Plan of Study

Doctorate in School Psychology > Plan of Study

Based on the comprehensive nature of the doctoral program and the level of training provided, graduate students are referred to as doctoral trainees. Trainees have eight years to complete the doctorate degree starting with the first semester of enrollment in the doctoral program. Applicants admitted to the doctoral program with a specialist degree in school psychology or a master's degree may receive a maximum of 60 credits towards the doctorate in School Psychology.

Advanced graduate admission is determined on an individual basis after the School Psychology Coordinating Committee reviews the trainee's transcript(s). If the full 60 credits are approved, trainees enter the doctoral program in the third year of graduate study. With advanced graduate admission, the doctorate can be completed in three years with a 12-month internship and after completing the dissertation defense. At least two years of full-time graduate study must be completed at Illinois State.

The School Psychology Coordinating Committee assigns a program advisor for each doctoral trainee. Program advisors are responsible for guiding trainees through the graduate curriculum, conducting annual evaluations, and providing feedback to each trainee. Trainees may request a change in their program advisor, but only under unusual circumstances. To request a different program advisor, trainees should submit a written petition to the School Psychology Coordinating Committee that explains the circumstances for the change. The Coordinating Committee will notify the trainee, in writing, of its decision.

Program advisors also assist trainees in the development of the Degree Audit Worksheet, which is available on the Doctoral Forms & Agreements website . Trainees must have an approved Degree Audit Worksheet by the end of the spring semester of their second year in the doctoral program. Without an approved Worksheet, trainees cannot register for 500-level courses and are not eligible to take the comprehensive examination.

Residency Requirement

The Doctoral Program’s residency policy requires trainees to enroll for at least nine graduate credits for both the fall and spring semesters for the first four years of graduate study. Trainees have time to assume duties associated with assistantships, attend monthly program-sponsored meetings and thesis and dissertation proposal and defenses, and participating in colloquia or symposia at the University and in surrounding communities. Trainees also have time to work collaboratively with faculty members on research projects.

Program Aims and Competencies

The Doctoral Program strives to educate health service psychologists within the specialty of school psychology who demonstrate discipline specific knowledge pertinent to the field of psychology and professional competencies necessary to deliver high quality services in a range of settings.

Aim I: To prepare competent entry-level school psychologists who possess foundational and integrated knowledge across the basic areas of the discipline of psychology, which will demonstrated by using basic psychological principles to understand and explain human behavior

Competencies

• Demonstrate knowledge of the history and systems of psychology and the specialty of school psychology
• Demonstrate knowledge of research and theory pertaining to the affective, biological, cognitive, developmental and social aspects of behavior
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of research methods, statistics, and psychometrics
• Demonstrate the ability to integrate, at an advanced level, research and theory from multiple basic areas of psychology

Aim II: To educate school psychologists with the necessary profession-wide entry-level competencies to deliver effective psychological health services to children, adolescents, and families These services include assessment, intervention, consultation, prevention, and clinical and administrative supervision. The competencies in these areas are exhibited in settings chosen by the graduate, which may include schools, hospitals, university-based clinics, mental health settings or independent practice.

Research Competencies Demonstrate a substantially independent ability to formulate research or other scholarly activities (e.g., critical literature reviews, dissertation, efficacy studies, clinical case studies, theoretical papers, program evaluation projects, program development projects) that are of sufficient quality and rigor to have the potential to contribute to the scientific, psychological, or professional knowledge base: a. Conduct research or other scholarly activities, and b. Critically evaluate and disseminate research or other scholarly activity via professional publication and presentation at the local, regional, or national level.

Ethical and Legal Standards Competencies

• Be knowledgeable of and act in accordance with:
  • The current version of the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
  • Relevant laws, regulations, rules, and policies governing health service psychology at the organizational, local, state, regional, and federal levels
  • Relevant professional standards and guidelines
  • Demonstrate knowledge of legal issues including eligibility criteria for special education services based on federal, state, and district policies, and ethical principles impacting the professional practice of school psychology
  • Recognize ethical dilemmas as they arise, and apply ethical decision-making processes in order to resolve the dilemmas
  • Conduct self in an ethical manner in all professional activities

Individual and Cultural Diversity Competencies

• Demonstrate the requisite knowledge base, articulate an approach to working effectively with diverse individuals and groups, and apply this approach effectively in one’s professional work
• Demonstrate an understanding of how one’s own personal/cultural history, attitudes, and biases may affect one’s understanding and interaction with people different from oneself
• Demonstrate knowledge of the current theoretical and empirical knowledge base as it relates to addressing diversity in all professional activities including research, training, supervision/consultation, and service
• Demonstrate the ability to integrate awareness and knowledge of individual and cultural differences in the conduct of professional roles (e.g., research, services, and other professional activities), which includes the ability to apply a framework for working effectively with areas of individual and cultural diversity not previously encountered over the course of one’s career
• Demonstrate the ability to work effectively with individuals whose group membership, demographic characteristics, or worldviews create conflict with one’s own

