

First of all, congrats!

I faced the same choice last year and now I am in NYU's general psych program.

I have to say, both programs are good in general. And most people I know from these two programs are trying to apply to PhD after graduation. I think the structure of the two programs are quite similar, but vaguely remember that TC's program seem to offer more classes yo choose from (not quite sure on this since the search was done over a year ago). And actually no matter which program you are in, you can work in the other program's (and many other universities and hospitals in NYC) labs that best suit your research interests. I know people from TC working with professors at NYU and people in my program working at TC's lab. So in this regard, you could be very flexible!

One thing, though, I think make NYU's program a little bit better is that I heard some courses at TC are taught by Phd students while all the courses here at NYU are taught by faculty members. It's not necessary a bad thing to take classes taught by Phd students but more like personal preference to me. Some Phd students may have better teaching skills than professors since professors are generally more focused on their research. Another thing I took into consideration when I made the choice is that I feel like TC has this somehow loose and independent relationships with Columbia, which in some cases make them look like two different schools (for instance, TC and Columbia have different GRE school code). I just had a weird feeling about this back then but it doesn't have to be an issue while considering which program to go.

But either way, welcome to NYC! (If you are not a New Yorker already)

[psydean]

On 3/25/2019 at 9:38 PM, JASON2788 said:

One thing, though, I think make NYU's program a little bit better is that I heard some courses at TC are taught by Phd students while all the courses here at NYU are taught by faculty members. It's not necessary a bad thing to take classes taught by Phd students but more like personal preference to me. Some Phd students may have better teaching skills than professors since professors are generally more focused on their research. Another thing I took into consideration when I made the choice is that I feel like TC has this somehow loose and independent relationships with Columbia, which in some cases make them look like two different schools (for instance, TC and Columbia have different GRE school code).

Hi I'm at TC now, doing clinical psych as opposed to counseling, so I'm answering in regards to that program. 

1) I've never had a class nor heard of anyone in my program who had a class taught by a PhD student, I'd be curious if you could get names though. It would def be out of the norm. We have very few that serve as advisors though. 

2) I'm not sure what you mean by an independent relationship. It can definitely be confusing but other than the GRE code, but it doesn't really effect a TC student as far as I'm concerned. We have access to everything and all the buildings (except a very obscure library service that I'm not bitter about at all ?) It has the same type of relationship that Barnard has to Columbia proper if you're familiar with that.

Other than that def look into research interests and the relationships that the schools have with outside institutions in terms of research opportunities and all that stuff. I'm pretty sure they're equal in that sense. Let me know if you want me to weigh into anything else about TC!

[psydean]

ALSO as far as I'm concerned these are two superb programs and you'll win either way. Best of luck!

[TigerMem]

On 3/13/2019 at 5:52 PM, TR95 said:

Hey everyone! 

Is anyone else torn between NYU vs Teachers College for a MA in Psychology? I feel like I'm leaning towards Teachers College, but I honestly don't know which school is better. My ultimate goal is to obtain a doctorate after I complete the Masters program.

 

Thanks!

 

I applied (and surprisingly was accepted) to TC's program. If my financial aid is sufficient, I will likely go there in the Fall because the program is a good fit for me  (it is multicultural and social justice oriented, and has faculty doing global mental health work, which aligns perfectly to my research interests).

I think its less about which school is "better" (they both are very good programs and do well getting their students into PhD programs) and focus more about which school aligns with your research interests.

[gradstudentMACP95]

Thank you all for replying!!

 I'm 99% sure I'm going to attend TC in the fall. I like the course offerings and it just had me a little bit more excited thinking about attending next semester..I got accepted to the MA in Psych Education in the dept of clinical & counseling psychology. I think the whole TC/Columbia thing is a little confusing but ultimately I pair the two together because at the end your degree is from Columbia. Am I right on this? How is your experience at the school so far in terms of faculty, classes, peers, and advisement? (if that's not too much ha)

Thanks so much!

 

On 3/27/2019 at 7:45 PM, psydean said:

Hi I'm at TC now, doing clinical psych as opposed to counseling, so I'm answering in regards to that program. 

