For the Spring 2009 Autism Spectrum Application click here (PDF, 397 KB).
Since 1998, the Institute has sponsored the undergraduate Disability Studies Certificate. The program hopes to increase the retention of quality direct care workers, improve their overall job performance, and strengthen the quality of care to consumers and their families. We ask nonprofit agencies to partner with us in this endeavor by agreeing to support their employee by signing a Partnership Agreement.
The Disability Studies Certificate is a customized 5-course college-level program including one non-credit preparatory Bridge course and four credit-bearing special topic classes. All five courses link theory with practice by drawing upon the students’ own work experience and a range of interdisciplinary academic work in the fields of psychology, human services, education, developmental disabilities, and applied behavior analysis.
While the courses offered differ slightly at each campus, some examples of classes in the undergraduate certificate in Disability Studies are:
- Introduction to Developmental Disabilities
- General Psychology
- Therapeutic Recreation
- Psychology of Adulthood and Aging
- Principles of Behavior Modification
This program is ideal for direct care workers with little or no college experience. Participants enroll in the program as a cohort and complete the coursework in approximately one and a half years. Students are employed in over 40 non-profit organizations and public
agencies and receive bonuses and/or promotional opportunities upon
completion of the certificate.
This interdisciplinary certificate has been offered through Lehman College, LaGuardia Community College, and NYC College of Technology. This program is funded through grants from the NYS Department of Health. The program is not currently accepting new undergraduate students.
If you have questions about this program, please contact Osmin Sullivan-Hewitt.
