School Psychology, PhD

This doctoral program emphasizes applied research methodologies, behavior analysis, assessment, consultation, intervention, and child and family services. Students enrolled in the doctoral program will be prepared to become licensed doctoral-level health service psychologists who can work effectively with children and families. Graduates may be employed as educators, researchers and/or practitioners in public schools and higher education, as well as professional psychologists in community mental health facilities and hospital/medical settings.

The doctoral program at SFA is fully approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the program has been developed to meet the standards set forth by the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists. Graduates are awarded the Doctorate of Philosophy in school psychology and are eligible to take the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology. In addition, graduates are eligible to apply for the Texas state licensure as a licensed psychologist in Texas in accordance with the criteria outlined by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists.

Most competitive master's-level applicants shall have a master's degree in school psychology from an NASP- and/or APA-accredited program; however, according to graduate school policy, graduate-level coursework in nonaccredited programs or closely related fields of study (e.g., counseling, special education, clinical psychology) may result in the transfer of equivalent credits as determined by review of official transcripts by the program faculty members. Early admission of the most academically competitive undergraduate seniors may be considered through the SFA Overlap Program (see the Department of Human Services and Educational Leadership website for more information). Admitted students must meet all requirements of the Office of Research and Graduate Studies and the program.

Application Process

Application to research and graduate studies must include:

• an application to research and graduate studies submitted electronically
• official transcript(s) showing all college enrollment
• and verbal and quantitative Graduate Record Examination score reports.

Application to the program must include:

• a minimum graduate cumulative GPA of at least 3.25
  • Applicants with only a bachelor's degree must have a minimum undergraduate GPA of at least 2.5 (if applicable).
• contact information for three professional references
• responses to four professionally related essay questions
• professional vita
• and official transcripts showing all college enrollment.

Selected applicants will be interviewed by the school psychology applicant review committee.

Standards and Curriculum

Standards set forth by the National Association of School Psychologists for the doctoral degree comprise a minimum four years of full-time study beyond the bachelor's degree and a 1,750-hour internship in a school setting or 2,000 hours in a nonschool setting. In accordance with the standards described by NASP, the school psychology program will facilitate preparation of all school psychology candidates in each of the following areas through coursework and supervised service delivery in practica and internships.

Time Limits

There is a time limit for obtaining a doctoral degree of 10 years. If a student has not graduated in that time, a petition for extension of the time limit with justification must be sent and approved by the academic dean of that college as well as the dean of the graduate school.