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Ph.D. Program in School Psychology

The Ph.D. program in the Department of Psychology offers school psychology as a field of study designed to prepare students for careers in academic and applied settings. Our Ph.D. program typically takes a total of five years (including the master’s program and internship) and involves:

Please see the School Psychology Doctoral Program Handbook for more information.

Ph.D. Program Educational Philosophy

The school psychology doctoral program is committed to the scientist-practitioner model and is designed to train professionals to contribute to the psychological well-being of children and adolescents. The faculty believe a school psychologist is characterized by the knowledge and ability to bring a scientific approach to the study, assessment, and treatment of children and adolescents to maximize their functioning in educational and other appropriate settings. The program is organized around four broad goals that graduates of the program will learn (a) a solid foundational understanding of broad psychological principles, (b) the profession and professional practice of school psychology, (c) appropriate assessment and intervention methodologies, and (d) to be consumers and producers of research.  Knowing that new information and technologies are always being discovered, inherent throughout the program is the overarching goal to train psychologists committed to being life-long learners. 

 

The dual emphasis of the scientist-practitioner model is more important than ever in this era of changing roles for school psychologists, and it is the primary goal of the program to provide rigorous training in both of these important roles. The scientist-practitioner role has been a longstanding tradition within psychology (Boulder Conference, 1948; Thayer Conference, 1954); however, the tenets of this model fit nicely with the most innovative of practices. Our training practices follow the principles of the National Association of School Psychologists’ (NASP) publication School Psychology:  A Blueprint for Training and Practice III (Ysseldyke et al., 2006) by training students with a solid basis of knowledge in psychological and educational principles and the application of science and the scientific method.  Additionally, one of the approaches to practice that is emphasized in the program is the data-based collaborative problem-solving approach (e.g., Deno, 2002; Ikeda, Tilly, Stumme, Volmer, & Allison, 1996). The problem-solving approach by nature requires the integration of systematic scientific inquiry and service delivery in meeting the needs of children and adolescents. The program components including research experiences and requirements, courses, and practica allow our students to embody the scientist-practitioner model.

 

The scientist role is an important one to all professional psychologists. Students in the NIU School Psychology Program are trained to be both critical consumers of psychological research, so that they maintain the highest professional standards of practice, and active contributors to psychological and educational knowledge through the conduct of original research. The scientist role is emphasized throughout the program in multiple ways through a series of sequenced, cumulative, and integrated experiences and processes. Being housed within a comprehensive Ph.D. level Department of Psychology, the School Psychology Program provides its students with rigorous, research-based training not only in the core areas of school psychology, but also in the basic psychological and educational foundation content areas that inform school psychology practice. For example, in addition to completing research-oriented course work from primary school psychology faculty, students also complete rigorous research-based course work from faculty in the other Ph.D. curricular programs within the department (e.g., Social, Developmental, Cognitive, Clinical). Students work closely with faculty mentors and advisors on the completion of a Master’s thesis and Ph.D. dissertation that make a substantial contribution to scientific knowledge. Less formally, students participate in multiple activities throughout the academic year that directly facilitate and model the scientist role. These include participation in ongoing faculty research projects as Research Assistants, participation as both attendees and presenters at a variety of departmental colloquium series (e.g., Cognitive/Instructional-Developmental-School Area, Child Clinical-Developmental, School, Center for the Study of Family Violence), as well as participation in local, state, and national conferences and workshops.  

 

The practitioner role also is central to the functioning of most school psychologists. It is necessarily a diverse role, requiring skills in psychological and educational intervention, consultation, and assessment. Course work and practica experiences provide a synthesis of theory, research, and applied aspects of school psychology practice. The program is designed to train students as problem-solving professionals who are competent to work in multiple capacities on a wide range of problems encountered in educational and other applied settings. The school psychology program provides students with a comprehensive set of graduated practicum experiences beginning their first semester on campus and continuing until the capstone internship experience. It is during these experiences that students apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired in their academic courses and research to educational and clinical settings. The synthesis of theory, research, and practice forms the foundation of the scientist-practitioner model adopted by the NIU program.

