School Psychology Doctoral Program

The School Psychology Doctoral Program at The Ohio State University is a full-time program that is fully accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in association with the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). The Doctoral Program is also accredited by the Ohio Department of Education, and the faculty is currently preparing to obtain accreditation from the American Psychological Association. With a doctoral degree in school psychology, students have access to numerous credentials including licensure as a professional psychologist.

In order to complete the Ph. D., students are expected to complete four to five years of coursework including the dissertation and one year of internship. These requirements are based on students who have not completed a master's degree in school psychology or some related field. The doctoral internship cannot be substituted with a prior master's internship or previous work experience. However, the number of hours for doctoral practica can be reduced based on previous training and/or work experience. Also a thesis or equivalent research project completed in a previous graduate program may substitute for a research requirement upon approval of the faculty. Click here to learn more about specific course requirements and about other program requirements.

Typically, doctoral students enroll for 12-15 quarter hours each term during the first three years. Depending on the requirements remaining for the student to complete, the student will most likely enroll for fewer hours during the dissertation year and the internship year. The Ph. D. must include a minimum of 135 quarter hours with 12 hours in research methodologies. Students can typically apply 45 hours from the Master's Degree towards their doctoral coursework leaving a minimum of 90 quarter hours. The typical number of hours that students in The OSU School Psychology Doctoral Program complete is between 90-105 quarter hours beyond that of the Master's Degree or approximately 170-184 hours including the master's degree total.

The doctoral program builds on the practitioner focus of the master's program and seeks to prepare school psychologists whose main contributions will be through research and academic careers, perhaps as future trainers of school psychologists and/or future leaders in the field of school psychology. Although students in the master's and doctoral program may be expected to acquire similar knowledge and skills, the level of skill or amount of knowledge to be obtained may differ. For example, master's students are expected to acquire a basic understanding of psychiatric disorders and the DSM-IV, however, doctoral students are expected to acquire an advanced level of skill in these areas. Also, some of the doctoral objectives are not found at all in the master's program. Examples of these include objectives related to research, leadership, supervision skills, and practice in non-school settings. Doctoral students are trained in more advanced design and statistical techniques to meet the "scientist as producer" model of the program. Clinically, doctoral students are also trained to develop skills as case managers, clinicians in comprehensive school and mental health settings, and supervisors of others who provide educational and psychological services to children, adolescents, and families. All doctoral competencies that are somehow different from the master's program have been given an asterisk for demarcation. Click here for a printer friendly version of the doctoral competencies or for a complete copy of the Doctoral Program Handbook.