New York

New York Psychology Education Overview

Psychology Licensure in New York

The Empire state has a vast array of potential career paths for human services professionals who have earned licensure in Psychology in the state of New York. Whether you want to work in private practice in Manhattan, or at a hospital in Buffalo you will find that there are a tremendous diversity of professional niches you can operate in as a licensed psychologist. New York has a population of just shy of 19.4 million people. While the population is spread out across the large state there are numerous opportunities for those who are licensed to practice Psychology in New York. A psychologist in New York can expect to earn a mean yearly wage of $84,090 according to the BLS1. For those who enjoy working with children, finding work in one of New York’s 500+ School districts2. If you enjoy a fast paced and highly stimulating environment with fellow professionals in a medical setting, then you may wish to seek employment with one of New York’s 280+ major hospitals3. Finding a great employment environment will be made much easier due to the tremendous diversity of potential career paths you will have once you have your license to practice Psychology in New York. Below you will find a step-by-step guide to help you in the process of earning your license to practice Psychology in New York.

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Required Educational Background

Becoming eligible to apply for a psychology license in New York requires that you earn your Ph.D. in Psychology from a board approved school. This of course means that you will need to have already graduated with a Bachelor and Master of Psychology to earn your Doctorate in Psychology.

You will need to earn your Bachelor of Psychology in order to eventually go on to attain your doctorate and become a licensed Psychologist in New York. Fortunately, the Bachelor of Psychology degree itself is extremely useful in addition to it being a stepping stone towards becoming a licensed Psychologist. A Bachelor of Psychology is actually one of the most desirable of all Bachelor degrees for the human services sector in terms of employment opportunities.

You are required to have attained your Master of Psychology degree to go on to earn your Ph.D., but this does not mean that earning your Master’s degree is merely a time sink. Studying for your Master of Psychology can help you in a variety of ways. For instance, it will really help you to determine the focus of your studies in Psychology as this is where specialization begins. This will help you to find a specialty that you find interesting, which in turn will help it to be a fulfilling and rewarding career. You should remember that while a Master’s is required to earn your doctorate, the Master of Psychology degree is also a valuable asset to have on your resume. Having a Master of Psychology is a very helpful degree to have for many human services careers.

Once your doctorate in psychology from a board approved school, you will need to start accumulating your required hours of field experience.

Field Experience

To verify your field experience component, you will need to follow these steps:

  • You must be 21 years of age and hold a doctorate in psychology from an accredited school
  • You will need to accumulate two years of supervised experience equaling 3500 hours.
  • One year of your experience can be from an internship or practicum while completing your doctorate this can count towards up to 1750 hours.
  • You will also need to earn 1750 hours of supervised experience after you have earned your doctorate. All experience must be under a board approved supervisor.
  • You will need to complete the Child Abuse Identification and Reporting requirement, by completing the necessary coursework and training. This is per Section 6507(3)(a) of the NY Education Law. You can find additional information including approved education providers here:

You will want to familiarize yourself with the New York specific rules and regulations for licensure. These laws change so it is good to make sure you have current information, you can find that information here:

Examination

Once you have completed your field experience you can apply to take the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP).

  • Apply to board to take the EPPP.
  • Pass the EPPP with a score meeting the New York minimum

You can find some helpful information about your EPPP here: