Master of Arts in Education: School Psychology Option
The Master of Arts in Education (School Psychology) offers trainees the opportunity to gain skills in working with students, teachers, and parents in the school setting. Graduates of this degree who also complete practicum and fieldwork requirements are eligible for the Pupil Personnel Services Credential, School Psychology Endorsement, offered by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC). Possession of the MA in Education (School Psychology) and the Pupil Personnel Services Credential, School Psychology Endorsement prepares an individual to meet the academic requirements for the Licensed Educational Psychologist license administered by the Board of Behavioral Science Examiners, Department of Consumer Affairs.
The program includes training in counseling techniques, the use of individual academic and psychological assessment tools, the introduction of behavioral interventions in the school and the home, consultation skills, techniques of program development and evaluation, special education law, and instructional strategies.
Unique strengths of the program include supervised training in a clinic setting, early field experience in schools, a one-year field placement in the public schools, and instruction by faculty who hold school psychology credentials.
The program also offers a CCTC approved internship in school psychology. Interns are jointly selected by program faculty and employing districts. Students are not eligible for the CCTC internship option until they are ready to register for EDS 441, usually in the fifth semester of the program. A minimum 1200-hour internship, completed in not more than four semesters, is required and must be approved by their advisor.