Program Philosophy and Goals

The Master of Science (Specialist) program in School Psychology at the University of North Texas is dedicated to producing ethical, responsible, and competent school psychologists who employ scientific knowledge and methods of problem solving. There is a program focus on the child and adolescent as a valued, interactive member of a family, school, and community system. The implementation of this philosophy produces practitioners who demonstrate competence in:

• Respecting the uniqueness, dignity, culture, and worth of each person;
• Serving the best interests of children;
• High standards of ethical and professional conduct;
• Scientific problem solving applied to assessment, intervention, consultation, research, and program evaluation; and
• Collaborative, empirically-based decision-making based on best practices.

These goals are key themes throughout the program, and are implemented across three dimensions:

1. A course content dimension is a didactic dimension yielding generalizable knowledge and skills. This dimension includes course work in the methods of science and research, psychological, educational, and professional practice foundations, professional issues, standards, and ethics.
2. An applied professional practice dimension focuses on applying more specific knowledge and skills. This dimension includes extensive supervised field experience in a data-based approach to problems related to schooling and research. From the student's first semester in the program didactic course work is linked with applied practica in professional practice skills.
3. A problem-solving dimension integrates scientific and professional principles and practices. Whether the student is solving research or referral questions, this practicioner-scientist model of problem-solving is applicable and implemented.

The School Psychology program produces school psychologists with foundations in psychology and education, who integrate the principles of scientific inquiry into service-delivery functions with respect for cultural and individual differences. This model assumes that the functions of a school psychologist involve primarily problem solving, whether service or research oriented, and that problem solving will be the most effective when approached from a data-based framework.

The School Psychology Program's M.S. degree satisfies Texas state requirements for licensure as a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) with an option of also completing requirements for the Licensed Psychological Associate (LPA) by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists (TSBEP). The School Psychology Program follows the National Association of School Psychologists guidelines for Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP). The Master's School Psychology Program is equivalent to a specialist level, and includes approximately 66 semester hours and an 1,200 clock hour internship among its requirements for graduation.

It is the goal of the School Psychology Program to foster life-long habits of psychological investigation, assessment and intervention that respects the dignity of the individual. In the constantly evolving field of school psychology, it is important to maintain an openness to investigate new ideas, to extend the boundaries of our knowledge base, to distinguish fact from opinion, to question old assumptions and to be sensitive to multicultural and individual differences. These attitudes represent the University of North Texas practitioner-scientist model and are modeled by the Educational Psychology faculty at the University of North Texas who also serve as mentors to the students.