School Psychology, Doctor of Psychology

Admission

For admittance to the program, applicants must:

• Possess a baccalaureate degree
• Satisfy the department that his or her undergraduate preparation indicates a high potential for successful advanced study in psychology
• Submit transcripts of undergraduate and any prior graduate work
• Have completed a minimum of 24 undergraduate credits in psychology, including courses in Introductory Psychology, Statistics, and a laboratory course
• Submit three to five letters of recommendation, one of which must be from an individual who will address the matter of the applicant's research potential
• Submit two papers from psychology courses or practical experiences: one a laboratory or research-related paper written in formal, academic, or scientific language (usually in APA style). For example, a research proposal, thesis, literature review, experiment results write-up, redacted/de-identified psychological report. The second is a term paper (from any undergraduate course and can be written in non-scientific style)
• Provide a clearly written statement of educational and professional goals
• Submit acceptable scores from the Graduate Record Examinations (general). Advanced standing applicants may submit a passing score on the PRAXIS exam in lieu of GRE scores. In light of the impact of COVID-19, the GRE requirement has been temporarily suspended.
• Complete an interview process with the departmental admissions committee
• Students currently matriculated for a master's degree at St. John's University who are interested in the University's doctoral programs must follow the procedure outlined for new applicants.
• Students who have a Masters in School Psychology and a permanent or provisional certification in school psychology can apply for advanced standing status. 
• The application deadline for the School Psychology Psy.D. Program is on February 1 (Fall 2023 only).
• Students accepted for admission to a doctoral program with any course deficiencies must remove these deficiencies prior to matriculation.

Prior to beginning required supervised clinical hours at the University Clinics and external clinical placement sites, students will be required to undergo and successfully pass a Criminal Background Check, at a cost of approximately $100.  For more information, please consult the current Graduate Bulletin.

Advanced Standing applicants, please note:

The Advanced Standing program is highly competitive and is for students who have already earned their master’s degree in school psychology. Only one or two students are admitted into this program per year, and in some years no students are admitted. Applicants may choose to apply to the full Psy.D. general track, 105-credit program. The vast majority of courses for students in the advanced standing track are taught in the late afternoon/early evening. Some specific courses (i.e., Statistics) have been taught earlier during the day. This is important for advanced standing applicants to consider when applying for the program.

Assistantships

The University awards some Doctoral Fellowships annually to qualified graduate students. Doctoral fellows are generally appointed to the Department of Psychology where they work eighteen hours per week in support of faculty research. Additional assistantships are available in both academic and non-academic departments throughout the University. The University requires recipients to maintain a full-time course of study, and work in their respective department. The assistantships provide tuition remission and sometimes, a stipend. Recipients are prohibited from outside employment for the duration of their contract with the University.

Interested students must complete the Application for Graduate Assistantships/Doctoral Fellowships. Two letters of recommendation are required. Generally, Graduate Assistants have been selected based on academic achievement. Individual departments may have specific criteria for the consideration of assistants; the applicant should contact the Graduate Division of St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for more information.

Applicants for assistantships must also complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and a New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) application; both forms are available in the Office of Financial Aid.

For further information about fellowships and assistantships at St. John's University please visit Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships.

Courses

The Psy.D. program requires the satisfactory completion of 105 credits, a comprehensive examination, the clinical competencies comprehensive examination, the PRAXIS II Examination, a doctoral dissertation, and a year-long internship.

1. General Track
2. Bilingual Track
3. Advanced Standing

General Track

First Year Fall Semester

First Year Spring Semester

Second Year Fall Semester

Second Year Spring Semester

Third Year Fall Semester

Third Year Spring Semester

Note: PSY 752 and 753 - Students will be required to spend three days per week in a school setting working under a Certified School Psychologist who is also a Licensed Psychologist. The Praxis School Psychologist Examination and the Comprehensive Examination are taken during this semester. Students will receive the Master of Science (M.S.) degree in School Psychology at the end of the third year if they pass the Praxis School Psychologist Examination and the Comprehensive Examination.

Fourth Year Fall Semester

Note: PSY 754 and 755 - Students will be required to spend three days per week in a clinical setting working under a Licensed Psychologist (doctoral level). Students must successfully defend their dissertation proposals by December 1 of their fourth year to qualify for the fifth-year internship.

Fourth Year Spring Semester

Fifth Year Fall Semester

Note:* Students must take Psy 950 each semester until they complete their degree. However, they only receive 3 credits toward the degree. They will pay 3 credits until the dissertation is completed except for semesters when they are on internship when they will pay 1 credit.

Fifth Year Spring Semester

Note:* Students must take Psy 950 each semester until they complete their degree. However, they only receive 3 credits toward the degree. They will pay 3 credits until the dissertation is completed except for semesters when they are on internship when they will pay 1 credit.

Bilingual Track

The curriculum requirements for the School Psychology Bilingual track meet the requirements for Bilingual Certification by the New York State Department of Education in the following manner:

Twelve courses (36 credits) in the general school psychology program are also required of students in the bilingual program.

