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School Psychology

Program Overview | Faculty | MA/Specialist-level Program | Ph.D. Program | Courses | Admission | Current Research | Documents/Forms | CIDS | Student Association | Events

Application deadline is now December 15. For more information, please go to Admission.

Program Overview                       

Welcome! The School Psychology Program at Northern Illinois University (NIU) offers a 60-hour, full-time M.A. degree (leading to Specialist-level certification) and a 90-hour, full-time Ph.D. program that provides comprehensive training in general psychology as well as specialized training in the applied area of school psychology. Instituted in 1978, the NIU school psychology certification program received full approval from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in 1992 and has maintained this status.  Currently (Fall, 2008), the program is applying for accreditation from the American Psychological Association (APA). (Please contact the APA Commission on Accreditation with any questions at 202-336-5979.) The primary goal of the program is to train professional psychologists to work in schools, state agencies, clinical practice, and university settings. Coursework and practica experiences provide a synthesis of essential theoretical and applied approaches across developmental, cognitive, social, and behavioral areas. Graduates of the program are prepared to function in multiple practitioner roles including treatment, assessment, and consultative modalities, as well as teaching and research roles.

To learn more about what a career in school psychology might involve, please check out the NASP website page "What is a School Psychologist". 

Some of the highlights of our program:

• our Specialist-level program is fully approved by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), and the PhD program if approved by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards and the National register of Health Service Providers in Psychology (ASPPB/NR).
• a low student to faculty ratio
• training in the most innovative school psychological delivery services including problem-solving with data-based decision-making and response to intervention
• a strong track record for funding students (GA/TA support and tuition waiver)
• practicum experiences in the schools begin in the first semester of the program
• extensive, productive research experiences are imbedded throughout the program
• being housed within the Cognitive-Instructional, Developmental and School Psychology (CIDS) curricular area and within the Department of Psychology allows for exciting multidisciplinary collaboration and learning
• our active student organization (the Student Affiliates in School Psychology; SASP) provides a great deal of support for our students
• we have an excellent placement rate for practicum and internship assignments and employment opportunities in very innovative sites
• our location (within 60 miles of downtown Chicago) allows for access to all Chicago and the surrounding area has to offer

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