Program Objectives & Curriculum
The objectives of both the masters and doctoral programs are to ensure that each student exhibits the following personal characteristics, academic knowledge, and practitioner competencies that fully qualify her/him as a professional.
Personal Characteristics:
Students' professional activities are expected to conform to the ethical standards outlined by the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists; and, in addition, students' professional activities are expected to be characterized by:
A democratic attitude that respects the worth, uniqueness, and potential for growth and development of all individuals.
Personal stability, ethical behavior, and respect for the confidentiality of privileged information.
A personal manner in which responsibilities are discharged in a cooperative and conscientious fashion.
Productive work habits that display motivation, independence, and adaptability.
Commitment to continuing professional growth to include involvement in professional associations for school psychologists.
Academic Knowledge:
Students are expected to be knowledgeable and possess in-depth understanding of the following core content areas:
Psychological Foundations: Cognitive-affective bases of behavior, Biological bases of behavior, Social bases of behavior, Individual differences, Research design and statistics, and History and systems in psychology.
Educational Foundations: Organization and operations of the schools, Instructional and remedial techniques, and Alternative and regular educational processes.
Psychoeducational Methods: Pupil services management including early identification, assessment, program design, intervention strategies, and evaluation; Indirect pupil services to include prevention, consultation, in-service, and program organization and administration.
Professional School Psychology: Professional issues, Standards and Ethics, and Legal issues.
Practitioner Competencies:
Students are expected to demonstrate a high level of proficiency and competence in each of the following areas:
Identification and Diagnostic Study of the Individual Student
Psychological Services in the Schools
Classroom Remediation Strategies, Intervention, and Psychoeducational Program Planning
Consultation and In-Service
Evaluation and Applied Research
In addition to the above competencies, doctoral students are expected to be able to conceptualize and design interventions that enhance the knowledge base and the professional practice of school psychology and to be competent in preparing research manuscripts for publication.