1) I've never had a class nor heard of anyone in my program who had a class taught by a PhD student, I'd be curious if you could get names though. It would def be out of the norm. We have very few that serve as advisors though. 

2) I'm not sure what you mean by an independent relationship. It can definitely be confusing but other than the GRE code, but it doesn't really effect a TC student as far as I'm concerned. We have access to everything and all the buildings (except a very obscure library service that I'm not bitter about at all ?) It has the same type of relationship that Barnard has to Columbia proper if you're familiar with that.

Other than that def look into research interests and the relationships that the schools have with outside institutions in terms of research opportunities and all that stuff. I'm pretty sure they're equal in that sense. Let me know if you want me to weigh into anything else about TC!

 

[readyset123]

I also went to TC for my MA and one of the factors I can think of considering when deciding between TC and NYU is incoming class size. TC's incoming class size felt large at times, so if NYU has a smaller incoming class, that could be a pro for their program. 

The previous posters are correct when it comes to freedom to research wherever you want to. I went to TC and did research there and at NYU and ultimately did my IP (kind of like your thesis to graduate) with an NYU lab. 

I liked that TC was fairly unstructured. They don't tell you which courses you have to take, however, that means if you are planning on a PhD in the future, you'll want to plan your courses accordingly. They don't make you take stats, but a PhD program will want you to have taken it. If that makes sense? There are grad student advisors that you can meet with to discuss what courses would be good to take for your future plans. They're usually really helpful. Faculty are also good resources for that, but they tend to not be as up to date on requirements. They know what they look for in a grad student but not necessarily what the field in general has moved to. I think this program is a very good example of something being what you make it. If you are proactive and organized, then you'll do great here. If you're looking for a more structured environment, you may want to consider NYU (if they possess that quality). 

If you want to research with a faculty member at TC (counseling or clinical) I would suggest contacting them and expressing your interest and then seeking them out very soon after the semester begins. You want to start research as soon as possible and a lot of the labs fill up quickly the first semester. Or, find research opportunities outside of TC as soon as possible. The longer you are working with a lab, the more likely you are to have presentation and publication opportunities. 

Just a side note about financials: they offer scholarships the first year but generally speaking those scholarships do not carry over into the second year. So unless your financial award explicitly states it is for multiple years, it's probably only for your first year. 

[PokePsych]

I"m an incoming student in the PhD program at Columbia (social psych focus) - so I won't be any source of info on the actual program but feel free to hit me up with any questions otherwise.

[psydean]

On 3/29/2019 at 4:18 PM, TR95 said:

Thank you all for replying!!

 I'm 99% sure I'm going to attend TC in the fall. I like the course offerings and it just had me a little bit more excited thinking about attending next semester..I got accepted to the MA in Psych Education in the dept of clinical & counseling psychology. I think the whole TC/Columbia thing is a little confusing but ultimately I pair the two together because at the end your degree is from Columbia. Am I right on this? How is your experience at the school so far in terms of faculty, classes, peers, and advisement? (if that's not too much ha)

Thanks so much!

 

 

I really enjoyed my professors and classes. I didn't like the director at all but you'll have minimal face time with him (don't take his research methods class). But yeah we all use it interchangeably and everyone gets a Columbia degree, even Barnard. If anyone tries to tell you that its not the same, let them know that all research that is columbia affiliated comes from TC so that'll shut them down real quick *? But most people who are not at columbia or live around there won't know what TC is and then they'll ask if you'll be a teacher so I skip all that and use columbia outside of TC.

*overgeneralization but largely true 

Edited April 6, 2019 by psydean

[psydean]

On 3/25/2019 at 9:38 PM, JASON2788 said:

Another thing I took into consideration when I made the choice is that I feel like TC has this somehow loose and independent relationships with Columbia, which in some cases make them look like two different schools (for instance, TC and Columbia have different GRE school code).

Also Columbia has several graduate schools so they don't only have two they likely have about 4 or 5. And if you're thinking about reputation, at the end of the day its Columbia who creates these programs. There are def programs that are more popular than the others (Columbia College and Columbia Law bcuz duh) but everyone takes classes everywhere so it there's only a particular kind of person who takes issue with anything not Columbia College not being columbia