School Psychology Major, PhD

Campus Code

Knoxville Campus

Admissions standards/procedures

• Students must submit an online graduate application to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Following a review of applications, an interview with the faculty is required. Admissions decisions are made on a holistic basis to discern the candidate’s promise for doctoral study and to ascertain the match of the candidate’s educational goals with the resources and goals of the program/department.
• Students with an undergraduate degree who are admitted to the PhD School Psychology Program will typically take 5 years of full time study to complete the program. In some instances students, with a relevant EdS or Master’s degree, can complete the program in 3-4 years.

Credit Hours Required

114 required graduate credit hours

Required Courses

• Required Courses (All courses are 3 credit hours, unless otherwise specified)

• Foundational Courses (28 credit hours)

• COUN 580 - Essential Skills for Professional Counseling
• SCHP 510 - Psychological Theories of Human Development Applied to Education
• COUN 570 - Social and Cultural Diversity in Counseling
• SCHP 516 - Educational Applications of Cognitive and Affective Models
• SPED 530 - Applied Behavior Analysis in School Settings
• SPED 555 - Methods of Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
• A 3-credit course in History and Systems of Psychology, Social Psychology, and Physiological Psychology, which have been approved by the program coordinator.

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• School Psychology Core Courses (24 credit hours)

• SCHP 540 - Seminar in School Psychology
• SCHP 547 - Psychoeducational Consultation
• SCHP 636 - Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Psychology and Behavior Analysis
• SCHP 690 - Psychopathology in School and Mental Health Settings
• SCHP 517 - Direct Assessment and Interventions for Academic Skills Deficits
• SCHP 545 - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Research and Practice
• SCHP 580 - Implementing and Sustaining Evidence-Based Practice in Schools
• SCHP 653 - Internship Exploration and Application in School Psychology

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• Research Courses (18 credit hours)

• SCHP 655 - Research in Psychoeducational Studies (6 credit hours)
• ESM 680 - Advanced Educational Measurement and Psychometrics
• ESM 577 - Statistics in Applied Fields I
• ESM 677 - Statistics in Applied Fields II
• SCHP 505 - Quasi-Experimental and Single-Subject Design Research

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• Practicum/Applied Field Work (21 credit hours)

• SCHP 552 - Professional Practice in School Settings (4 credit hours)
• SCHP 542 - Practicum in Psychoeducational Assessment (6 credit hours)
• SCHP 651 - Professional Practice in Clinical Settings (8 credit hours)
• SCHP 546 - Practicum in Consultation and Intervention
• SCHP 649 - Advanced Internship in School Psychology (0 credit hours)

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• Dissertation (24 credit hours)

• SCHP 600 - Doctoral Research and Dissertation

Non-course Requirements

• Comprehensive Exam: Students complete the Praxis in School Psychology exam after their third year. Students must pass with a score of 147 to be eligible for state certification as a school psychologist. 
• All students must complete a 2000 hour internship (SCHP 649) in the final year of their training.
• Doctoral candidates work closely with their dissertation chair to complete a dissertation proposal. A candidate will present the proposal to the dissertation committee, and once approved by all committee members, will begin work on the dissertation research. With the chair’s approval, the candidate will schedule an oral defense for the dissertation. During the dissertation defense, the candidate will present the work completed for the dissertation, which will be reviewed by the dissertation committee.