Preliminary Qualifying Examinations for Doctoral Candidates
Subsequent to completing all requirements for the Master's degree, except internship hours (or following the first year of course work for the student who enters the program with a masters degree), the student is eligible to take the School Psychology Preliminary Qualifying Examinations (SPPQE) as long as: (1) a program of study has been filed; and, (2) the student has received approval from his/her doctoral supervisory committee to proceed with the examination.
The SPPQE typically covers eight areas including: (1) history and theory in school psychology, (2) school psychology research, (3) assessment, diagnosis, and evaluation; (4) interventions; (5) consultation; (6) diversity; (7) ethical and professional issues; and (8) practice. Students participating in a specialized training will be asked a question that pertains to the content of the emphasis area. The examination is given twice yearly, once during fall semester, and again in the spring. The fall examination is typically scheduled the end of September/first of October and the spring semester exam the end of April/first of May. Specific dates will be announced by the end of the academic semester that precedes the examination. Students intending to take the examination must register at least two weeks before the examination date with the Program Director. The SPPQE is not offered during the Summer semester.
Questions for the SPPQE will be prepared by the primary School Psychology Faculty before the examination date. Questions will be drawn from a reading list (available from the school psychology program faculty); required program course content; and recent school psychology journals (one calendar year prior to the exam in SPQ and SPR). The Program Faculty encourages the formation of study groups in preparation for the SPPQE.
Successful completion of the examination consists of passing (70% or higher) the multiple-choice portion and a passing grade for the oral and written portion (literature review). The multiple choice exam consists of 200 questions and the oral examination is comprised of questions asked by the five core School Psychology faculty members. The literature review needs to be submitted on the first day of the exam and will be subject to questioning during the orals. The literature review should cover critical issues pertaining to the dissertation. It must be at least 25 pages in length (double spaced). The literature review is intended to give students a head-start on their dissertation proposals. Students must also receive a passing grade for the literature review, meaning there is no further writing that needs to be done and students are capable of answering basic questions during the orals. If any of the three portions of the exam (e.g., multiple choice, essay, oral) is not passed, the student has the right to take that portion of the examination over at the next formally scheduled prelim administration date.
Doctoral students may not hold a dissertation research colloquium until the SPPQE is successfully passed.
