Ed.S. Program Study Goals
Believing in the importance of individual and cultural differences and environmental influences, this program seeks to prepare professionals who will effectively work in collaboration with children, families and other professionals toward optimal learning and adjustment for children/youth. The primary aim of the School Psychology Program is to provide courses, training experiences and supervision which permit the student to develop the problem solving skills necessary to effectively apply psychological and educational knowledge and techniques in school settings/systems. The program uses a widely accepted role of a school psychologist model which includes consultation, counseling, psychoeducational evaluation, data-based outcomes-driven decision making and accountability, academic and behavioral intervention, and research skills. The program subscribes to a proactive approach utilizing the problem-solving model of service delivery, strength-based perspectives of evaluation and system-wide implementation of positive support technologies.
1. Develop consultation skills which
a. incorporate advanced psychological and educational knowledge,
b. promote collaborative intervention development and evaluation,
c. are appropriate given education organizational and family systems
characteristics;
2. Develop psychoeducational evaluation skills which
a. proceed from a hypothesis development/testing perspective,
b. use a multi-method strategy,
c. incorporate situational and student variables,
d. are appropriate to preschool, elementary, middle and high school students;
3. Know currently used educational and behavioral intervention techniques which
a. are appropriate in a variety of educational contexts,
b. are appropriate for a variety of family contexts;
4. Be able to utilize research strategies/skills in
a. gathering information and writing regarding topics of interest in school psychology using appropriate professional writing form,
b. conducting applied research projects,
c. providing professional accountability descriptive information
5. Develop a school psychologist role definition that incorporates the above skills and emphasizes
a. child advocacy,
b. parent involvement,
c. ethical practice,
d. continued skills and role development,
e. a working knowledge of professional, ethical and legal guidelines
The curriculum designed by the School Psychology Program faculty to meet the defined goals includes coursework in Education and Psychology. Also described are expected areas of undergraduate training. These, if not completed prior to entrance in the program, must be completed prior to graduation from the program, but the credits earned in them will not count toward graduation.
The graduate coursework takes four or more semesters of full-time study including practicum work. The Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) degree requires approximately 72 credit hours of coursework. The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree is awarded after successful completion of 36 hours of coursework (excluding some practicum and all internship credits), passing a comprehensive examination with written and oral components. The additional coursework, practicum and internship, are then required for the Ed.S. degree.
The number of graduate students admitted into the School Psychology Program at the University of Montana varies from year to year. This can be due to a number of factors, including quality and size of applicant pool and how many students were admitted the previous year. Generally the program considers admitting 6-8 specialist level and 2-3 doctorate level students per year. We require applicants to complete the Graduate School application materials, including submitting three letters of recommendations which most desirably would represent academic work in Education and Psychology and perhaps related work experience. Also required are scores from the Graduate Record Exam and a personal statement regarding the applicant's interest in school psychology, related experiences and professional plans.
Application deadline: January 1 for the following fall admission. The School Psychology Program faculty consider all application materials in a comprehensive manner, so that no one component is necessarily weighted more than others. For example, an applicant may have a low GRE Quantitative score. However, this could be offset by strong letters of recommendation and a strong GPA.
Believing in the importance of individual and cultural differences and environmental influences, the UM School Psychology training program prepares professionals to work effectively in collaboration with children, families, school professionals, and community to optimize academic and social/behavioral outcomes for children and youth. The program trains school psychologists who are guided by professional ethical principles and advocate best practices for effective services across the educational continuum from the system to individual level. A fundamental philosophy of the program is that school psychological services promote prevention and wellness and link services closely to the environmental systems that surround children/youth including their families and communities.
The major objective of the graduate training program in School Psychology is the preparation of problem solving psychologists, who work proactively with others in the identification and remediation of social and educational problems. The aim of professional preparation is to develop psychologists who are grounded thoroughly in the principles of human development, behavior and educational psychology. Attention is directed toward the mastery of skills in assessing the academic and social development of children and adults within specific environments and ecological confines; planning, implementing, and evaluating academic and behavioral interventions; and consulting and training with parents, teachers, and related school personnel. Emphasis is placed on analyzing problems at the idiographic level. That is, each problem situation is considered unique with respect to its background information, the personal characteristics of the parties involved (e.g. gender, cultural heritage), and the expectations for problem solution. Students are trained to be scientists/practitioners. This approach means that students master and employ valid scientific methods and valid assessment and intervention strategies to prevent and resolve problems. Prevention and intervention services are evidence-based, demonstrate empirical support, and are treated as plausible hypotheses that must be evaluated continuously as part of service provision.
The Ph.D. doctoral training in School Psychology is a five-year program of study that aims at producing psychology professionals in schools, research, and other leadership roles who advocate for children, their families, and schools at all levels of service. Doctoral students are trained in the scientist-scholar-practitioner model, which provides the basis for graduates to assume leadership roles in research and practice. This approach means that students master and employ valid scientific methods and valid assessment and intervention strategies to prevent and resolve problems as service providers and/or researchers. Prevention and intervention services are evidence-based, demonstrate empirical support, and are treated as plausible hypotheses that must be evaluated continuously as part of service provision. As scholars they are able to draw from many different bases of knowledge and apply this information to solve often difficult and recalcitrant problems through basic and/or applied research. The philosophy of the UM doctoral training program strongly holds that research and practice are reciprocal and mutually beneficial activities imbedded in a community of learners. The doctoral training program can be differentiated from the specialist-level training primarily in its orientation for training professionals who are committed to and capable of advancing the field. The Ph.D. school psychologist is an active consumer, evaluator, and critic who is able to test, adapt, and develop new procedures either through their own practice of school psychology or through research and then communicate findings to others in the field. Ph.D. school psychologists advocate for effective services with an ecological orientation of services, and assist in educating policy makers about evidence-based practices. Competencies are developed through integrative experiences in scientific research methodology, the acquisition of empirical knowledge bases relevant to school psychology, and application of skills through supervised practice.
The doctoral program in School Psychology aims at producing the next generation of leading academic scholars and professionals. Graduates of the doctoral program will be trained as proactive agents of change by advancing the field through research, practice, and service with the goal of advocating positive academic, social and behavioral outcomes for children, families and communities. Program objectives are divided into two types: knowledge competencies and performance competencies. Knowledge competencies will be evaluated through coursework performance evaluations (e.g. exams, projects), a Masters Thesis, compulsory examination, and Dissertation. Performance competencies will be evaluated through research activities and various school and clinic-based practica. Specifically, doctoral students will demonstrate competency in the following eight (8) domains:
(i) Psychological and Educational Foundations of School Psychology,
(ii) Psychometrics, Measurement, and Research,
(iii) Methods of School-Based Intervention,
(iv) Professional School Psychology,
(v) Application of Research Skills,
(vi) Practicum Experiences,
(vii) Internship Experience,
(viii) Supervised College Teaching.
Application deadline: January 1 for the following fall admission. The School Psychology Program faculty consider all application materials in a comprehensive manner, so that no one component is necessarily weighted more than others. For example, an applicant may have a low GRE Quantitative score. However, this could be offset by strong letters of recommendation and a strong GPA.
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