School psychology FAQs
Program fit and eligibility
Learn more about the program, requirements, and our application process on our webpage. We encourage prospective students to review the applicable degree information (MA+specialist certificate or PhD) in our student handbook. It includes required coursework and other activities.
Prospective PhD students are also encouraged to review Faculty profiles and recent research of our doctoral advisors, Drs. Lisa Aguilar, Faith Miller, Kirsten Newell, and Amanda Sullivan. PhD students are expected to work closely with a faculty advisor during their time in the program, both on their required research projects and ongoing collaborative work during their graduate studies. This makes alignment between faculty and student interests very important.
We encourage applicants to explore the program handbook and faculty profiles and webpage where you’ll find information on our program goals, orientation, curriculum, and other features. School psychology programs vary widely, so please consider the extent to which program features are consistent with your interests, goals, and values.
Yes. We consider applicants from all academic backgrounds. Most applicants do have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in psychology, but our graduates have also come from areas of study spanning education, social sciences, law, liberal arts, and the sciences. We don’t have psychology prerequisites for applicants or admitted students, but students may benefit from coursework or independent study related to introductory psychology, educational psychology, or basic statistics and research methods in the social sciences if these are not areas to which they were exposed in their undergraduate studies. The program coordinator or advisors are happy to work with students to identify areas for growth as needed.
We encourage applicants to review the profiles of our faculty, their CVs, websites, and publications. Google Scholar can be a great way to access the most recent information on their publications, or you can use your university’s library website.
For prospective applicants for the MA+specialist certificate track, this is not an issue as long as the applicants’ broader professional interests and goals are consistent with the program orientation and goals. You can learn more about the program orientation in the program handbook which also includes descriptions of student projects in an appendix.
For PhD students, advisor fit is an important aspect of our admissions decisions, so prospective applicants are encouraged to review faculty CVs and publications. If you don’t see any potential links of your research interests to program faculty, this program may not be a great fit for you. but feel free to reach out to faculty to clarify. We don’t expect student interests to match ours exactly, but we find it to be most beneficial for students’ mentoring experiences when there is some overlap in topics, theories, and/or methods.
Our program emphasizes research in all aspects of graduate preparation. All students in the PhD and MA+specialist certificate tracks will complete original research projects under advisement of program faculty. Our coursework and fieldwork heavily feature seminal and contemporary scholarship in psychology, school psychology, and related fields. As such, many classes draw primarily on published research articles rather than textbooks. Most importantly, we focus on preparing all students in our program to be scientist-practitioners who will be engaged with research in one or more capacities—consumption, application, creation, and dissemination—throughout their careers.
All students have an advisor from among the program’s core faculty. The program’s advising model and expectations for student success and completion of required research projects is described in the program handbook.
A specialist student’s advisor also provides some support for students’ completion of the research project required for the MA degree, with primary support for the project provided within the required course, EPSY 8822: Research in School Psychology. Most MA+specialist certificate students will complete a systematic review project to meet this requirement. The full process is described in the program handbook.
Each doctoral student is advised by one of the program’s core, tenure-track faculty members with whom they had the best research fit, and participates in the advisor’s research lab/team. Doctoral students work closely with their advisors as they complete the research requirements described in the program handbook.
No, all students in the program are advised by core faculty members. All PhD students are advised by the program’s core, tenure-track faculty: Drs. Lisa Aguilar, Faith Miller, Kirsten Newell, and Amanda Sullivan. We do not admit students to work with advisors outside of the core school psychology faculty. Currently, our doctoral advisors are Drs. Faith Miller and Amanda Sullivan. For the MA+specialist certificate, students are advised by either Dr. Jessie Kember, or Dr. Mollie Weeks, or and Sarah Wollersheim Shervey who will provide primary academic advising and support.
Yes. In this case, you should prepare your personal statement following the directions for PhD applicants and indicate your interest in both tracks in your application materials. If you are invited for Applicant Day, we will indicate whether you are being considered for the MA+specialist certificate or both, and this can be discussed further during meetings with the program faculty to help you decide your best route.
Practicum and internship are increasingly individualized as students progress through the program. We have a ‘vertical team model’ for the introductory and intermediate practica all students complete in years 1 and 2, respectively, as well as third year practica for PhD students. These placements are linked to students’ required program coursework in years 1 and 2 in sites where students have the opportunities to practice the skills introduced in the coursework. Doctoral students’ fourth year practica and internships are often more tailored to their interests, and may include non-school settings. That said, most students complete all of their fieldwork in school settings.
