Doctor of School Psychology
School PsyD Overview
The doctoral program in School Psychology is based on the PsyD/Practitioner-Scholar model of training, initially developed at the 1973 Vail Conference on Levels and Patterns of Professional Training in Psychology. This model places primary emphasis on delivery of psychological services and on the evaluation and improvement of services. It emphasizes professional practice based on an understanding of research-supported knowledge in the discipline. It supports a view of professional school psychology practice that is guided by knowledge of the theory and research related to school psychology and by data-based decision making in the practice setting.
Science-Based Approach
We educate and train graduate students to think psychologically and systematically about the nature of schooling, using a science-based approach to the design, implementation, and evaluation of practices, programs and services at the individual, group, and organizational levels, in order to support the emotional, social, and academic development of students in schools. Department of School Psychology faculty members believe that service delivery should be grounded in research findings that professional practices or programs are likely to contribute to beneficial results for clients.
In addition, faculty members believe that decision-making about initiating, maintaining, modifying, and terminating practices, programs and services should be data-based and therefore, reflective of individual needs and client goals. Throughout our curriculum, theoretical and research foundations are integrated with practice issues, and didactic training is integrated with field experiences, in part, to emphasize the relationship between science and practice.
Education and Training
Faculty members in the Department of School Psychology educate and train students to provide school psychological services that are referenced to educational and psychological needs and are evidence-based, culturally sensitive, collaborative, and coordinated with other school practices, and informed by literature on systems and organizational functioning. We promote use of an approach to professional practice that includes data-based clarification of needs and concerns, in which evidence is evaluated in terms of its technical reliability, validity and scientific meaningfulness, and the practitioner seeks to understand the problem or task within a theoretical framework.
The social/organizational context is understood as a critical dimension of professional service delivery. Evaluation of the results of professional activity is seen as an essential component of professional practice. Social responsibility of the school psychologist is also emphasized as it relates to issues such as diversity and social justice.
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Contact Information
Amanda Gall
GSAPP's School PsyD program is: APA-accredited
Questions related to the program's accreditation status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979
Email: apaaccred@apa.org
Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation
Summary of CUDCP Policy for Graduate School Offers and Acceptances - Information for Applicants