The NIU School Psychology Program has four broad educational goals. From these four broad goals stem 7 specific training objectives.  These 7 training objectives lead to 21 specific competencies that program faculty expect of our program graduates. The Program Goals, Objectives, and Competencies are listed below. 

Ph.D. Program Goals/Objectives

Goal 1. Program graduates will learn a solid foundational understanding of broad psychological principles.

 

Objective 1. To prepare psychologists who have knowledge of social and emotional, cognitive and learning, biological, and developmental aspects of human behavior.

Competency 1A. Students will demonstrate knowledge of social and emotional aspects of human behavior.

Competency 1B. Students will demonstrate knowledge of biological bases of human behavior.

Competency 1C. Students will demonstrate knowledge of cognitive/instructional, and developmental aspects  of human behavior.

 

Goal 2. Program graduates will learn the profession and professional practice of school psychology

 

Objective 2. To prepare psychologists who have an understanding of the evolution of and key issues in the practice of school psychology.

Competency 2A. Students will develop an understanding of the history, roles, and functions of school psychologists.

Competency 2B. Students will develop and demonstrate an understanding of the professional and ethical standards and legal issues relevant to school psychology practice.

 

Objective 3.  To prepare psychologists who practice as socially competent professionals who are effective communicators, collaborators, and life-long learners.

Competency 3A. Students will demonstrate effective formal written and oral communication skills related to the practice of school psychology.

Competency 3B. Students will demonstrate appropriate, culturally-competent, professional behavior and social competence in their practice of school psychology.

Competency 3C. Students will demonstrate a life-long learner disposition by seeking non-required learning opportunities and experiences.

Competency 3D. Students will develop competency using relevant information technology to facilitate the practice of school psychology.

 

Goal 3. Program graduates will learn appropriate assessment and intervention methodologies.

 

Objective 4. To prepare psychologists who take an ecological, evidence-based, problem-solving approach in their assessment of systems and individuals.

Competency 4A. Students will develop and demonstrate skills in empirically-validated cognitive and adaptive behavior assessment procedures to meet the needs of diverse populations.

Competency 4B. Students will develop and demonstrate competency in the assessment of academic skills and performance using an ecological approach and empirically-validated methods to meet the needs of diverse populations.

Competency 4C. Students will develop and demonstrate skills in the assessment of personality, social-emotional functioning, and behavior using an ecological approach and empirically-validated methods to meet the needs of diverse populations.

 

Objective 5. To prepare psychologists who take an evidence-based, problem-solving approach in their prevention and intervention practices with systems and individuals.

Competency 5A. Students will develop and demonstrate skills in the delivery and evaluation of evidence-based counseling interventions for social-emotional issues appropriate to diverse populations.

Competency 5B. Students will develop and demonstrate skills in the delivery and evaluation of evidence-based consultative interventions for academic, social-emotional, behavioral, and other issues appropriate to diverse populations.

Competency 5C. Students will develop and demonstrate skills in the delivery and evaluation of evidence-based direct interventions for academic, behavior, and social-emotional issues appropriate to diverse populations.

Competency 5D. Students will develop and demonstrate an evidence-based, problem-solving approach to the delivery of school psychological services involving a wide variety of education-related issues to meet the needs of diverse populations.

Competency 5E. Students will develop and demonstrate evidence-based, problem-solving approach to the design, evaluation, and implementation of system-wide prevention approaches and of crisis intervention procedures.

 

Goal 4. Program graduates will learn to be consumers and producers of research. 

 

Objective 6. To prepare students with advanced understanding and skill in the process of scientific inquiry in research and practice.

Competency 6A. Students will develop advanced skills in the principles of research design, statistics, and measurement and the interpretation and evaluation of research.

Competency 6B. Students will apply research and evaluation skills in the practice of school psychology.

 

Objective 7. To prepare students to contribute work to the scientific community through publications and presentations.

Competency 7A. Students will propose, conduct, and complete original research that makes a substantial contribution to scientific inquiry.

Competency 7B. Students will develop skills in explaining and presenting research findings.

 

A list of course requirements, a typical program of study, and more detailed information can be found in our

School Psychology Doctoral Program Handbook. Each student is responsible for obtaining the Psychology Department Graduate Student Manual and for complying with the regulations in that manual.