Education and Training

The breadth and depth of Weill Cornell Department of Psychiatry's clinical, academic, and research programs provide broad educational offerings for our trainees and students.    All students are trained to understand patients from multiple perspectives including biological, brain-based; psychological; cultural and societal; and from a wellness, relapse prevention perspective.  We have a distinguished and committed faculty of over 160 full-time and 400 voluntary members contributing to our award-winning educational programs.  Moreover, we have forged important alliances with other institutions including Columbia University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Rockefeller University, and Lincoln Hospital.

Our highly regarded Medical Student Education Program in Psychiatry plays a major role across all four years of medical education.  We are proud of the high ranking our Psychiatry Clerkship receives from our students, and of our consistently high clerkship rating by our graduated students compared to nationwide student ratings of psychiatry clerkships.  Members of the faculty are active in sponsoring and mentoring medical students in scholarly projects that fulfill the medical school’s Area of Concentration (AOC) requirement, as well numerous electives in clinical care and research offered to students from Weill Cornell, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, and other U.S. and international medical schools.  

In the area of residency education, the Department's renowned program in general psychiatry prepares young psychiatrists for careers in academic psychiatry. The program offers outstanding training in clinical care, as well as research, education, and leadership. The Department also has accredited subspecialty training programs in child and adolescent, geriatric, and psychosomatic psychiatry, along with several opportunities for post-residency research training.

In the field of psychology, the Department offers a highly selective, one-year American Psychological Association-accredited Predoctoral Internship Program dedicated to preparing interns for the practice of psychology as clinical scientists. In addition, the Manhattan program offers a number of postdoctoral fellowships in the following areas: Cornell Cognitive Therapy Clinic, Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress, and Adult and Child Clinical Psychology. In addition, the Westchester Division offers several two-year postdoctoral fellowships in Neuropsychology, Eating Disorders, and Adult and Child Psychology. Education programs for social workers, nurses, mental health aides, patients, and their families are offered, as well.

The Weill Cornell Department of Psychiatry is proud of its major role in the development of future mental health care professionals. It is equally proud of its commitment to the education of patients, their families, and the surrounding community concerning issues related to all aspects of mental health.

Elizabeth L. Auchincloss, M.D.
Vice Chair for Education
Department of Psychiatry
Weill Cornell Medical College