School Psychology Program

The American Psychological Association-accredited School Psychology Program at The University of Texas at Austin prepares PhD psychologists in accord with the scientist-practitioner model that emphasizes the importance of theoretical and empirical derivations and their utilization in psychological practice. Training includes strong preparation in the academic foundations of psychology, in the research skills essential to the contribution of new knowledge, and in the competent and ethical professional practice of psychology. In the broadest sense, the Program strives to bring the best of the discipline and practice of psychology to understanding and enhancing the development of children. The Program has a comprehensive and interdisciplinary perspective, is committed to excellence, was the first program in school psychology to be accredited by APA, and is acknowledged as an exemplary model of training in school psychology.

The School Psychology Program relies on an ecological framework focusing on the individual child, the school, and the family. Underlying this ecological perspective is a central concern for the preventive aspects of providing psychological services. Children's problems and interventions are viewed as embedded in a psychosocial milieu so that subsequent educational difficulties can be reduced by providing psychological services to the individual child as well as the school and related support systems. More specifically, the Program recognizes that the analysis of and intervention for problems may vary widely in form (e.g., direct assessment and educational/therapeutic treatment to indirect consultation and program planning), in focus (child, teacher-classroom, family, school, and community), and in content (psychoeducational, affective, neuropsychological, behavioral, and systems change).

Thus, the Program provides broad-based professional training. Graduates are prepared to contribute to the specialization of school psychology through research, teaching, training, administration of diverse programs and agencies, as well as through professional practices involving psychological assessment, interventions, and consultation. Beyond this, the Program seeks to prepare professionals for leadership positions in the field. Graduates are employed in colleges and universities, school systems, mental health and child guidance centers, medical centers, research agencies, and independent practice.

School Psychology Faculty
Name & Title	Office	Phone	E-Mail
D. Greg Allen Associate Professor	SZB 254A	(512) 471-0218	greg.allen@mail.utexas.edu
Carlson, Cindy Professor & Program Director	SZB 254F	(512) 471-0276	cindy.carlson@mail.utexas.edu
Cawthon, Stephanie Assistant Professor	SZB 254G	(512) 471-0287	stephanie.cawthon@mail.utexas.edu
Keith, Timothy Professor	SZB 254B	(512) 471-0274	tim.keith@mail.utexas.edu
Sander, Janay Assistant Professor	SZB 254D	(512) 471-0279	janay.sander@mail.utexas.edu
Stark, Kevin Professor	SZB 244E	(512) 471-0267	kevinstark@mail.utexas.edu
Tharinger, Deborah Associate Professor	SZB 254E	(512) 471-0283	dtharinger@mail.utexas.edu

Regina Smuts, School Psychology Administrative Associate

In this section

Program Goals
Overview of Admissions Process
Time to Complete Program
Program Costs
Attrition
Professional Sequence
Required Courses
Advising
Practicum
Internships
Licensure
Accreditation

Program Goals

Goal 1: Prepare scientist-practitioner school psychologists who apply research to practice and contribute to psychological and educational knowledge through research.

Goal 2: Prepare students to demonstrate knowledge of research and theory in the basic domains of scientific psychology including social, cognitive, biological, developmental, and learning.

Goal 3: Prepare students to develop an understanding of and ability to integrate multiple theoretical perspectives that are relevant to the teaching, research, and practice of school psychology.

Goal 4: Prepare students to develop competence in conceptualizing, assessing, and intervening in child and adolescent learning, behavior, and mental health concerns with a range of developmentally and culturally sensitive, as well as empirically-supported, methods targeted to several levels, including the individual, family, classroom, and larger social system.

Goal 5: Prepare students to work as psychologists in schools, school-related settings, and other settings that serve the educational, health and psychological needs of children, adolescents, and families.

Goal 6: Prepare students to apply relevant legal and ethical principles, as well as cultural sensitivity and self-awareness, to their research, teaching, professional service and practice.

Goal 7: Socialize students to advance the field of school psychology through exemplary teaching, research, or professional practice, as well as participation and leadership in professional organizations.

Overview of Admissions Process

The School Psychology program typically receives 60-70 applications each year and invites approximately 30 students to interview. The program seeks an entering class of 10 students. Students are notified that they are being invited for an interview in early January. Interviews are held on a single day, usually a Monday or Friday, during late January or early February. Telephone interviews are available for students unable to travel to UT. Admission decisions are made by consensus of the school psychology faculty. Students are usually notified of their admission decision within two weeks of the scheduled interview date.

Selection of students is based on multiple factors including GRE scores, undergraduate grades, letters of recommendation, apparent match between student and faculty interests, and evidence from the recommendation letters and personal statement of a fit with the goals of the program. The UT Graduate School imposes no minimum GRE or GPA for admission. Students with a low GPA or low GRE scores need to show outstanding performance in other areas in order to be given serious consideration. For the entering class of 2005, the average GPA was 3.73, and the GRE averages were as follows: 582 (Verbal) and 685 (Quantitative).

