School Psychology - please help!

[new here]

Hi everyone!

 

As my username indicates, I'm new here. I've never really posted on an online forum before, but I'm incredibly lost and desperate for advice (and also running out of time), and I'd really, really love any suggestions/insight you guys might be able to offer. So here goes...

 

I recently completed by B.A. in psychology, and I had planned on applying to graduate programs this fall - hopefully it's not too late! I had originally planned on applying to counseling psych programs, but after speaking with a school psychologist, I am starting to think that school psych programs might be more appropriate for me.

 

However, I'm not really sure where to start. I know that when you apply to counseling programs, you have to find specific professors you want to work with and then contact those professors and ask if they are accepting students. Does it work the same for school psych?

 

Another thing I'm unsure of is funding. A lot of the counseling psych programs I've looked at provide full tuition waivers and assistantships/fellowships, but this doesn't seem to be the case for school psych programs. I have absolutely no money, so this is a concern for me. Are there school psych programs that provide full tuition waivers?

 

Thanks so much in advance for any advice you guys offer!!!

[iphi]

Hi! I am a first year doc student in School Psych and can hopefully answer your questions.

 

First of all, deep breaths! Second of all, it's not too late to apply, especially if you are looking at applying for EdS programs instead of PhD. The first thing you need to do is decide which you want to apply to. Let's start with this: what is your career goal? If it is to work as a School Psych in a school, EdS is probably sufficient. If you want to do something fancy like be a professor or work in a hospital, you'll need a PhD. That is a minimum of a 5-year commitment.

 

EdS: Master's+. This takes about 2 years of school (a Master's degree) + thesis/project + a year of internship. For this degree there is no expectation to do research, you do not need to contact profs before applying. You do not need to do any research at all (although you can if you want). The deadline for these programs is anywhere from January to March. These typically do not fund, although they can. At my school (very good about funding) only one of the EdS students is funded, and she really lucked out in finding it.

 

PhD: Doctorate, of course. About 4 years coursework (on average) + 1 year internship + dissertation. This qualifies you for more things, most of them more technical. Totally not worth it if you just want to be a SP in schools and that is it forever. To apply for this you need research experience, you need to choose a school based on their research interest and mentoring styles. Most deadlines are ~December 1-15. The (arguably) top school in the field only takes applications until November 15. You should find a school that funds you for a doctorate. Please, please do not pay out of pocket for 5 years.

 

In my program Doc students and EdS students take almost the exact same classes until the 3rd year, when doc students carry on with school and EdS ones leave for internship.

 

The next trouble is accreditation. Make sure ALL programs (EdS/PhD) that you apply to are NASP approved. It's a bonus at the doctoral level if it is NASP and APA approved. Always go with NASP first (NASP does not actually accredit doc programs... but they are considered NASP accredited if their accompanying EdS programs are). This will save you a lot of misery when you go to get licensed or if you are licensed/working and switch states.

 

Definitely read this info sheet about SP from NASP. And is the School Psych thread if you are interested in joining us! You can also PM me if you want.

Edited November 9, 2014 by iphi

[psych face]

However, I'm not really sure where to start. I know that when you apply to counseling programs, you have to find specific professors you want to work with and then contact those professors and ask if they are accepting students. Does it work the same for school psych?

 

Yes. This will be the case for every grad program of every kind. Look for the peeps you wanna know.

 

As for your funding question, most grad programs work it out for you, but I don't know much about the education emphasis, so I can't say for sure on that one. Don't let fear of funding stop you from applying though. You can always go through FAFSA.

[iphi]

Gotta say that psych face's reply is well-intentioned and is accurate for most programs, but is NOT necessarily accurate for EdS programs in School Psych!

[new here]

Hello!

 

First of all, thank you both SO MUCH for your replies! The info you guys provided was incredibly helpful.

 

Second, I think I'd be more interested in a PhD program, since I'd like to have the options of also teaching at a university and doing research. I'd also like to have the option of becoming a licensed psychologist and going into private practice. However, I'm still a little confused about NASP and APA approval.

 

iphi, you said to go with NASP first, then APA.

 

So...is it bad if a doctoral program is NASP approved but not APA approved? If a program is not APA approved (but is approved by the NASP - meaning that the accompanying EdS program is NASP approved), does that mean graduates cannot apply for licensure as an independent psychologist?

 

Hopefully my question makes sense and isn't too silly :-)

 

Thanks so much!

[iphi]

Hello!

 

First of all, thank you both SO MUCH for your replies! The info you guys provided was incredibly helpful.

 

Second, I think I'd be more interested in a PhD program, since I'd like to have the options of also teaching at a university and doing research. I'd also like to have the option of becoming a licensed psychologist and going into private practice. However, I'm still a little confused about NASP and APA approval.

 

iphi, you said to go with NASP first, then APA.

 

So...is it bad if a doctoral program is NASP approved but not APA approved? If a program is not APA approved (but is approved by the NASP - meaning that the accompanying EdS program is NASP approved), does that mean graduates cannot apply for licensure as an independent psychologist?

 

Hopefully my question makes sense and isn't too silly :-)

 

Thanks so much!

 

Good question! I do not think it means that (you should ask the program directly though, when you interview, just to make sure). You can get APA-approved internships, so you can always try that. It should help. But I believe that what you will have to do is get those post-doc hours (1000?) under the supervision of an APA-accredited psychologist. So since that would be after you already received your PhD I do not think it matters that the program is not APA-accredited. For SP NASP is the primary accrediting agency!

Edited November 16, 2014 by iphi

[new here]

That makes sense. Thanks so much!

