Master of Science in School Psychology

Lead Faculty: Dr. Susan M. Eldred

The Department of Pupil Personnel Services-School Psychology offers a graduate degree leading to the Master of Science in School Psychology and a recommendation for a Pupil Personnel School Psychology credential (PPSP). Candidates cannot get a master’s degree without a credential. This program is aligned with national standards and prepares candidates in California for the position of school psychologist. Graduates of this program generally seek employment as a school psychologist in P-12 school districts and must hold a PPSP credential for public school employment.

Candidates enrolled in the degree and credential program are not awarded the master’s degree until they have completed all coursework including practicum and internship and successful completion of the ETS PRAXIS-School Psychology (#0400) exam (passage score is 148). Course equivalence cannot be granted for life experiences.

It is strongly recommended, but not required, that applicants have one year of related professional experience working with school age children, preferably in a public school setting.

Admission Requirements

• Candidates must hold an accredited bachelor’s degree and be admitted to National University.
• Complete all program prerequisites (MTH 210, PSY 430, PSY 301 and TED 430)
• Enroll in PED 504 (School Psychology Orientation).
• Attendance at all sessions is mandatory (make-up sessions not available)and completion of required assignments is mandatory.
• Receive a credential packet and completes a Write Placer exam (occurs in PED 504) that is reviewed and signed by faculty advisor for admission to the School Psychology program.
• Return the credential packet to the credential advisor by the end of the PED 504 course, otherwise candidates will receive an “U” for the course. See a credential advisor for specific information regarding any of these requirements.
• Successful completion of PED 504 and all pre-requisites is mandatory prior to program admission.

Program Advisement
All coursework must be completed within seven years with a 3.0 GPA. Candidates who are absent for a period of 12 months or more must re-enroll and re-matriculate under a new catalog.

All PPSP candidates will be assigned a faculty advisor. Candidates will meet with a faculty advisor for evaluation of prior coursework to meet program prerequisites. Only PED 504 and prerequisites can be taken prior to admission.

All candidates are expected to meet with their assigned faculty advisor at the following times: (1) upon admission into the program, (2) after5 classes, (3) before starting their practicum and internship, (4) at the exit of the program.

Candidates who receive a grade lower than a “B minus” in two or more courses will be evaluated by the faculty and will be required to repeat the course at their own expense before being allowed to continue in the program.

Advancement to Candidacy
Advancement to Candidacy is a process and is one of several evaluative steps to help ensure that program objectives are met and that candidate outcomes are attained.

To qualify for candidacy, a candidate must:

• Complete prerequisite coursework or equivalent (MTH 210, PSY 430, PSY 301, and TED 430)
• Complete PED 504, first four graduate PED courses with a grade no lower than a B minus

If a candidate earns less than 3.0 GPA upon completion of the above courses, the candidate will not advance to Candidacy. The candidate will be required to meet with faculty advisor. A plan for remediation or possible dismissal from the program will be considered.

Program Learning Outcomes

Candidates who successfully complete the program will be able to:

• Demonstrates adept/advanced skills in all aspects of psycho-educational assessment; keeps current with technology in the field; presents information and teaches others new assessment techniques; becomes expert at aspects of various disabilities/ learning problems of children and teaches others ways to evaluate
• Demonstrates outstanding leadership skills; well-versed in communicating results and information to others; demonstrates and applies consultation/collaboration techniques and models, and teaches those to others
• Demonstrate ability to independently researches cutting edge technologies related to learning, and learning problems; fully aware of current theories and is adept at instructing others; presents information on advances in the field; is completely competent in practice.
• Demonstrates full implementation of school-wide programs for social/behavioral needs of children; keeps up to date on emerging interventions and techniques; provides in-service training and expertise in the area of social and behavioral interventions
• Demonstrates advanced training and competence in working with individuals with diverse backgrounds; teaches other techniques and concerns for working with individuals of specific backgrounds.
• Demonstrates expertise in school systems knowledge and practice; works at both local and district level in programming and planning for effective schools; is knowledgeable about cutting edge technologies and programs for effective schools and teaches that material to others
• Demonstrates expertise in crisis prevention and intervention; consults with others in developing and implementing programs; demonstrates extensive knowledge in specific health related disorders and school-related safety issues; provides education and training in working with specific candidate populations
• Demonstrates expertise in collaboration skills; consults with others in developing programs and obtaining resources; acts as a resource to the school and community
• Demonstrates in-expert knowledge and ability in research; consults with others in developing and evaluating intervention or research plans; continues with independent research; produces published, or publishable, material
• Demonstrates in-depth knowledge of legal issues and shows the highest ethical standards in practice; educates others in developing ethical decision-based models for practice
• Demonstrates in-depth knowledge and understanding of technologies related to the field; can instruct others in the uses available; and can assess and make program or system-wide decisions for technology use.

Requirements

Program Prerequisites (4 courses; 18 quarter units)
MTH 210 - Introduction to Probability and Statistics
PSY 430 - Abnormal Psychology/Psychopathology
  (Prerequisites: ENG 100/101 and PSY 100)
PSY 301 - Child/Adolescent Development
TED 430 - Teaching Children with Special Needs

Note: Only PED 504 and prerequisites can be taken prior to admission.