Maybe. If you have a master’s degree, you may be eligible for transfer credits, but those are determined by our department’s course instructor for each course based on the comparability of syllabi. These decisions are often made after admissions, but applicants invited for further consideration may query potential transfer credits during that process. Most often, students are able to transfer in some credits (approximately three to eighteen) toward the department core requirements (described in the university catalog for the masters, specialist certificate, and PhD but not much toward the program’s school psychology coursework unless the previous degree was in school psychology. Many students with previous masters also complete a predissertation project because their previous MA theses did not meet department or program requirements for method, scope, or topic. As such, most PhD students can anticipate four to five total years in the program for coursework, exams, research, and internship requirements unless the previous degree was in school psychology, in which case three to four years of study are possible. That said, every students’ degree plan can be individualized according to their past educational and research experience, so this is something to discuss with the program coordinator.
Generally, no. Most courses are offered during standard business hours, and students complete 0.5-3 days of fieldwork in schools (depending on their stage in the program), often making it impractical to have full-time, daytime employment. That said, we provide sample 4 and 6 year plans for students interested in lighter course loads. The program coordinator can discuss potential degree plans and logistics for applicants based on their unique situations.
Yes. Students in the MA+specialist certificate track can apply for admission to the PhD program while in the program. Most MA+specialist certificate students interested in this route apply during the fall of their second year in the program, but should discuss this option as early as possible with the track coordinators and their advisor to identify potential implications for course selection. Admission to the PhD track is not automatic, and is instead based on the same considerations applied to new applicants. Research interests and commitment to scholarship are the key distinctions from the MA+specialist certificate track. For this reason, it is important for PhD applicants to clearly articulate advisor match.
Yes. Post-graduation employment opportunities in the field vary by country. Some graduates eventually stay in the US; others eventually return to the their home countries or other, and may be employed in a range of positions including, but not limited to: school psychologist, researcher, professors, administrators in various offices of educational agencies or government. The International School Psychology Association may have more information on the development of school psychology outside of the US.
No. Past research experience (e.g., honors theses, undergraduate research experience, independent project, research assistantships, etc.) can be valuable, but is not required. We understand that opportunities to engage in such activities are not a given and welcome students who may not have had such opportunities but who are interested in what our program has to offer. What we value most is a passion for developing one’s research skills and commitment to engaging in research-based practices.
Maybe, but only to the extent that such experience provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate your fit with the program, faculty interests, and expected competencies and professionalism. Volunteering doesn’t necessarily boost likelihood of admission if the student isn’t interested in the research being conducted or poorly completes assigned tasks.
Probably not. Our program is designed to prepare school psychologists with an emphasis on consultation, systems change, and research-based school-based interventions to address K12 students’ diverse academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs. All students gain competencies in assessment, intervention, and consultation, but, counseling is not an emphasis in our curriculum or fieldwork. You might want to check out the department’s counseling program instead or the other psychology programs in our university to explore which might be the best fit for your interests and goals.
Maybe. Although our program is APA-accredited and prepares PhD graduates for licensure to practice psychology, our program is designed to prepare school psychologists with an emphasis on consultation and research-based school-based interventions to address K12 students’ diverse academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs. Clinical psychology is not an emphasis. Coursework and fieldwork are structured such that students wouldn’t have an opportunity to pursue clinical psychology electives until 3rd year or clinical psychology fieldwork until 4th year. In addition, because we are also NASP accredited, it’s generally required that internship (or an equivalent fieldwork experience) include at least 600 hours in a school setting, which often makes a clinical psychology emphasis impractical.
Probably not. Our program is designed to prepare school psychologists with an emphasis on consultation and research-based school-based interventions to address K12 students’ diverse academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs. We offer no coursework or fieldwork in neuropsychology. Coursework and fieldwork are structured such that doctoral students wouldn’t have an opportunity to pursue neuropsychology electives until 3rd year or neuropsychology fieldwork until 4th year. What’s more, because we are also NASP accredited, it’s generally required that internship (or an equivalent fieldwork experience) include at least 600 hours in a school setting, making a neuropsychology emphasis impractical.
Probably! In our PhD track, we emphasize faculty development for individuals interested in pursuing a career as a faculty member in school psychology. Our curriculum features rigorous preparation not only in research methods and statistics, but higher education instruction, assessment, mentoring, and supervision as well. All PhD students complete supervised teaching and supervision experiences and develop a teaching portfolio. There are numerous opportunities to learn about faculty roles, publishing, and other relevant aspects of future faculty preparation. Most of our PhD students graduate with multiple research publications and several professional presentations, as research requirements are structured to allow for submission to professional journals and conferences.
For our MA+Specialist Certificate track, most alumni are working as credentialed school psychologists in K12 educational settings. For our PhD track, our graduates are split relatively evenly across (1) school psychology positions in K12 educational settings; (2) university positions including faculty and researchers; and (3) other settings (e.g., district administration, nonprofit agencies, private clinics, hospitals). Our curriculum, field training, and other graduate preparation emphasize options 1 and 2.
Application process
No, you are not required to submit any GRE test scores for application and admission to our program.
Applications are due December 1. We only admit students to start in the fall semester of the following year. For applicants invited to advance in the admissions process, virtual Applicant Day takes place in early January and initial admissions offers are made by mid-January.
We review applications by early December and notify candidates invited for interviews. Interviews take place in early January and initial admissions offers are made by mid- to late-January. We offer rolling admission to waitlisted applicants throughout the spring.
There are several parts to the application package, so be sure to follow the directions. Beyond the information provided on your past educational experiences and accomplishments, and your letters of recommendation, the essays are really important. The essays allow students the opportunity to articulate their interests in school psychology and this program in particular. For applicants to the PhD track, the essays provide the applicant opportunities to articulate fit with the program and potential advisor match. The essay directions are specific for the content and structure expected, so be sure to follow the directions as you describe your interests and goals. When you solicit letters of recommendation, we encourage you to seek letters from people who are familiar with your academic, scholarly, or professional work and can speak to your potential to be successful in the program and as a school psychologist.
No. We encourage prospective applicants to review the following materials in depth and then to contact us if they have questions not answered in our materials.
Interviews and admissions decisions
No. Our Applicant Day is entirely virtual in order to maximize accessibility for prospective students. Applicants are welcome to visit campus independently, and we’ll happily facilitate meetings with faculty and current students.
Both. For MA+specialist certificate applicants, admissions decisions are made based on general fit with the program. For PhD applicants, we consider both: first, fit with program and second, fit with advisors’ research programs. The program handbook provides a detailed description of the program orientation. We are very intentional in selecting students for whom the program is a good match to their professional orientation and goals since students have many varied options for graduate programs.
No. We have a general policy against providing specific feedback. We make decisions based on the overall strength of each applicant’s previous educational and employment experience, recommendations, and fit with the program as articulated in their essays and other materials. Because admissions are limited by faculty and staff capacity, most cohorts are between 5-10 students. Admission is a competitive process with a rejection rate as high as 80% in some years. We encourage students interested in reapplying to revisit the program information and consider whether they are a good fit. You might also find it helpful to ask a trusted mentor or friend to review your materials for strengths and weaknesses.
Yes. We encourage students interested in reapplying to revisit the program information and consider whether they are a good fit. You might also find it helpful to ask a trusted mentor or friend to review your materials for strengths and weaknesses.
No.
Student funding
Most of our students are supported by graduate assistantships that might entail research duties, teaching assistance, or some combination thereof. Graduate assistantships generally provide tuition waivers each semester, health insurance, and a stipend equivalent to approximately $20-25/hour for 20 hours/week appointments (rate dependent on duties). Some of these appointments are on projects with school psychology program faculty, but our students may also work for other faculty and researchers in our home department, Educational Psychology; other departments in the college or university; or in one of the many research or outreach centers affiliated with the college. There are also training fellowships (e.g., Project I-LEAD) available to MA+specialist certificate students that provide stipends on a semester or annual basis to support grant specific training experiences (e.g., courses, fieldwork, proseminars.)
No. We match as many students as possible to funding at the point of admissions offers, but most students secure assistantships in the interim between admission and the start of the school year. We do not guarantee funding for students, but historically all doctoral students in the program have been supported by graduate fellowships or assistantships that provide instate tuition waivers, health insurance, and a stipend equivalent to approximately $20-25/hour for 20 hours/week appointments. Some of these appointments are on projects with school psychology program faculty, but our students may also work for other faculty and researchers in the department, or in one of the many research or outreach centers affiliated with the college. In addition, graduate fellowships range from a few thousand dollars to packages commensurate with full-time graduate assistantships (or higher).
Once accepted, our students are subscribed to program, department, and college listservs through which position announcements are distributed, and we try to match students to available opportunities. You can also find information via the university’s HR website or the training grant webpages (e.g., Project I-LEAD).