CUNY SPS Online Psychology BA Program Ranked #6 in the Nation

The CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) is proud to announce that its online BA in psychology program has been ranked #6 in the nation on the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Online Bachelor’s in Psychology Programs. This assessment, offered by the publisher for the first time in their 2021 edition, joins the top ten ranking of the School in the list of the U.S. News & World Report’s best online bachelor’s programs overall and those for veterans.

“I am honored to learn that the CUNY SPS undergraduate psychology program has been ranked so highly by the U.S. News & World Report. This rating acknowledges the hard work and dedication by our faculty to provide students with a strong foundation in psychology and ground them in the analytical skills and concepts that will prepare them for future careers in the field and beyond,” said Dr. Carla Marquez-Lewis, academic director for the CUNY SPS psychology program. “This accolade also comes at a crucial time when the higher education community in general, and the psychology field in particular, is recognizing the importance of—and need for—quality online academic programs, both for the current COVID era and the future.”

Established in spring of 2012, the CUNY SPS BA in psychology is the only fully online psychology degree program offered at the City University of New York. The program’s online format, which is designed for adult learners juggling work and home responsibilities, allows students to read course materials, participate in class discussions, and complete their assignments on a more flexible schedule.

The BA in psychology program’s curriculum features a mix of required and elective courses, enabling students to gain a solid foundation in motivation, biological bases of behavior, cognition and learning, social behavior, statistical methods, research methodology, and development across the life span. Following the completion of nine core courses, students select a concentration for their advanced coursework along one of three tracks: Organizational Psychology, Psychological Development, or Psychopathology. By the end of the program, students learn how to conduct research, interpret behavioral situations, and communicate effectively.

As highlighted by the U.S. News & World Report ranking, the CUNY SPS BA in psychology has had a track record of success. Since its launch, the program’s enrollment has grown tremendously. Currently, 282 students attend the psychology program, and more than 260 have graduated from the program overall since 2012. For these graduates, the CUNY SPS online psychology BA serves as an excellent base for a variety of careers in fields like human and social services, management and business, marketing and marketing research, health care, and government, as well as for future graduate study in the discipline. 

The BA in psychology program is also noted for its accomplished faculty. In addition to Dr. Marquez-Lewis, the program boasts more than 20 regular faculty, nearly all of whom have PhDs in the field, who bring their vast knowledge to the classes they teach. The faculty’s areas of interest and specialization span many subsets of the discipline, including developmental psychology, psychopathology, experimental psychology, organizational leadership and management, and neuropsychology, among others.

The U.S. News & World Report Best Online Bachelor’s in Psychology Programs is a new assessment added by the publisher to its ranking list for 2021, along with one for Best Online Bachelor’s Programs - Business. According to U.S. News & World Report, the rankings for these two new categories were calculated using peer assessment surveys that were administered to these programs during the fall of 2020. For 2021, a total of 27 online psychology programs were ranked by the publisher.

About the CUNY School of Professional Studies

For nearly twenty years, the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) has been leading online education in New York. Notable for offering the most online Bachelor’s and Master’s degree options at the City University of New York, and for serving transfer students as the University system’s only undergraduate all-transfer college, CUNY SPS meets the needs of adults who are looking to finish a bachelor’s degree, progress from an associate’s degree, earn a master’s degree or certificate in a specialized field, and advance in the workplace or change careers.

The School’s growth has been remarkable, with twenty-four degrees launched since 2006. Enrollment has risen by more than 30% in the last four years to over 4,000 students in the credit-bearing programs and thousands more who are enrolled in non-degree and grant-funded workplace learning programs. In addition, the School has an active Alumni network and has established the CUNY SPS Foundation, which offers multiple scholarship opportunities to current students.

CUNY SPS has consistently been named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the country’s top online schools. Most recently, the School was ranked in the top 2% in the nation on the publisher’s list of the 2021 Best Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs, making CUNY SPS one of the highest nationally listed programs in New York State and the highest in New York City.

Press Contact
Andrea Fagon
Director of Marketing and Communications
andrea.fagon@cuny.edu