Barnard College

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Psychology and Counseling Programs at Barnard College

Barnard College appears in our ranking of the 50 Great Small Colleges for a Bachelor’s in Psychology.

Barnard College offers degree programs for hundreds of students every year, including a major in psychology. Students can start this program in their first year and take Introduction to Psychology, which looks at all aspects of psychology and some of the famous names who worked in the industry. They will then need to take one lecture course from two different groups. The first group includes options such as Psychology of Learning, Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience. Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, and Clinical Psychology are courses in the second group. The college asks majors to take two psychology lab courses too.

The senior requirement is something that all majors need to do and complete by the end of their senior years. They can take a class called Fieldwork and Research Seminar. This asks them to spend two semesters working in the Barnard Toddler Center and is a popular choice for those who want to work in child psychology. Students can do a clinical field practicum to meet this requirement, but they’ll need to secure an externship site for the spring semester by the winter break. Barnard allows students to do a thesis in place of fieldwork too. Those who get approval from the college can take a senior seminar course from Columbia University.

Also known as the Barnard Center for Toddler Development, the Barnard Toddler Center serves as a preschool for young children and offers programs for local parents. Many psychology majors work or do volunteer work here. They take part in the learning lab to see which methods help children learn and host storytime events where they read to children. The center hosts an undergraduate seminar every semester for enrolled college students. Barnard asks that all psychology majors meet with their advisors regularly to make sure that they meet the program’s requirements.

About Barnard College

Barnard College is a private college for women located in Manhattan, New York. Annie Nathan Meyer established the college in 1889 and chose the Barnard name to honor a former president of Columbia University. At the time, Columbia only enrolled men and rejected women from its programs. Though he worked for the university, Frederick Barnard believed that men and women deserved equal rights in regards to education. As early as 1879, he called for the university to admit women. Columbia finally offered a program that allowed women to earn degrees from the university without studying on-campus. Meyer finished this program and decided to open a new school near the university solely for women. Barnard opened in 1889 with just 14 students and six faculty members.

The success of the college led to it moving from a single brownstone in Manhattan to a campus in Morningside Heights. It was able to build this campus thanks to several financial donations from prominent women in New York. Barnard became one of the only schools in the nation with doctoral programs for women and saw more women graduate from those programs than any other school in the nation for several straight years. The college is now one of the Seven Sisters group of schools and accepts around 11% of those who apply. Though Washington Monthly and U.S. News and World Report rank Barnard as one of the nation’s best liberal arts schools, Forbes ranks it as a top American school.

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Barnard College Accreditation Details

Barnard College sought regional accreditation because it wanted to make sure that incoming and returning students could get all the financial aid that they needed. This accreditation comes from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), which is one of the organizations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Students can access the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as it opens on October first to get financial aid for the following year. This accreditation also means that students can transfer credits to Barnard if they attended another school before.

Barnard College Application Requirements

Though Barnard is a selective college, it bases its decision on several factors, including the strength of the student’s essay and his or her background. Those who apply by the early deadline of November first will receive a decision by the middle of December. Students can apply by the standard application deadline of January first and get an answer by the end of March. Barnard encourages students to apply for a fee waiver if they cannot afford the $75 application fee. They will apply via the Common Application and complete the Barnard Writing Supplement. This essay allows students to explain why some of their grades are poor or why they chose the college.

After finishing the application, students can provide all the other required Barnard documents. The college asks for a high school transcript and requires that a guidance counselor provide a school report and an evaluation form. Students need to submit two evaluation forms from two of the teachers in core subject areas such as science and English. A mid-year report is due near the beginning of March also. Students can interview with college representatives too. Interviews are available both on-campus and off.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Undergrads taking at least 12 credits every semester will pay $27,890.50 per term or $55,781 each year. A comprehensive fee covers all the fees that the college charges and adds $1,887 to the student’s annual costs. Health insurance plans are available for students who want coverage, which will cost them $1,285 for the fall term and $2,003 for the spring and summer semesters. Barnard offers both dorm rooms and apartments for students that start at $5,413 a semester. Students can also pick from meal plans for as little as $1,112.50 per term.

Financial aid packages from Barnard College can help students cover most of their costs. Many students qualify for the Barnard College Grant, which the college awards to students who have a FAFSA that shows high need. New York has a tuition assistance grant that also goes to students who show need on the FAFSA. The Barnard College Job Program is open to any student willing to work for the college, but some students will qualify for the federal work-study program instead. Other financial aids available for psychology majors at Barnard College include loans and federal grants such as the Pell grant.

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