The following four courses in the program were altered to reflect material required by the New York State Department of Education for Bilingual Certification:

1. Developmental Psychology (PSY 624) includes extensive discussion of cross-cultural perspectives in child development.
2. Interviewing and Case Formulation (PSY 666) includes readings in counseling and interviewing culturally diverse children.
3. Child and Adolescent Personality Assessment I (PSY 671) includes instruction on the use of personality tests and their standardization with African American and Hispanic youth.
4. School Psychology Internship Seminar I (PSY 752B) includes instruction on the State Education Department’s regulations concerning the assessment and placement of bilingual children.

Practicum I & II (PSY 761B & 762B) provides students in their second year (prior to their internship) practicum experience in serving bilingual children and their families. These courses are similar in structure to the courses taken by the general School Psychology program (PSY 761 & 762), except that students in these courses are typically supervised by a bilingual school psychologist and are trained to provide school psychological services to bilingual children and their families.

Three courses (9 credits) are also required for students in the bilingual program. These include:

• PSY 627 Cultural Diversity in Psychological Services
• PSY 662B Psychoeducational Assessment of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Children
• PSY 729 Psycholinguistics and the Practice of School Psychology with Bilingual Populations

Certification as a Bilingual Psychologist

To obtain certification as a bilingual school psychologist in NY State, a student must take and pass the Bilingual Education Assessment (BEA). It is the student’s responsibility to register for this exam on his/her own. The BEA assesses knowledge and skills in the foundations of bilingual education, listening and reading comprehension, and written and oral expression. Offered in the target language of the certificate extension sought, it consists of multiple-choice questions, audio-taped listening and speaking components in English and the target language and reading and writing components in the target language. For more information about the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations, including online test registration, study guides, testing schedules, and more, go to: www.nystce.nesinc.com.

Enrollment in the Bilingual Track

Students must obtain approval from the Program Director to enroll in the bilingual track. This decision must be made prior to the second semester in the program (during the fall semester of the first year). Enrollment in the bilingual track is not contingent upon passing the BEA. Students are expected to take the BEA exam only if they want to receive the bilingual credential in New York State. Those who chose not to take the BEA can still utilize the bilingual training in their practice as school psychologists.

* Students must take Psy 950 each semester until they complete their degree. However, they only receive 3 credits toward the degree. They will pay 3 credits until the dissertation is completed except for semesters when they are on internship when they will pay 1 credit.

Advanced Standing

Students admitted with a master's degree in School Psychology and a permanent or provisional certification in school psychology can be admitted with advanced standing. These students will be required to take 50 credits at minimum. If the student’s masters did not include courses that are required for licensure as a psychologist in New York State, the student will be required to substitute these courses for his or her electives. In addition, the student’s elective courses may be used to take courses that the Program Director deems were deficient or absent in their School Certification education. They must take courses that exist in our program if they did not have equivalent courses in their masters/certification program. Courses required for licensure include: Social (Psy 722) or Cross-Cultural (Psy 625); Cognition (Psy 617); Physiological (Psy 648) or Biological bases; Scaling and Measurement (Psy 659); and Research Methods (Psy 615).

Advanced Standing Track Course Schedule

First Year Summer Semester

First Year Fall Semester 

First Year Spring Semester 

Second Year Fall Semester

Second Year Spring Semester 

Third Year Fall Semester

Third Year Spring Semester

Career Outcomes

In accordance with the Vincentian mission of St. John¹s University and the 11 stated training goals for the Graduate Programs in School Psychology, the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) Program in School Psychology specifically aims to prepare doctoral candidates to be:

• Psychologists who can review the theoretical and empirical literature on a professional topic and draw conclusions concerning how research will drive professional practice.
• Psychologists who can conceptualize psychological problems of children, and adolescents and their families, and construct professional assessment or treatment plans to resolve their problems.
• Psychologists who can answer professional questions with the collection of empirical data.
• Psychologists who can develop programs that meet the educational and mental health needs of children and their families.
• Psychologists who can base all professional activities on sound scientific theory and data.
• Psychologists who can perform all professional activities with the highest professional standards in compliance with ethical principles.
• Psychologists who can be committed to service to the community.
• Psychologists who can appreciate and consider the diversity of social and cultural experiences that influence human behavior.

For more information about who are school psychologists, please visit the NASP website.

Professional licensure and certification requirements often vary from state to state. St. John’s University has not determined requirements for individual states beyond New York. If you reside or plan to reside outside New York you are strongly encouraged to contact the appropriate state licensing agency in that state to seek information and guidance before beginning the program.

Important Information

• Applicant Information
• Goals, Objectives, and Competencies
• Training and Learning Activities
• Assistantships and Fellowships
• General Track
• Bilingual Track
• Advanced Standing
• Student Admissions Outcomes and Other Data
• Program Annual Report and Student Outcome Data
• Information for Current Students
• Field Placements
• Program Policies
• NASP Standards