Professional Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors Competencies

• Behave in ways that reflect the values and attitudes of psychology, including integrity, deportment, professional identity, accountability, lifelong learning, and concern for the welfare of others
• Engage in self-reflection regarding one’s personal and professional functioning; engage in activities to maintain and improve performance, wellbeing, and professional effectiveness (i.e., self-reflection and self-improvement activities may address issues such as stress management, time management, attention to professional appearance, adaptability, initiative/independence, and maturity/judgment, among others)
• Actively seek and demonstrate openness and responsiveness to feedback and supervision
• Respond professionally in increasingly complex situations with a greater degree of independence while progressing across levels of training

Communication and Interpersonal Skill Competencies

• Develop and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of individuals, including colleagues, communities, organizations, supervisors, supervisees, and those receiving professional services
• Produce and comprehend oral, nonverbal, and written communications that are informative and well-integrated; demonstrate a thorough grasp of professional language and concepts
• Demonstrate effective interpersonal skills and the ability to manage difficult communication well

Assessment Competencies

• Demonstrate current knowledge of diagnostic classification systems, functional and dysfunctional behaviors, including consideration of client strengths and psychopathology
• Demonstrate understanding of human behavior within its context (e.g., family, social, societal and cultural)
• Demonstrate the ability to apply the knowledge of functional and dysfunctional behaviors including context to the assessment and/or diagnostic process
• Select and apply assessment methods that draw from the best available empirical literature and that reflect the science of measurement and psychometrics; collect relevant data using multiple sources and methods appropriate to the identified goals and questions of the assessment as well as relevant diversity characteristics of the service recipient
• Interpret assessment results, following current research and professional standards and guidelines, to inform case conceptualization, classification, and recommendations, while guarding against decision-making biases, distinguishing the aspects of assessment that are subjective from those that are objective
• Communicate orally and in written documents the findings and implications of the assessment in an accurate and effective manner sensitive to a range of audiences

Intervention Competencies

• Establish and maintain effective relationships with the recipients of psychological services
• Develop evidence-based intervention plans specific to the service delivery goals
• Implement interventions informed by the current scientific literature, assessment findings, diversity characteristics, and contextual variables
• Demonstrate the ability to apply the relevant research literature to clinical decision-making
• Modify and adapt evidence-based approaches effectively when a clear evidence-base is lacking
• Evaluate intervention effectiveness, and adapt intervention goals and methods consistent with ongoing evaluation
• Demonstrate knowledge of prevention models and practices

Supervision Competencies

• Demonstrate knowledge of supervision models and practices
• Establish effective culturally responsive supervisory relationships
• Develop a personal philosophy and model of supervision that can guide future administrative and clinical supervision activities
• Implement effective supervisory methods

Consultation and Interprofessional/Interdisciplinary Skill Competencies

• Demonstrate knowledge of consultation models and practices
• Demonstrate knowledge and respect for the roles and perspectives of other professions
• Establish effective, collaborative relationships with consultees including teachers, parents, and administrators consistent with best practice
• Plan and evaluate evidence-based indirect-service interventions based on the consultation plan developed with teachers, administrators, parents, or systems
• Communicate (orally and in writing) consultation results to concerned parties, such as children, parents, and teachers

Program Curriculum

All program requirements are at the graduate level and a minimum of 113 credits are required for the doctorate degree. Graduate credit is not awarded for remedial courses. Prerequisite courses, usually taken as an undergraduate student, cannot be taken for graduate credit. Trainees must consult with their program advisor before registering for any PSY 590 Advance Practicum course. Internship sites are selected by trainees with their program advisor's approval.

Prerequisites

The courses listed below are usually taken as an undergraduate student. If not completed as an undergraduate, doctoral trainees will be required to complete these courses, which cannot count toward graduate credit.

• 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 (or can be 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 grade in a college-level statistics course or obtain at least a score of 144 on the Quantitative Reasoning section of the GRE General Test.

Suggested 5-Year Course Sequence

Graduate courses are required in the following areas: biological, cognitive, social, and affective bases of behavior, scientific and professional ethics and standards, and measurements, statistics and research. Courses in cultural, ethnic, and sex role bases of behavior, individual differences, etiology of learning, and behavior disorders are also included. A suggested five-year course schedule is identified below. The schedule may change based on the availability of instructors and course scheduling. All courses are for three credits unless otherwise noted.