Program Information

PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY AND GOALS

This is a Specialist-level Program in School Psychology and resides in the Department of Human Services in the College of Health and Human Services. The Education Specialist Degree (Ed.S.) consists of three years of full-time study which includes:

Approximately 79 graduate semester hours of coursework
Two-semester practica experience during Year 2
Nine-month, full-time (minimum 1200 hours) supervised internship in a school setting completed during Year 3
After completing first year course work and field experience requirements (minimum of 30 hours of coursework and 100 prepractica hours), students earn the M.A. degree.
The program received Full Approval by the National Association of School Psychologists in 2007, and was most recently reviewed in 2020 with Full Approval granted through 2027.

After successfully completing the program, students will be expected to:

Demonstrates satisfactory knowledge and skill to function and engage in culturally responsive practices; exhibits satisfactory interpersonal and communication skills; develops collaborative relationships in order to provide professional services that promote effective functioning for individuals, families, and schools with diverse characteristics, cultures, and backgrounds; shows respect for diversity in development and learning and knowledge of the research related to family systems and evidenced-based strategies to support and involve families; possesses satisfactory conflict resolution skills that facilitate and enhance relationships with others (NASP 2.2, 2.7, 2.8).

Demonstrates satisfactory knowledge and skills to function as an instructional consultant; understands ecological influences on academic skills, learning, cognition, and development; identifies, implements and evaluates evidence-based interventions and instructional strategies; selects, administers and interprets academic and cognitive assessment information; and engages ecological problem solving guided by data-based decision making to address the instructional needs of all students (NASP 2.1, 2.2, 2.3).

Demonstrates satisfactory knowledge and skills to function as a mental health consultant; understands biological, developmental and social influences on behavior and mental health; identifies, implements and evaluates evidence-based interventions that promote healthy social-emotional functioning; selects, administers, and interprets assessment information for behavior and adaptive functioning; and engages in systematic problem solving guided by data-based decision making to support and improve the socialization, learning, and mental health of all students (NASP 2.1, 2.2, 2.4).

Demonstrates satisfactory knowledge and skills to function as a system-level consultant; understands principles and research in system change and general and special education; understands principles and research related to resilience and risk factors in learning and applies knowledge to maintain and improve evidence-based practices and programs linking schools and communities; develops, implements, and evaluates at the system-level practices and strategies that create and maintain safe and supportive schools, including an evidence-based crisis prevention and response system (NASP 2.5, 2.6, 2.9).

Demonstrates satisfactory professional dispositions and development of professional identity as a school psychologist; engages in practices that follow ethical and legal guidelines and policies; pursues ongoing professional development; and engages in research in order to inform services delivery such that it improves outcomes for children, families, and schools and the field (NASP 2.8, 2.9, 2.10).

Program foundational skills and knowledge

The School Psychology Program is committed to training and preparing professionals who:

have expertise in education and psychology
function as both mental health specialist and instructional specialist
provide data-driven, evidence-based, and culturally-responsive services to children and their families

This is accomplished using a scientist-practitioner model with an ecological orientation emphasizing prevention and early intervention through a collaborative problem-solving approach that is guided by data-based decision making.

PROGRAM HANDBOOK

Provides information and forms related to the program policies and procedures, the curriculum, and the formative and summative of evaluation of students.

STUDENT HANDBOOK

View of campus

INTERNSHIP MANUALS

Prepractica Field Experience Manual - Provides information and forms related to the two semester, minimum 100 hour first-year field experience

Practica Field Experience Manual - Provides information and forms related to the two-semester, minimum 400 hour, second-year practica experience.

Internship Field Experience Manual - Provides information and forms related to the full year, minimum 1200 hour third-year internship experience.

Ohio Internship Manual - Provides information and forms related to the policies and procedures for Ohio school psychology interns. Note: The Ohio internship training program relies upon the cooperative partnership of local school districts, universities, and the Ohio Department of Education. The value placed on this training experience by the Ohio Department of Education is reflected in its long history of providing funding for the internship, which enables interns to devote themselves fully to the demands and opportunities of the internship year. Funding continues to be provided by the Ohio Department of Education to ensure that the learners attending Ohio schools receive highly effective school psychological services. When interns agree to accept the financial support provided by the State of Ohio, they agree to repay Ohio’s investment in them by providing quality school psychological services to Ohio’s learners for a minimum of one year following the internship.

School Psychology Program (M.A., Ed.S.)