Time to Complete Program

Year Completed	No. of students Graduating	Average no. of years to completion	Median no. of years to completion
2006-2007	12	6	5.7
2005-2006	19	6	5.7
2004-2005	6	7	6.35
2003-2004	16	6	6.3
2002-2003	7	6	6.35
2001-2002	7	9	7.0
2000-2001	10	8	7.8

Five percent of entering students begin with advanced standing, i.e. having previously completed a master’s degree in psychology or educational psychology.

Percentage of students completing program in...
Less than 5 years	12%
5 years	3%
6 years	45%
7 years	10%
More than 7 years	28%

Program Costs

The most current information regarding costs for the first year of study in the School Psychology program is available on the Tuition and Fee Rates web page. The information is located under Graduate and Professional Tuition and Required Fees. In the first year, School Psychology students register, on average, for 12 credit hours in the long semesters and six hours in the summer.

Attrition

Once students enter the program it sometimes happens that they discover that their interests lie elsewhere, and they change their major area of study. Students may also experience a change in life circumstances such that they complete only the master’s degree and curriculum requirements for the Licensed Specialist in School Psychology. In rare instances students are counseled out of the program. Over the past seven years, 8% of the students who matriculated left the program without completing the doctoral degree.

Professional Sequence

The professional sequence of study is required of all School Psychology students. Students usually devote six years to completing their program of work, including dissertation, and a year to complete an internship. Students with prior graduate work and appropriate experiences may receive 4-21 semester hours credit in the academic and professional areas. Most students attend at least two summer sessions, particularly during the first few years of the program.

The initial focus of the professional sequence is an orientation to school psychology as a professional specialty within psychology, as well as the legal and ethical issues relevant to practice and research. During the first year curriculum students also begin to engage in research and acquire skill in psycho-educational evaluation activities and individualized psychological and educational planning with children. The focus of the second year is the expansion of assessment skills to include socio-emotional and behavioral assessment, intervention, and consultation activities that concentrate on the classroom setting and teachers as instructional, social, and emotional resources to children. The third year curriculum focus is on the family and the school as social systems, as well as the biological bases of behavior, including training in neuropsychological evaluation. Systematic and sequentially organized field or practicum experiences are an essential part of all course sequences. The specific professional courses are listed below. All courses are three credit hours unless specified otherwise.

Nine specialization professional competency components and their courses:

Psychoeducational Assessment and Intervention Individual Testing & Lab Academic Assessment & Intervention Practicum in Psychological Assessment
Affective Assessment and Intervention Social/Emotional Assessment Interpersonal Intervention & Lab Practicum in Interpersonal Intervention
Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Behavioral/Cognitive Assessment and Intervention Cognitive/Behavioral Intervention Practicum in Cognitive/Behavioral Intervention
Neuropsychological Assessment and Intervention Neuropsychological Assessment & Intervention/Lab
Family Intervention Family & School Systems Family & Schools Assessment & Intervention Practicum in Family-School Assessment & Intervention
Consultation Theory and Process School Consultation Theory Practicum in Consultation
Professional Issues in Multicultural Society Educational Assessment of Minority Youth Multicultural Counseling
Professional Development Law, Ethics, & History
Professional Interest Areas: Acknowledging the breadth of professional psychology training, students are encouraged to give added emphasis to two professional interest areas such as:

direct psychoeducational services
direct social and clinical intervention
research and teaching
neuropsychological assessment
educational leadership

Students support their designated professional interest area through practica, internship experiences, and nine hours of specialized out-of-department coursework.

Additional program requirements

One course in instructional theory and methods (e.g., Psychology of Teachers and Teaching, Instructional Psychology, or other approved course)
Biological Bases of Behavior
Child Psychopathology

Required Courses

Year	Course Title
Year 1	Fall
	Individual Testing & Lab
	Department Colloquium
	Vestibule/Domain Course *
	Vestibule/Domain Course *
	Law, Ethics, & History of School Psychology
	Spring
	Academic Assessment & intervention
	Educational Disabilities in Schools
	Domain Course*
	Domain Course*
	Summer
	Child Psychopathology
	Domain Course*
Year 2	Fall
	School Consultation Theory & Process
	Practicum in Psychological Assessment
	Domain Course*
	Social/Emotional Assessment for Children & Adolescents
	Spring
	Practicum in School Consultation
	Cognitive – Behavioral Assessment & Intervention
	Research Methods in School Psychology
	Directed Research
	Summer
	Domain Course*
Year 3	Fall - Turn in Qualifying Paper
	Family & School Systems
	Biological Basis of Behavior
	Practicum in Cognitive – Behavioral Intervention
	Directed Research **
	Spring
	Family-School Intervention
	Adv Prac: Behavioral-Cognitive Intrv (Opt) or Domain Course *
	Neuropsychological Assessment & Intervention
	Practicum in Family-School Assessment & Intervention
	Summer
	Multicultural Counseling
Year 4 **	Fall
	Interpersonal Intervention with Children & Adolescents
	Out of Department #1 *
	Out of Department #2 *
	Spring - Advance to Candidacy ***
	Practicum in Interpersonal Intervention
	Dissertation
	Out of Department #3 *
Year 5 **	Fall - Dissertation Proposal by 10/15
	Colloquium: School Psychology (Internship)
	Dissertation
	Spring
	Colloquium: Doctoral Research
	Dissertation
	Summer - Defend Dissertation ****
	Dissertation (necessary if defending in summer)
Year 6	Fall
	Internship: Professional Practice in School Psychology
	Spring
	Internship: Professional Practice in School Psychology
	Summer
	Internship: Professional Practice in School Psychology

