School psychology degree overview

• Graduate Developmental Psychology – examination of the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development of infants, children, and adolescents in the context of classic and current theory; exploration of issues such as attachment, resiliency, and policy issues that pertain to positive child and adolescent development; the sequence of child development and the processes that underlie it
• Academic Intervention – examination of school learning and the fundamental psychological principles that apply to teaching and learning; teachers’ responsibility for teaching curriculum, classroom management, and the social and emotional growth of students; how to critically evaluate the instruction provided to a student in a given content area; how to assess academic functioning, identify target areas for intervention, set appropriate goals, monitor student progress towards those goals, and evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions
• Ethical and Legal Issues – review of the laws and ethical principles that affect the practice of school psychologists within a school-community context
• Applied Psychology Methods – exploration of various types of research methods in the area of applied psychology; experimentation, content analysis, surveys, and interviews; research ethics, reliability, threats to internal and external validity, demand characteristics, volunteer participant problems, and issues in sampling
• Advanced Practicum: Issues in Diversity – supervised field experiences in school / clinical settings along with a lecture / classroom component emphasizing the development and application of a multicultural and contextual perspective; working with students from a variety of contextual, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds; topics include multicultural theory, culture, cultural identity, social class, race and ethnicity, gender issues, religion and spirituality, sexual orientation, oppression, resilience, privilege and power, immigration and acculturation, and multicultural assessment
• Development Psychopathology – examination of specific psychological disorders; current literature on evidence-based assessment and intervention; service delivery systems; the school psychologist’s role in service delivery and in disseminating information to schools and families
• Graduate Psychobiology – introduction to the field of behavioral neuroscience and the study of the neurobiological basis of cognition and behavior; topics include neuroanatomy and physiology, localization of function and brain injury, research methods in behavioral neuroscience, and the biological basis of learning, language, memory, emotion, conscious states, sexual behavior, etc.
• Internship – the school psychology internship is typically a long one, lasting up to 1200 hours; the internship year is a broad-based, individualized experience that provides an opportunity to work with a variety of children, parents, teachers, support staff, and administrators; interns are exposed to a variety of educational meetings, programs, workshops, resources, and conferences

Doctoral Degree in School Psychology – Five to Six Year Duration
Applicants to a doctoral program in school psychology must possess a bachelor’s or a master’s degree from an accredited university or college with a suitable foundation in the behavioral sciences. Completed courses must commonly include general psychology, child / developmental psychology, the psychology of learning, abnormal psychology, and psychology of personality.

The doctoral curriculum spans topics from the psychology core, the professional school psychology core, and the doctoral research core:

• Cognitive / Affective Aspects of Behavior
• Social Aspects of Behavior
• Biological Aspects of Behavior
• Ethics
• Multicultural Issues in Psychology
• Individual Differences / Human Development
• Exceptional Developmental Differences
• Quantitative Research Methods in Psychology and Education
• Qualitative and Single Case Design Research Methods
• Psychometric Theory
• Assessment
• Intervention
• Professional Issues
• Clinical Supervision of School Psychologists
• Evaluation of Psychological Services Delivery Programs

The program at this level involves extensive faculty-guided field-based research, and typically a minimum of 800 practicum hours and 1500 hours of internship work. These real-world experiences take place in schools, community and private practice settings, and/or hospitals and medical centers. Upon completion of their studies and defense of their dissertation, graduates are prepared for leadership roles and private practice.

Here are some examples of research focus areas:

• Autism spectrum disorders
• Achievement gap / disparity in academic performance between student groups defined by socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, and gender
• Social justice / education equity
• School-based mental health
• Trauma, trauma-informed practices, and trauma-informed multi-tiered systems of support
• Students with emotional and behavioral disorders, particularly students placed in self-contained classrooms (where a special education teacher is responsible for the instruction of all academic subjects)
• Action research in schools (a form of investigation designed for use by teachers to attempt to solve problems and improve professional practices in their own classrooms; action research involves systematic observations and data collection which can then be used by the teacher-researcher in reflection, decision-making, and the development of more effective classroom strategies)

Education
Students who major in education study the learning and teaching processes. Among the courses they take are educational psychology and teaching techniques.

Elementary Education
Degree programs in elementary education prepare students to teach children in their first stage of formal education, after preschool and before high school. They cover instructional techniques, curriculum development, and study of the subject areas to be taught.

Human Development
Degree programs in this human development explore physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development through each stage of human life – prenatal, infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, late adulthood, and death and dying.

The physical domain is concerned with growth and changes in the body and brain, the senses, motor skills, and health and wellness. Cognitive human development comprises learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity. Psychosocial development involves emotions, personality, and social relationships. Students learn how these three domains of human development influence and impact every aspect of our lives – from self-respect and self-esteem to how we interact with family, peers, and society at large.

Mental Health Counseling
The mental health counseling curriculum teaches students how to help people dealing with issues that impact their mental health and overall well-being. Coursework often includes the holistic or mind and body approach to counseling.

Psychology
The scientific study of the mind and behavior is the focus of psychology degree programs. In simple terms, psychology students study the way that humans and animals act, feel, think, and learn.

Social Work
Social work is about helping people solve and cope with problems and challenges in their everyday lives. Students who pursue a degree in the field gain the knowledge and skills, as well as the ethics and values, to work for social justice for individuals, families, organizations, and communities. The typical curriculum examines issues such as child welfare, mental health, poverty, aging, domestic violence, and marginalized groups.

Special Education Teaching
Graduates with a degree in special education are qualified to teach students with physical or mental disabilities. They help students develop basic life skills and must be prepared to adapt their curriculum to do so.

Substance Abuse Counseling
Degree programs in substance abuse counseling prepare students to counsel people suffering with alcohol and drug addiction, eating disorders, and other behavioral problems. The curriculum covers topics such as coping mechanisms and treatment plans.