School Psychology, M.Ed.

This 62 credit-hour program combines coursework from both the Departments of Education and Psychology. Students completing this program will acquire knowledge, dispositions, and professional skills to function in school settings as licensed School Psychologists, and will be trained within the pragmatic model of School Psychology. It is the goal of the Valparaiso University School Psychology Program to provide school psychology training in accordance with standards established by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and the Indiana Department of Education’s Division of Professional Standards. At the conclusion of this integrated sequence of study, students will have earned both the Master of Education in Education and Psychological Foundations and the Educational Specialist degree. Graduates of this program will also qualify for licensure as School Psychologists in the State of Indiana.

The Valparaiso University School Psychology Program is designed for completion in three years of full-time study. This includes two years of sequenced coursework, which includes summer months, plus the year-long 1200 clock hour internship that is completed under the supervision of a licensed or credentialed school psychologist. Field-training requirements are integrated throughout the entire sequence of the program, and must typically be completed during hours in which elementary and secondary schools are in session. A part-time option for this program is also available.

To ensure that individual candidates are meeting programmatic goals, data will be collected at set checkpoints and reviewed by a designated committee determined for each student at the initiation of the program. Checkpoints are as follows:

Admission
Completion of M.Ed. requirements (End of Year 1)
Pre-internship Review (End of Year 2)
Pre-graduation/Pre-licensing Review (End of Year 3)
Follow-up employment and program quality surveys are completed within one year of graduation. Students must pass the ETS Praxis II School Psychology Examination, with NASP’s certification cutoff score, prior to graduating with the Ed.S. degree. To continuously improve the quality of the School Psychology program, all data collected among candidates is aggregated and shared with necessary stakeholders each academic year. For specific information concerning this assessment system, please see the Valparaiso University School Psychology Handbook.

Evaluations of candidates’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions will occur 1) through multiple methods of assessment (e.g., portfolios, scoring rubrics, field training evaluations, norm-referenced testing), 2) across settings (e.g., University classrooms and elementary/ secondary settings), and finally, 3) from perceptions of different raters/evaluators.

Individuals who have already completed graduate work within the past five years may transfer up to 21 credit hours of applicable coursework toward meeting the degree requirements. No more than 9 of the 21 credits to be transferred can be at the 600-level. Transfer of credits is approved on a course-by-course basis by appropriate faculty in the Education or Psychology Department. Transfer credits must be congruent with the Valparaiso University degree requirements.