Courses Notes
* Denotes courses that may be taken out of order

** Optional School Psychology Internship may be taken

*** In order to begin work on dissertation, you must be advanced to candidacy. Prior to advancement, students must be registered for EDP 395 (Research) to work on dissertation under supervision. Completion of prospectus, all required domain courses, and specialized competency requirement are necessary for advancement to candidacy.

**** Defending the dissertation may occur at any time; however, it must occur no later than the summer prior to internship if students wish to be exempt from automatic registration for 3 hours of dissertation each long semester until graduation.

Advising

Each student accepted into the School Psychology Program is assigned a core member of the faculty as an adviser. The role of the student’s academic adviser is to oversee the selection of their coursework. Upon entering candidacy, your dissertation committee chair becomes your academic adviser.

In order to facilitate the development of students’ skills as researchers, students in their first year are required to voluntarily commit 5 hours weekly to faculty research interests. Following the first year, students are encouraged to continue their participation in faculty research projects and should remain mindful that a requirement for advancement to doctoral candidacy is the completion of the Specialized Competency, which involves the presentation or publication of research.

Research mentoring continues in the second year with third years with the completion of the Prospectus, as well as completion of the Research Methods in School Psychology course. Following completion of the Prospectus, students may advance to candidacy and begin work on their dissertation, typically in the fourth and fifth years of study.

Practicum

A major objective of the School Psychology Program is to prepare students to work as psychologists in schools, school-related settings, and other settings that serve the educational, health, and psychological health needs of children, adolescents and families. To acquire the competencies necessary to practice in these settings, students will complete practicum courses that are paired with a didactic course or courses. Students will gain skills in educational, cognitive, behavioral, neurological, and social-emotional assessment. Additionally, students will complete intervention practica from a cognitive-behavioral perspective, as well as practice family and interpersonal therapy and an advanced professional practicum.

The objectives for the Practicum Training are as follows:

Prepare students to be self-aware, reflective psychologists, able to effectively monitor their beliefs and persona experiences as applied to professional practice.
Prepare students to provide developmentally and culturally sensitive, ecologically valid, and integrated educational and psychological interventions in schools, families, and other systems.
Prepare students to be able to identify the early signs of educational, psychological and behavioral health difficulties and to be able to intervene so that they prevent negative developmental outcomes.
Prepare students to help educators and other caregivers acquire the knowledge and competencies needed to promote healthy development and educational attainment in youths and families.

Internships

Students must complete a 1500 hour full-time internship in a setting approved by the program director. Internships will be approved only if they provide a stipend and supervision by a qualified (PhD) psychologist. Most students pursue APA-accredited internships outside of the Austin area. Students are required to complete their dissertation proposal prior to internship application, and they are encouraged to defend the dissertation prior to internship.

Year of Internship	Applied / Placed	Paid	Accredited by APA	Approved by APPIC	Approved by Program Director
2007-2008	11/11	100%	9	0	2
2006-2007	9/9	100%	5	3	1
2005-2006	17/17	100%	15	1	1
2004-2005	7/7	100%	6	1	0
2003-2004	7/7	100%	6	1	0
2002-2003	12/12	100%	11	1	0
2001-2002	8/7	100%	6	1	0
2000-2001	7/7	100%	6	1	0

Note: All APA accredited internships also meet APPIC standards. All internships must be approved by the program director. Internships in the program director approved column were neither APA accredited nor APPIC approved, but deemed appropriate by the program director.

Program Graduates

Approximately one-third of the graduates of the School Psychology Program are in academic settings serving school psychology programs and departments of educational psychology, psychology, human ecology, child development, psychiatry, and pediatrics. Another one-third are located in school systems in administrative roles or as school psychologists. The remainder are in other applied settings such as mental health and child guidance centers, hospitals, consulting firms, and independent practice. Graduates of the Program historically have been at a relative advantage in terms of employment. Based on the volume of notices of new positions sent to the School Psychology Program, employment prospects for future graduates continue to be excellent.

Licensure

A total of 93 sutdents have graduated from the School Psychology Doctoral program during the period 1999-2007. Sixty of those graduates are known to be licensed, roughly 61% of graduates for that time period.

Accreditation

The School Psychology Program is accredited by the American Psychological Association.

American Psychological Association
Commission on Accreditation
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
(202)336-5979
www.apa.org

Last updated on May 11, 2009