PhD in School Psychology

The program’s aim is to prepare graduates for entry to practice in health service psychology based on the profession-wide competencies endorsed by APA. This program’s training model is consistent with the scientist-practitioner model and includes additional elements of advocacy, which align with the NASP training model in School Psychology.

Specifically, the doctoral program provides training for students in the following competencies in health service psychology:

• Research – Demonstrate the ability to independently formulate research at the level that has the potential to contribute to the scholarly knowledge base.
• Ethical and legal standards – Be knowledgeable about current professional ethics codes, relevant laws at the state and federal level, and model ethical behavior in professional settings.
• Inclusiveness – Understand personal and cultural history, attitudes and biases, integrate awareness of cultural differences in professional roles, develop skills to work effectively to support inclusiveness across all professional settings.
• Professional values, attitudes and behaviors – Demonstrate behaviors that reflect values and attitudes of psychology, including integrity, accountability, lifelong learning and concern for welfare of others, and respond to increasingly complex situations with greater independence as training progresses.
• Communication and interpersonal skills – Develop and maintain effective relationships and interpersonal skills with a wide range of individuals, communities, and organizations.
• Assessment – Demonstrate knowledge and skills concerning fundamentals of psychological measurement and comprehensive assessment using multiple sources and methods to address referral questions, and use assessment tools to inform case conceptualization and recommendations from a culturally responsive lens.
• Consultation – Demonstrate the ability to apply theoretical knowledge and skills based on different models of consultation when working with teachers, parents, and other professionals in interdisciplinary settings.
• Prevention/Intervention – Demonstrate the skills to design and implement evidence-based  prevention strategies and interventions for children and adolescents and within schools and organizations based on scientific literature, informed by assessments, and with attention to diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Supervision – Demonstrate knowledge of supervision models and practices, methods of supervisee and supervisor evaluation, and understanding of the role of culture and individual differences in supervision relationships.