School Psychology PhD

The Ph.D. program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). For general information about APA accreditation or specific information about the accreditation status of our program contact:

Jacqueline Remondet Wall, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association 
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
(202) 336-5979 /  http://www.apa.org

If you have questions regarding the accreditation of the program by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) contact:

Natalie Politikos, Ph.D.
National Association of School Psychologists
4340 East West Highway
Suite 402
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-657-4155 / http://www.nasponline.org

Our Ph.D. program requires a minimum of 90 points. Attainment of the doctoral degree prepares students for certification as a school psychologist and licensure as a psychologist.

On average, doctoral students should plan on 5 years of full-time attendance, including summers. This includes three years of coursework, two years of externship in the third and fourth year, a full-year internship during the fifth year, and a dissertation. The program can be completed in 5 years if students begin a program of research early in the program and complete the doctoral certification requirements (research methods examination, theoretical and empirical paper) by the 4th year of the program. Typically, most of the coursework (including practica, fieldwork, and externship) is completed by the end of the 3rd year. However, for many years, all students have completed two externships to make themselves more competitive in the APPIC match (one in a clinical setting, one in a public school), extending externship through the 4th year. Some students have chosen to do a third externship if they are specializing in intellectual disabilities/autism. The third externship increases competitiveness in the APPIC match and postdoctoral competition. The 4th and 5th (or 6th) years are devoted to dissertation and internship.