School Psychology Doctoral Program Philosophy, Aims, and Compentencies
The School Psychology Program's philosophy holds that one learns best by engaging in evidence-based intervention. The program mission is to apply behavioral scientific knowledge and methods to the assessment and treatment of learning, behavior, and psychosocial problems in regular and special education populations in the public schools. Our program emphasizes functional analytic, collaborative, and data-based decision making expressed in the following themes:
- An appreciation and respect for the special attributes, dignity, diversity, and unique characteristics of each student as a contributor to our culture;
- A commitment to support the best interests of students over and above bureaucratic and procedural demands of institutions;
- An emphasis on the scientist-practitioner model of problem solving directed at behavioral assessment, intervention, follow-up treatment, consultation, applied and basic research, and on-going program evaluation.
- Our training model assumes that the primary functions of a school psychologist are relevant to both academic and social issues within the public school system. An additional tenet of this training model is that the school psychologist's service is most effective when it is approached from a data-based decision making orientation.
- These goals and the manner in which they are operationalized are consistent with the Stephen F. Austin State University mission, which states that the University is a comprehensive institution dedicated to excellence in teaching, research, scholarship, creative work, and service. These goals also reflect the mission of the James I. Perkins College of Education, which is to prepare competent, successful, caring and enthusiastic professionals dedicated to responsible service, leadership, and continued professional and intellectual development.
- Through the personal attention of our faculty and staff, we engage our students in a learner-centered environment and offer opportunities to prepare for the challenges of living in the global community.
Graduates will be qualified to contribute substantially to the following needs and service trends:
- provision of scientific research-based intervention services to children for academic
- behavioral and emotional problems within the schools, where they can be delivered most immediately and effectively
- provision of prevention services through assessment screenings, systems analysis, and data analysis
Doctoral Course Curriculum
Students entering the Ph.D. post-bachelor's program will enroll in an estimated 9-12 credit hours of coursework each Fall and Spring semester and for three years, as well as 3-9 credit hours each Summer term. This is followed by a one-year full-time internship. All courses are offered in the afternoon or evening during Fall and Spring terms, with the most common class times being 4:30 - 7:00 PM and 7:15 - 9:45 PM. Courses during the Summer terms are during the morning and afternoon. The required courses are as follows:
| EPS 560: Learning and Cognitive Development | EPS 550: Quantitative Research Methods |
| SPE 562: Instructional Strategies for Exceptional Learners | EPS 650: Advanced Research Methods |
| EPS 563: Individual Case Consultation | EPS 651: Multivariate Analysis |
| EPS 602: Advanced Applied Behavior Analysis | EPS 652: Single-Case Research Design |
| EPS 666: Verbal Behavior | EPS 580: Human Neuroscience |
| EPS 671: Severed Developmental Disabilities and Autism | EPS 585: Advanced Human Growth and Development |
| EPS 544: Psychoeducational Assessment | EPS 623: Ethics |
| EPS 545: Individual Intelligence Testing | EPS 661: History, Systems, and Interventions |
| EPS 668: Child and Family Assessment | EPS 665: Advanced School Psychology |
| EPS 672: Advanced Neuropsychological Assessment | EPS 685: Child and Adolescent Psychopathology |
| COU 522: Family Counseling | EPS 555: Practicum (3 credit hours, 150 hours) |
| COU 535: Multicultural Counseling | EPS 655: Practicum (9 credit hours, 800 hours) |
| EPS 629: Child and Adolescent Family Therapy | EPS 690: Dissertation (9 credit hours required) |
| PSY 501: Advanced Psychology Statistics | EPS 695: Internship (6 credit hours, 1750 hours) |
Students entering the Ph.D. post-master's program will enroll in an estimated 9 credit hours of coursework each Fall and Spring semester for two years, as well as 6-9 credit hours each Summer term. All courses are offered in the afternoon or evening during Fall and Spring terms, with the most common class times being 4:30 - 7:00 PM and 7:15 - 9:45 PM. Courses during the Summer terms are during the morning and afternoon. This is followed by a one-year full-time internship. The required courses are as follows:
|
EPS 602: Advanced Applied Behavior Analysis |
EPS 623: Ethics |
| EPS 666: Verbal Behavior | EPS 661: History, Systems, and Interventions |
| EPS 671: Severe Developmental Disabilities and Autism | EPS 665: Advanced School Psychology |
| EPS 668: Child and Family Assessment | EPS 685: Child and Adolescent Psychopathology |
| EPS 672: Advanced Neuropsychological Assessment | EPS 655: Practicum (9 credit hours, 800 hours) |
| EPS 650: Advanced Research Methods | EPS 690: Dissertation (9 credit hours required) |
| EPS 651: Multivariate Analysis | EPS 695: Internship (6 credit hours, 1750 hours) |
| EPS 652: Single-Case Research Design |
Potential Students
Financial SupportCurrent Students
Dissertation Proposal Approval Form
Application for Dissertation Examination
Report of Dissertation Form
18 Characteristics of the Doctoral Program
18 Characteristics of Texas Public Doctoral ProgramsRecent School Psychology Doctoral Dissertations
2016
| Frank Gomez | Predicting Academic Performance: A Commitment Perspective |
| Sarah Law | Evaluating the Use of Brief Experimental Analyses of Writing Interventions with Elementary Students |
| Jacklyn Peppard | Moderating Effects of Parental Involvement on Bullying and Somatization |
2015
| Summer Koltonski | Using Relational Frame Theory to Teach Nutritional Skills |
| Mihaela Mateescu | Academic Entitlement |
| Joshua Staley | The college athlete" An investigation of athletic identity and student university fit as predictors of a college athletes psychological well-being |
2014
| Laura Cooper | Complex Trauma and Peer Attachment in Juvenile Justice Involved Youth |
| Sarah Halle | Teaching Social Skills to Students with Autism: A Video Modeling Social Stories Approach |
| Elizabeth Kelly | The Production and Validation of a Compute-based Designed Instructional Program for Teaching Behavior Analytic Concepts |
| John Thomas Lacy | Increasing Students' Time Outside and Rate of Participation with ActivExpression 2 |
| Marilyn L. Rumph | Application of Neural Network Technology for School Psychology |
2013
| Carol Bradley | Behavioral Interventions for Food Refusal in Children |
| Melanie Kellam | The Therapeutic Alliance as a Mediator between Attachment and Symptom Distress: Comparing Women With and Without a History of Child Sexual Abuse |
2012
| Stevie Malnar | Review of Literature: Teacher-Child Interaction Therapy and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy |