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Department of Psychology

Plan of Study

The specialist program curriculum incorporates courses in psychological and educational foundations, and the development of skills in assessment, intervention, preventative mental health services, collaborative consultation, and research. Courses are carefully integrated with over 1800 hours of field-based experiences that include first year fieldwork, a practicum, and an internship in order to meet the training objectives of the program. The field experiences represent a central component of the professional training our specialist trainees receive, which allow trainees to apply acquired knowledge and professional skills in field-based settings. The sequence of field experiences is designed for the implementation of the collaborative scientific problem-solver model throughout the training. Field sites provide a key arena where the training core and the scientific method interface to produce a developing knowledge base in school psychology. Given the comprehensive nature of the specialist program and the level of training provided, graduate students are referred to as specialist trainees.

Applicants admitted to the specialist program may later request admission to the doctoral program. If admission to the doctoral program is approved, trainees should anticipate a course of study similar in length to that of the doctoral program. Trainees should anticipate at least two years of doctoral curriculum and completing the the doctoral internship and dissertation.

Prerequisite Courses

  • PSY 111 Introduction to Psychology
  • PSY 231 Research Methods in Psychology
  • PSY 340 Statistics for the Social Sciences
  • MAT 119 College Algebra
  • or MAT 120 Finite Mathematics
  • or MAT 144 Precalculus (can be taken as pass/fail, or satisfied by passing a competency examination administered by the Department of Mathematics or by completing an approved correspondence course)
  • Mathematics requirement will be waived if trainees received at least a B in a college-level statistics course or at least a score of 144 on the Quantitative Reasoning section of the Graduate Record Examination General Test.

Trainees are also encouraged to complete a child/adolescent development course and a theories of personality course prior to admission in the specialist program. Prerequisite courses, usually taken as an undergraduate student, cannot be taken for graduate credit.