M.A./Certification Program Goals, Objectives, and Competencies

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 and developmental aspects of human behavior.
Competency 1A. Students will demonstrate knowledge of social and emotional aspects 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 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 skillsin 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 skillsin 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 understanding and skill in the process of scientific inquiry in research and practice.

Competency 6A. Students will develop 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 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 MA/Specialist Program Handbook (PDF).