PhD in School Psychology

Row of students at conference table - LG Degree: PhD

Career Path: Certified School Psychologist; Licensed Psychologist

Start Semester: Summer or Fall
Campus: Lincoln Center
Full-time/Part-time: Both

The mission of Fordham’s doctoral school psychology program is to educate professional psychologists who are capable of linking knowledge, gained through psychological science, to educational effects in contemporary society.

The program emphasizes training that applies a scientist-practitioner model to maximize the educational and social-emotional development of children in urban settings, especially children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

The major impact of the program occurs in the New York metropolitan area, a diverse community of people ranging from the economically disadvantaged to the wealthy. It is a large community that demands many varied psychological and educational services. Through coursework and field experiences, the program attempts to provide students with a sensitivity and understanding of the special needs of those whose cultural backgrounds and/or language skills make their quality of education a particular challenge.

The School Psychology doctoral program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association, approved by the National Association of School Psychologists, and registered with the New York State Department of Education for purposes of school psychology certification and professional Licensing in psychology.

Program Prerequisites

Students must have courses in General Psychology, Child/Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology, Abnormal Psychology and Personality Psychology.

Students who have not completed all prerequisites prior to admission must complete them during the first part of their studies. Prerequisite coursework may be completed at either the graduate or undergraduate level. One prerequisite may be met through coursework in the program/cognate.

Application Deadline

January 15

Fieldwork Requirements

Required field work includes: completion of 3 practica, one externship, and a one year supervised internship.

Practica
Each practicum requires the student to complete approximately 150 hours at an off campus site (i.e., school, clinic, hospital) learning and honing their skills in consultation, counseling and assessment of children and adolescents.

Clinical Practicum: supervised experience in counseling/clinical intervention with children and youth
Consultation Practicum: supervised experiences in consultation Integration of Assessment Techniques: supervised experiences to students in psycho-educational assessment

Externship
Externship requires students to complete 200 hours of experience in a school, hospital, clinic, or research setting in one semester.

Students often decide to extend their externships beyond the required semester to gain more skills, experience and direct service hours to help make them more competitive candidates for internship or future employment.

Students receive a minimum of 1 hour per week of on-site supervision from a certified School Psychologist or licensed psychologist.

Internship
The internship consists of providing psychological services under qualified supervision. The length of the internship is one full academic year or a minimum of 1500 hours.

Students may also choose complete their internship at APA accredited sites, which are usually based in hospitals, clinics or schools, through the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC).

Doctoral Proseminar
The Doctoral Proseminar provides an orientation to the research expertise among faculty for all entering doctoral students.