Program Requirements (20 courses; 85.5 quarter units)
PED 504 - School Psychology Orientation
PED 665 - Tests and Measurements (All undergraduate pre-requisites and PED 504 must be completed)
PED 666 - Human Neuropsychology
PED 652 - Child Psychopharmacology
PED 680 - Roles, Issues and Ethics

Advancement to Candidacy
PED 670 - Advanced Social Psychology
PED 667 - Advanced Child Psychopathology
CED 600 - Applied Child/Adolescent Development
CED 601 - Consultation in the Schools
CED 610 - Advanced Counseling Theories & Methods
   (Prerequisite: CED 600)
PED 683 - Program Evaluation
PED 671 - Cognitive Assessment
   (Prerequisites: PED 665, PED 680, CED 601))
PED 672 - Psycho-Academic Assessment
   (Prerequisite: PED 671)
PED 673 - Emotional/Behavioral Assessment
   (Prerequisite: PED 672)
PED 674 - Special Populations Assessment
   (Prerequisite: PED 673)
PED 664 - Curriculum Based Assessment
   (Prerequisite: PED 674)
PED 676 - Intro Applied Behavior Analysis
PED 678 - Practicum in School Psychology
   (Prerequisites: all courses including undergraduate prerequisites, except ILD 625, PED 637 or PED 694)
ILD 625 - Educational Research

Choose either:
PED 637 - School Psychology Research
   (Prerequisite: ILD 625)
or
PED 694 - Thesis
(Prerequisite: ILD 625 and successful completion of an undergraduate or graduate statistics course. Candidates must have written permission of faculty advisor to enroll in the course)

Practicum (450 hours)

• Candidates should refer to the current Graduate Manual for School Psychology for specific information about the practicum and internship requirements.
• Candidates are required to complete ALL 450 hours of practicum prior to starting their internship. Candidates must complete the practicum experience under the supervision of a credentialed and experienced (three years) school psychologist. National University school psychology candidates will complete school-based practicum during the PED 678 course (3-month course).
• In PED 678 (Practicum in School Psychology) candidates will do their practicum hours and experiences only in public school based settings (according to CCTC requirements). PED 678 course instructor and a credentialed school site psychologist through completion of course requirements will evaluate candidate performance.
• Complete PED 678.

NOTE: Candidates cannot be placed at practicum or internship sites where they are currently or have recently been employed. Dual roles and relationships will be prohibited. Discovery of such activity will result in candidates being removed from that site with accrued hours not counting toward practicum or internship.

Internship Prerequisites
Before candidates can begin the internship, they must:

• Provide proof of Certificate of Clearance
• Provide verification of a TB Clearance
• Pass the CBEST
• Complete prerequisite coursework (all CED and PED courses (except PED 637 or PED 694 and PED 685)
• Complete 450 hours of logged, approved practicum
• Submit an Internship application and be assigned a University Supervisor.
• Internships and PED 685 are then scheduled by the Credential Advisors.

Internship (5 courses; 21 quarter units)
(1200 hours/2 levels)

A minimum of 1200 clock hours is required. The candidate will draft a plan with the Site Supervisor and University Supervisor, meet weekly with Site Supervisor for supervision, keep weekly logs of each 300 hours of internship, and submit logs to University Supervisor. The internship consists of the following:

• No more than two sites at one time with no more than two Site Supervisors at one time
• Includes two levels (Elementary and Secondary)

PED 685 - Internship Seminar
PED 687 - School Psych Internship I (300 hours)
PED 688 - School Psych Internship II (300 hours)
PED 689 - School Psych Internship III (300 hours)
PED 690 - School Psych Internship IV (300 hours)

Exit Requirements
In order to receive a Master’s degree and a PPSP credential, candidates must complete all courses and internship within seven years and fulfill the following requirements:

• Successful completion of all coursework, portfolio, research project, practicum and internship.
• Schedule and complete an exit appointment with faculty advisor or University Supervisor
• Successful completion of the ETS National Praxis (#0400) examination-School Psychology (passage score is 148)
• Complete Program Evaluation Form-School Psychology
• Submit written evaluations of performance in Internship experiences by Site Supervisor to University Supervisor
• Schedule an exit appointment with credential advisor to receive final clearance and credential documents
• Have a zero account balance

Credential Application Information
Candidates are expected to complete their internship either on a full time basis of 8 months (40 hours per week) or part tie basis of 17 months (20 hours per week). Less than 20 hours per week at the internship site will not be approved. Upon successful completion of the coursework and internship, can dates must meet with a credential advisor to receive, complete and submit the Commssion on Teacher Credentialing application form for the PPSP School Psychology credential.

For credential requirements please see Credential section of the catalog.

Program Information

• Send to a Friend

Program Locations

• Bakersfield Campus
• Costa Mesa Campus
• Fresno Campus
• Los Angeles Campus
• Sacramento Campus
• Spectrum Business Park Campus

Related Downloads

• Careers in School Psychology