Program Overview
School Psychology (PhD)
The PhD in School Psychology at Loyola University Chicago is a comprehensive program designed to prepare students as scientist-practitioners who can work directly with students and publish research that helps disrupt inequities in the education system.
Overview
The program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and approved by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). It requires 99 credit hours, including coursework, practicum, and dissertation.
Curriculum
The curriculum is organized to facilitate academic, research, and clinical experiences. It includes:
- Psychological Foundations (21 hours)
- Assessment and Intervention (30 hours)
- Professional, Legal and Ethical (6 hours)
- Research Methods and Statistics (15 hours)
- Research Methods Elective (3 hours)
- Advanced Practicum (21 hours)
- One Graduate Level Elective (3 hours)
Required Coursework
The required coursework includes:
- CIEP 413: Psychopathology & School Mental Health
- CIEP 466: School Psychology Special Topics
- CIEP 484: Biological Foundation: Behavior in Schools
- CPSY 435: Selected Topics in Counseling
- PSYC 401: History & Systems of Psychology
- CPSY 454: Human Development: Cognitive, Aff & Phys Bases
- ELPS 432: Multiculturalism for Social Justice in Higher Education
- PSYC 475: Cognitive Development
- CIEP 409: Evidence Based Interventions
- CIEP 474: Assessment of Bilingual Students
- CIEP 477: Prevention, Assessment & Intervention: Academic
- CIEP 480: Assessment School-Age Students & Adults
- CIEP 482: Prevention, Assessment & Intervention: Behavior
- CIEP 485: Prevention, Assessment & Intervention: Social-Emotional
- CIEP 544: Prevention, Assessment & Intervention: Advanced Skills
- CPSY 423: Theory Counseling & Psychotherapy
- CIEP 479: School-Based Consultation
- CIEP 514: Advanced Systems Consultation
- CIEP 410: Legal Issues - Educating Exceptional Children
- CIEP 462: Ethics and Professional School Psychology
- RMTD 420: Educational Research I: Building a Body of Evidence With Qualitative Method
- RMTD 421: Educational Research II: Building a Body of Evidence Quantitative Method
- RMTD 430: Psychological Measurement
- RMTD 483: Multivariate Statistics
- RMTD 530: Seminar in Tests & Measurements
- CIEP 600: Dissertation Supervision
- CIEP 610: Doctoral Study
Practicum and Internship
The program includes a structured school-based practicum, advanced practica, and a calendar-year-long doctoral APA-accredited internship in health service psychology.
Comprehensive Assessment
Doctoral students complete a Doctoral Culminating Portfolio as their major comprehensive examination prior to accepting an internship.
Dissertation
A dissertation and oral defense are required, and the dissertation is submitted for publication in a publicly accessible database.
Responsible Conduct of Research
All PhD students must complete a course on responsible conduct in research as part of the degree requirements.
Learning Outcomes
The program aims to develop scientist-practitioners who:
- Have a professional identity as socially just school psychologists
- Understand and can implement evidence-based practice from a social justice perspective
- Can evaluate, produce, and disseminate research
The program is designed to build students' knowledge, attitudes, and skills to provide services effectively.