The UNK School Psychology Specialist Degree in Education program prepares graduates to become uniquely qualified members of school teams that support students’ ability to learn and teachers’ ability to teach. Trainees learn to provide assessment, support, and intervention services to students; partner with families, teachers, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments; work with school administrators to improve school-wide policies; and collaborate with community providers to coordinate services for students.

School psychologists help children and youth succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. They collaborate with educators, parents, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments that strengthen connections between home, school, and the community for all students.

School Psychology was rated second best Social Service job by 2019 US News and World Report and will have strong growth over the next decade. It has been projected by The Labor Department that the number of jobs held by school psychologists is likely to increase by 20 percent between 2014 and 2024.

School Psychology is one of the fastest growing areas of professional psychology. School Psychologists bring psychological perspectives to individual, group and system issues in schools; that is, they deliver mental health services in educational systems. The framework of the UNK School Psychology Program is an ecological and developmental approach, which focuses upon human strengths to maximize positive outcomes. Human diversity is recognized as a strength. If the school psychology student attends full time, the student takes two years of academic coursework and related field experiences, followed by a year long, 1200-hour internship. Upon successful completion of degree requirements, the student is eligible for endorsement as a School Psychologist in Nebraska.

To provide the student with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to meet the demands of the profession, the School Psychology Program has adopted an ecological training approach. In the ecological approach, the student practitioner learns to collect and interpret data from a variety of sources in order to meet the needs of the individual within the school system. As a component of this approach, students are taught to be skilled at problem solving, consultation, interviewing, observation, assessment, and intervention development.

Accreditation

The School Psychology Education Specialist Degree is accredited by the National Association of School Psychology (NASP) and the International School Psychology Association (ISPA). The program is Nebraska State Department of Education approved and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP; formerly NCATE) affiliated.

The following program meets the academic requirements for the Nationally Certified School Psychologist regulated by the National Association of School Psychologists and school psychologist endorsement requirements by the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE).

The School Psychology program offers flexible course scheduling including evening, blended, on-line and video conferencing courses to accommodate students. Program completion takes approximately two to three years of coursework and one year of internship. Additionally, 300 hours of continuing professional development are required to reach degree completion.

* Blended or Online

Admission Requirements

Those planning to be full-time students in the School Psychology should obtain full admission to their chosen program of study the semester prior to their enrollment by completing the following steps:

1. Complete the UNK Department of Graduate Studies online application. All materials listed below are uploaded with the online application:
   1. $45 non-refundable application fee
   2. Academic history-official transcripts of all previous academic work.  If your GPA falls below the UNK Graduate Studies minimum expectation of 2.75, please upload a Low GPA Statement with explanation for your past academic performance, how you be successful academically at the graduate level (minimum 3.0 GPA), and why you should be admitted as an exception to the GPA requirement.
   3. Resume with requested information
   4. "Motivation for becoming a counselor, school psychologist or student affairs professional" essay
   5. Three Proessional Electronic References (Forms are automatically sent to recommenders when application is submitted).
2. When all materials have been received, the Office of Graduate Studies and Research will conduct an initial evaluation. Applicants meeting admission requirements for graduate study will be forwarded to the Department for consideration and recommendation.
3. Applicants must participate in the CSP Department admission interview/intake process which occurs each semester. When the application is complete, the CSP Department secretary will send the applicant a confirmation of this meeting via electronic mail to the preferred email address indicated on the application.
4. Department recommendations for admissions are submitted to the Dean of Graduate Studies.
5. Letters with admission decisions (i.e. an unconditional/full status, conditional/provisional status, or denial) are mailed from the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Tuition fee-2 years$26,000

Total fee-2 years$52,000