[juilletmercredi]

Here's the thing about NASP vs. APA: you really need to look at the requirements of the state in which you wish to practice.  That's what's going to answer your question about accreditation.  When I was considering school psych, I was told to look for doctoral programs that were both APA-accredited and NASP-approved.  (NASP does actually approve doctoral level programs in addition to specialist-level programs.)

 

Most NASP-approved doctoral programs are also APA-accredited - there are 64 NASP-approved doctoral-level programs; 53 of them are accredited by the APA (45 as school psychology programs, and 8 others as combined professional programs - usually with clinical or counseling psychology).  Given the large overlap, I think the safest bet is to choose a school that is both NASP-approved and APA-accredited, since it appears that there are only 11 programs that don't have both.  However, I wouldn't go to a school that was APA-accredited but not NASP-approved, since NASP is the important body in school psych.

 

For example, New York State does not mention NASP or APA when discussing their programs; here's what they say:

 

To be determined to be the equivalent of a New York State program registered as licensure qualifying, a program must be offered by an institution accredited by an accrediting organization acceptable to the Department or recognized by the appropriate civil authorities of the jurisdiction in which the school is located as an acceptable doctoral program in psychology. The program must be designed and conducted by the degree-granting institution to prepare graduates to practice professional psychology independently, and it must be shown to be substantially equivalent to the requirements for the registration of a licensure qualifying doctoral program in psychology in New York State. The program must consist of at least three years of full-time study, or the part-time equivalent, and must include at least 30 semester hours of course work obtained at the doctoral degree-granting institution. Programs located in the United States must be accredited by a regional accrediting body approved by the United States Department of Education or the New York State Board of Regents.

 

This is very confusing.  But NYS maintains a list of programs that qualify.  Some of them have NASP approval, some of them have APA accreditation, and some of them have both.  This leads me to believe that NYS would accept either/or when licensing people who attended out of state programs, as long as the program met their own set of rules about qualifying programs.

 

My home state, Georgia, requires that the program be NASP-approved:

 

Applicants for a Clear Renewable Certificate must complete a NASP-approved training program or submit a copy of a valid NCSP credential. Completion of a Georgia school psychology training program at the sixth year level (Ed.S.) or the seventh year level (Ed.D. or Ph.D.) that is approved by the Georgia State Board of Regents will also meet requirements for the clear renewable certificate.

 

My current state, Pennsylvania, also does not mention any specific professional organization when speaking about licensure - just that they review the coursework and requirements of an individual's out-of-state program before determining whether that person is eligible for licensure.  However, the requirements are pretty similar if not identical to the requirements for a NASP-approved program.  Another somewhat randomly chosen state (NC) will accept either a NASP or an APA program.  Texas will also take either.  Ohio doesn't say.  California has their own set of requirements, but says that "programs approved by NASP meet these requirements."  New Jersey and Hawaii both don't say, but their requirements are identical to the requirements for NASP-approval, so any NASP-approved program will meet the requirements.

 

So based just on a quick perusal, your safest bet is to make sure that you definitely pick a NASP-approved program, because you can be sure that NASP-approved programs meet the requirements in the vast majority of states.  I believe that it is easier to get into an APA-accredited predoctoral internship coming from an APA-accredited PhD program, so you might also want to preference those PhD programs with APA accreditation.  APA accreditation might be important in some states if you ever want to practice outside of a school setting (say, in a hospital or private practice), since several states restrict the school psychology license to practice within schools.

 

There's also the informal within-field preference - some employers may prefer students who went to APA-accredited programs; some internships may prefer students who attended APA-accredited programs; and if you ever want to teach in an APA-accredited program, the search committees will prefer people who graduated from APA-accredited programs (I have looked through some job ads that specifically required that applicants had a degree from an APA-accredited program).

 

Here's an article on why APA accreditation matters, although it was admittedly written by APA and seems to focus primarily on clinical and counseling: http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2004/04/accreditation.aspx.  (Also, if it matters, I'm a member of APA, and I happen to think that they're a great professional organization.)

 

(You can look up individual states' licensure and certification requirements here: http://www.nasponline.org/certification/state_info_list.aspx).

 

I also want to float two minor details:

 

1. NASP does not accredit programs. They approve them, but they haven't been appointed as an accrediting body for educational programs.

 

As an NCATE [National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education] SPA [specialized professional association], NASP does not accredit school psychology programs, but identifies approved programs. NCATE accredits units (e.g., Schools of Education), not programs, but does provide "national recognition" status (full or with conditions) to NASP-approved programs in NCATE-accredited units 

 

Some websites will erroneously say that their programs are "NASP-accredited," but this is an error.

 

2. NASP approves doctoral programs and "specialist-level programs."  However, in NASP parlance, specialist-level does NOT mean Ed.S., necessarily.  In fact, there are many master's programs that are considered specialist-level by NASP because they require the 60 credits et al., and they still lead to licensure (and to national certification, if you wish).  Here's what NASP says:

 

 

0. Please note: Many programs award a masters degree after completing the 3rd year internship, while other programs award a masters degree after two years of coursework prior to internship. As long as the program is a minimum of 60 credits and requires a minimum of a 1,200 hour internship, these programs are considered specialist equivalents. To simplify hereafter, all specialist and specialist-equivalent programs will be referred to as specialist -level programs. 

 

 One example is the Ed.M in school psychology at Teachers College Columbia - it is a master's program (Ed.M, not Ed.S) but it still takes 3 years, 69 credits and internship, and is NASP-approved.  Another example is the 68-credit MA at Marist College in school psychology.  Both programs will result in licensure and certification in NYS, both are specialist-level programs, and both are NASP-approved, but they are not Ed.S. programs.  (In addition, both erroneously say on their webpages that they are "NASP-accredited."