Basic Requirements - Degree

  1. Completion of a program of 100 credits, with a cumulative grade point average of B or better. Advanced students are given transfer credit, based on an individual analysis of their prior graduate academic record, as shown on official transcripts.
  2. Successful completion of a qualifying examination, which must be taken and passed following the third year in the program. This examination is given in May of each year. Students who fail the qualifying examination twice are dropped from the program.
  3. Students must maintain a B average each semester, receive no more than one C per semester, and no more than three Cs in total toward the PsyD, or the student may be dropped from the program. All instances involving program termination can be appealed. The appeals process is detailed in the PsyD Student Manual. Candidates receiving a D in a course will be placed on probation and a remedial plan will be developed. A grade of F in any course in the program is grounds for termination.
  4. Satisfactory evaluation of performance at all practicum and internship sites, with no documented reports of unethical or unprofessional conduct.
  5. Successful completion of an approved doctoral dissertation.
  6. Satisfactory performance at an oral defense of the doctoral dissertation.

Plan of Study

Following is a listing of the courses required for completion of the PsyD degree. The typical student requires approximately 4.5 years to complete the program, including the oral defense of their doctoral dissertation. A number of students have completed the program in four years. We carefully select motivated and capable students and, as such, our graduation rate exceeds 90%.

FIRST YEAR (32 credits)

Fall Spring
201 Graduate Statistics I (3 s.h.) 202 Graduate Statistics II (3 s.h.)
227 Interviewing and Counseling in Professional Psychology (3 s.h.) 220 Consultation in Schools and Health Service Settings (3 s.h.)
231 Theory and Practice of Intellectual Evaluation (3 s.h.) 232 Intellectual, Academic, and Vocational Evaluation (3 s.h.)
253 Advanced Developmental Psychology (3 s.h.) 254 Psychology of the Exceptional Child (3 s.h.)
258A Social Psychology and the School System (3 s.h.) 245 Practicum Supervision Course I, continued (1 s.h.)
244 Practicum Supervision Course I (1 s.h.)  

 

Winter
274 Ethics and Professional Practices in Psychology (3 s.h.)

 

SECOND YEAR (29 credits)

Fall Spring
210 Current Literature in Psychology (2 s.h.) 207 Cognition and Perception (3 s.h.)
224 Research Design for Health Service Programs (3s.h.) 223 Research Design II (4 s.h.)
233 Assessment and Intervention Strategies (3 s.h.) 240 Personality Assessment (3 s.h.)
280 Community Intervention Programs (3 s.h.) 275 Cross-Cultural and Ethnic Issues in Psychology (3 s.h.)
246 Practicum Supervision Course II (1 s.h.) 209 Classical Concepts in Psychology (2 s.h.)
  247 Practicum Supervision Course II, continued (1 s.h.)
Summer I
251 Special Topics (1 s.h.)
PsyD candidates begin assessments at PERCC and continue through summer and fall of the third year.

THIRD YEAR (24 credits)

Fall Spring
257 Psychology of the Emotionally Disturbed Child (3 s.h.) 214 Neural Bases of Behavior (3 s.h.)
269 Psychology and the Criminal Justice System (3 s.h.) 282 Preventive Mental Health (3 s.h.)
330 School Psychological Services Internship I (3 s.h.) 331 School Psychological Services Internship II (3 s.h.)
 Elective (3 s.h.) 601 Dissertation Seminar (3 s.h.)
QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

FOURTH YEAR (15 credits)

Fall Spring
349 Community Internship and Supervision I (3 s.h.) 350 Community Internship and Supervision II (3 s.h.)
602 Dissertation Proposal Preparation (3 s.h.) 604 Dissertation Advisement (3 s.h.)
  Elective (3 s.h.)

Electives

Students are permitted to take 6 semester hours of electives from a wide variety of courses that are relevant to school-community psychology. Among the possible electives are the following:

  • Psychology: Psychology of Addictions (PSY 213), Clinical Neuropsychology (PSY 215), Applied Behavior Analysis in Industry (PSY 218), Individual Counseling (PSY 229), Group Counseling (PSY 230), Personality Evaluation I and 11 (PSY 235, PSY 236), Special Topics Seminar (PSY 251, PSY 252), Theories of Counseling (PSY 256), Behavior Deviations (PSY 260), Psychology of Aging (PSY 263), Aging and Human Behavior (PSY 264), Advanced Workshop for Training of Group Leaders (PSY 268), Psychometric Theory (PSY 278), Surveying, Sampling, and Scaling (PSY 279), Current Theory and Research in Rehabilitation (PSY 281), Sexual Behavior and the Treatment of Sexual Disorders (PSY 285), Measurement of Work Performance (PSY 286), Training and Development (PSY 287), Work Motivation (PSY 288), Marital and Family Therapies (PSY 329), Theoretical Orientations to Human Development (PSY 353), Psychotherapy with the Deaf via Total Communication (PSY 399)
  • Anthropology: Fundamentals of Anthropology (ANTH 200)
  • Education: Administration and Supervision of Special Education (SPED 200), Philosophy and Principles of Vocational Rehabilitation (REHB 230), Medical Information in Rehabilitation (REHB 232), Education of the Gifted (SPED 250)
  • Educational Administration: Theories and Practice of Supervision (EADM 214), Supervision of Instruction and Curriculum Development ( EADM 241), Public School Finance (EADM 243), Selected Issues in School Administration (EADM 245), Management Technology (EADM 249)
  • Elementary Education: Elementary School Curriculum (FLED 227)
  • Foundations of Education: Contemporary Educational Movements (FDED 210), Aesthetic Education (FDED 220), Qualitative Research Methods (FDED 222 ), Seminar on Alternative Education (FDED 244), Multicultural Education in the Metropolitan Area (FDED 248)
  • Reading: Psycholinguistics, Sociolinguistics, and the Processes of Reading and Writing (READ 256)
  • Rehabilitation Counseling: Philosophy and Principles of Vocational Rehabilitation (REHB 230), Medical Information in Rehabilitation (REHB 1 32 ), Sign Language I (REHB 291), Sign Language II (REHB 292)
  • Secondary Education: Perspectives on Secondary Education (SED 205)
  • Special Education: Administration and Supervision of Special Education (SPED 200), Introduction to Young Children with Disabilities (SPED 207), Vocational Rehabilitation (SPED 230), Nature and Needs of Students with Neurological Impairments/Learning Disabilities (SPED 246), Nature and Needs of Individuals with Physical Impairments: Psychology of the Disabled (SPED 249), Education of the Gifted (SPED 250), Education of the Disadvantaged Youth (SPED 260), Teaching in Resource Rooms (SPED 262), Issues in Infant, Toddler, Preschool, Parent, and Family Involvement Programs (SPED 310)
  • Speech: Pediatric Communication Disorder (SPCH 241), Aphasia (SPCH 242), Language Disorders and Learning Disabilities (SPCH 243)
  • Sociology: Sociology of Juvenile Corrections (SOC 272)