Program Overview

Department of Educational Psychology

The Department of Educational Psychology offers various academic programs, including the MA/EdS in School Psychology.

MA/EdS in School Psychology

The MA/EdS in School Psychology program is designed to develop competencies in culturally relevant and responsive intervention, assessment, consultation, and prevention. The program is accredited by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and educates students in accordance with Indiana school psychology licensure requirements.

Overview

The program focuses on providing students with extensive, direct, and supervised experience with individuals and communities from diverse backgrounds. The course sequence includes the study of human development, individual differences, learning, curriculum, research methods, and statistics to prepare students to be scientist-practitioner-advocates.

Quick Facts

• Delivery: On campus
• Credits: 73
• Accreditation: Continuously approved by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

What You Will Learn

Through the program, students will gain specific competencies in:

• Research
• Ethics
• Law
• Professional issues
• Interpersonal and communication skills
• Psychological Assessment
• Consultation
• Mental Health Intervention
• Academic and Behavioral Intervention
• Prevention
• Response to Intervention (RtI), Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS), and Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS)
• Youth Crisis and Trauma Counseling
• Applied Behavior Analysis
• Counseling Exceptional Children

Program Benefits

• Personal Attention: Students work closely with faculty who are leading experts in their field, with an excellent student-to-faculty ratio and small classes offering many opportunities for hands-on experiences.
• Faculty: The program is served by faculty with current research and grants in areas such as Equity and Social Justice, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Gifted Education, Neuropsychology, Academic and Behavioral Interventions, and more.
• Professional Experience: Each academic year, students are placed in a school setting for a total exceeding 2,000 clock hours of real-world experience upon graduation.
• Scientist Practitioner Advocate Model: The EdS program trains students to be educational leaders, assisting schools in interpreting and translating data, facilitating individual and group interventions, leading educational equity efforts, supporting children and families, and providing expertise in specific learning disabilities and other areas of student need.

Practica and Internships

Practicum and internship experiences focus on regular and special education classrooms, developing working partnerships with teachers, families, and community agencies. The program acknowledges the diverging needs of the profession and seeks to provide students with foundation skills for a range of career options. Training experiences occur in applied settings, including public schools and the Ball State Psychoeducational Diagnostic and Intervention Clinic (PDIC).

Accreditation

The program has been continuously approved by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

Admission

The program admits students once per year to start in the fall as a cohort. The priority review deadline for fall 2026 applications is November 1, 2025, for international applicants and December 1, 2025, for all other applicants.

Related Programs

• Master's Degree in School Counseling MA
• Master's Degree in Psychological Science
• Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology
• PhD in School Psychology

Our Teachers College

As part of Ball State's Teachers College, students join a community that prepares tomorrow's professionals and leaders in all areas of education.