School Psychology: Combined Master of Arts and
Specialist in School Psychology Degree
Program Overview
Program Director: Dr. Pamela Kidder-Ashley; ashleypk@appstate.edu; 828-262-2736; Psychology
http://www.psych.appstate.edu/gradprograms.html
The School Psychology program is fully accredited by NCATE/NASP and by the NC Department of Public Instruction. The program is multidisciplinary and is designed to prepare graduates who are able to use their knowledge in the areas of psychology, education, and counseling to address the needs of children and adolescents in schools. Students are trained to provide comprehensive school psychological services, including psycho-educational assessment and intervention planning, consultation and problem solving, in-service education, individual and group counseling, program development and evaluation, and applied research.
Program Highlights
- Over the past 10 years, the employment rate for graduates seeking jobs as school psychologists has been 100%.
- All programs graduates who have applied to doctoral programs in the past two years have been accepted for admission.
- If you are entering with a Bachelor’s degree (or a graduate degree in a field other than Psychology), you can expect to complete the 72 credit hours within 3 years of full-time study to obtain both the Master of Arts in Psychology (MA) and the Specialist in School Psychology (SSP) degrees. The third year and final 12 credit hours comprise a full-time internship in a public school setting that is chosen by the student with the guidance from the program faculty.
- Occasionally, students entering with a Master’s degree in Psychology or another related field (i.e. Counseling), and the must complete a minimum of 42 credit hours that include one year of full-time, on-campus course work plus the required internship, leading only to the Specialist degree.
- Students in both the MA/SSP and SSP-only tracks are required to complete successfully the program’s written comprehensive exams and the Praxis II School Psychologist Test, a national certification exam.
- Most first-year students are offered a 10-hour graduate assistantship.
Application Essentials
Location of instruction: On campus
Required Entrance Exam: GRE (score must be no more than 5 years old)
Required Number of References to specify in the on-line form: 3
Supplemental Information: Resume (Required upload for application submission); two page personal statement explaining why you have chosen to pursue a degree in School Psychology and why you have applied to Appalachian State's program (upload on the Additional Information page in the on-line application)
Deadlines for Application. A program not open for a particular term will be marked with an "x." If the program has early screening dates, those dates are listed in parentheses. Applications that are not complete by the early screening date risk denial of admission due to no seats available. Increased enrollment may lead to a term being closed for new applications.
- Spring: x
- Summer Session 1: x
- Summer Session 2: x
- Fall: 7/1 (2/15)
Basic Criteria for Consideration: (UGPA x 400) + GREV + GREQ = 2100;