School Psychology Doctoral Program

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The University of South Carolina, Department of Psychology, School Psychology Program is considered one of the premier doctoral programs in the United States. It has been ranked third nationally in U.S. News and World Report magazine rankings of graduate programs. Faculty productivity has been in the top five nationally for over thirty years (Skrutski and Williams, 2001). Faculty research interests are described on the School Faculty page of the Department's website.

Program faculty have always been committed to the teaching of psychology as a generic base for understanding human behavior, integrated with training in specific skills and knowledge necessary for the practice of psychology in the schools. The program is built on a "scientist-practitioner" model, which provides the framework for training in basic science and its application to real-world problems. Scientific and professional course work are viewed as interactive and complementary in developing a knowledge base in the theory and practice of school psychology.

The integration of the scientific and professional model of training is reflected in the sequence of required course work, which involves basic psychology courses and professional courses in school psychology. Students receive extensive applied training in psychoeducational assessment and remediation, personality evaluation, consultation, organization development, and behavioral management. Opportunities are also available for supervised training in individual and family therapy. Most core professional courses involve a fieldwork component. In the second and third years, students are placed in practicum sites to refine their skill development. In the final year of study, students are enrolled in a full-time internship experience.

The School Psychology faculty is committed to training students from diverse backgrounds. When diversity is considered more broadly than race or ethnicity, USC doctoral students are quite diverse. Students are drawn from across the country and represent a variety of backgrounds. Many have strong interests in issues of diversity and the program provides multiple opportunities to work with a wide range of students, families, and community settings.

The following list of activities indicates the major areas of training in the program's multifaceted approach to the theory and practice of school psychology:

1. Orientation to the culture and organization of the school;
2. Assessment of the individual child;
3. Consultation and in-service training with school personnel and parents;
4. Classroom intervention/management;
5. Interviewing and individual counseling;
6. Group counseling and intervention;
7. Systems intervention;
8. Initiation and conduct of research in the schools;
9. Group testing and program evaluation; and
10. School administrative activities.

The Ph.D. program in School Psychology at USC aims to prepare graduates for a wide range of activities in both public and private settings. It is this strong, broad base foundation training, along with the opportunity for specialty training in a wide variety of areas, that strengthens the program. Possible activities for Ph.D. program graduates include:

• Provision of assessment, prevention, intervention, and consultation services in school settings;
• Provision of a wide variety of services in mental health settings, including liaison with local schools;
• Provision of services for children, youth, and families with special cognitive, academic, social, emotional, and/or behavioral needs in a wide array of different treatment facilities (e.g., medical, institutional);
• Serving a variety of academic functions, such as college/university teaching, research, supervision of graduate students in a practica or intership settings;
• Administration and management of pupil services, such as Assistant School Superintendent,and Director of Special Services.

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