School Psychology Program

 

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About the School Psychology Program:

The School Psychology Program at the University of Utah offers both Master's/Specialist and Doctoral degree programs. The doctoral program is accredited by the American Psychological Association and is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists.

Program faculty have diverse research and teaching interests in areas such as behavioral interventions, generalization strategies, traumatic brain injury, autism, neuropsychological assessment, early childhood intervention, developmental disabilities, schoolwide behavior support, consultation, social skills, and diversity issues. Program faculty are involved in several applied clinical and research projects. Focused training and experience in High-Incidence Disabilities and Leadership in Severe Disabilities is available.

This program has collaborative relationships with several community agencies, hospitals, clinics, school districts, state offices, and state and national associations characterize the professional activities of faculty and students in the School Psychology Program.

The Master's/Specialist degree is designed to prepare qualified and effective psychologists who will practice in schools or school-related settings. The program requires 73 semester hours for the degree which includes a 1,500-hour supervised internship. Upon completing the program, students meet Utah State Licensing Standards, as well as certification requirements for most other states.

The Doctoral degree is designed to prepare psychologists who will practice in schools and other psychologically- and educationally-related settings, such as clinics, health centers, hospitals, research and academic settings, and mental health agencies. The program adheres to a scientist-practitioner model of graduate education. Integrated didactic and applied experiences aide the students' attainment of a knowledge base and expertise to enhance the professional practice of school psychology. The program requires a total of 108 semester hours of coursework, which includes a 2,000-hour internship in school psychology.

Two specialty training tracks are available in the School Psychology Program. These specialized tracks are intended to offer doctoral students additional training, elective courses, and other specialized practica and internship experiences enabling them to acquire specific skills in each specialty area. Specialization in a track does not replace other requirements for the Ph.D. and should not significantly increase a student's overall hours in the program.

Program Philosophy:

The program adheres to a scientist-practitioner model which assumes that the effective practice of school psychology is based on knowledge gained from established methods of scientific inquiry. Emphasis is on the preparation of competent practitioners who are also skilled and dedicated researchers who contribute to the knowledge base in school psychology.

The faculty is committed to a learning environment that has a well organized and explicit curriculum with clear expectations. There is also a strong commitment to student-faculty interactions that encourage students to identify with the field and grow professionally. In addition, the program is designed to acquaint students with the diversity of theories and practices of school psychology that allow students sufficient intellectual freedom to experiment with different delivery systems and various theoretical bases.

The atmosphere is intended to foster informal student-faculty interaction, critical debate, and respect for theoretical diversity of practice thus lending itself to a more intense and exciting learning experience. Such a philosophy encourages and reinforces the student's creativity and intellectual risk taking that are fundamental in the further development of the professional practice of school psychology.

For more information see the Program Handbook.