Student Information

We offer three points of entry:

1. Most applicants enter with a B.A. or B.S. degree in psychology or a related field with the intention of earning the Ed.S. in school psychology, recognized as the entry-level standard of practice. Students who enter with a B.A. or B.S. can expect a 3-year course of full-time study with decreasing coursework and increasing time spent in schools for a total of 67 semester hours. 61 semester hours are completed in the first two years and the third-year is a full-time (9-10 month), financially compensated school-based internship with 6 additional semester hours.

2. Some applicants enter with an M.A., M.S. or M.Ed. in a related field. Many of these applicants have valuable field experience, especially those with education degrees, and apply directly to the Ed.S. degree. Depending on previous degree coursework, the plan of study may be less than 3 full-time years. One of these coursework years must be the full-time internship. The number of semester hours of coursework may differ per student. The school psychology program coordinator will evaluate each applicant's transcripts to develop an individualized course of study consistent with ISBE licensure requirements. For courses to be waived or transferred, prior courses must have been taken within the last 10 years.

3. A few applicants with a Ph.D., or Psy.D., or Ed.D. equivalents in related fields (e.g., clinical psychology, educational psychology) apply to our respecialization option. Based on the evaluation of previous experiences and coursework, an individualized course of study is developed that leads to ISBE endorsement as a school psychologist.

Year 1 practicum (SPY 560-562) 
is a 1-credit experience per term, repeated 2 additional terms. This practicum is linked explicitly to 3 courses so that students can get hands on experiences and opportunities to use the skills they are learning, observe what school psychologists do in actual practice, and see how schools operate in providing instruction and behavior support. Students complete many class assignments in their practicum school. Expectations are 4-8 hours per week.

Year 2 practicum (SPY 565) 
is a 3-credit experience per term, repeated 2 additional terms. This practicum is a 2-day per week expectation where students work under the supervision of approved school psychologist supervisors and receive a minimum of 2.5 hours of weekly university-based supervision. Students have the opportunity to practice skills they learned in their first year and expand the tools and skills they are learning in their second year.

Year 1 and 2 Practicum Goals

1. Practice skills students are learning in their courses and create “real life” situations in which to do and learn things.
2. Identify discrepancies in practice “systems regularities” and “best practices”
3. Disrupt students’ beliefs about professional practice, expand their perspectives about human development, educational services and systems, and improve their self-analysis and critical thinking skills.
4. Instill hope that as a professional, students can facilitate healthy development and prevent problems for ALL STUDENTS by helping them learn more about what they need to learn and know.
5. Attempt to give students a system(s) for sorting what works from what is believed to work.

Year 1 and 2 Practicum Big Ideas

1. Having a model of service delivery that is based on explicit assumptions and values as well as procedures creates more effective practice.
2. Most of us think of effective practice as knowing “what to do” and “when,” yet too often fail to ask why or whether it is likely to work.
3. There is a body of knowledge about development relevant to learning. Some things work better than others.  Some things purported to work rarely work.
4. Development is an interaction of within-person and environmental variables (ecological). However, typical practice emphasizes primarily within-the-person causes (and solutions) to problems.
5. We achieve improvements in the human conditions most often by managing the environment and context and by evaluating the unique effects of our solutions.

In their final year of School Psychology training, Ed.S. students embark on a 9-10 month, full-time capstone experience - the school psychology internship. NLU students secure internships in exemplary area school districts that are well-matched to their developing professional interests and skills in multi-tier services and supports (MTSS). Interns are provided opportunities to achieve breadth and depth of experiences with evidence-based practices and data-based decision making, and are supported to move beyond their comfort zones with field- and university-based supervision. Because NLU participates in the state internship program, school psychology interns are paid with salaries or stipends ranging from $9,000 to $20,000 locally. Out-of-state internships are also available.

University-Based Internship Seminar

In conjunction with their day-to-day experiences in schools, school psychology interns participate in a monthly university-based internship seminar. The 2 Semester Hour (SH) per quarter seminar (repeated each of 3 quarters) helps students link developing conceptual knowledge and critical thinking to the application of evidence-based practices in the field. The seminar provides opportunities for individual and peer group supervision, ongoing professional development including training in crisis prevention and intervention through NASP PREPaRE, and support with administrative requirements such as obtaining state and national certification.

Internship Goals

1. Develop a deeper understanding of school psychologists’ roles to enhance self-confidence and autonomy.
2. Link ongoing knowledge and critical thinking to evidence-based practices.
3. With the support of supervision, apply skills in areas that may be outside of comfort zones.
4. Problem solve practice issues of increasing complexity by discussing and comparing ongoing experiences.
5. Formatively evaluate development of professional skills to prioritize learning needs.
6. Begin engagement in various forms of supervision (e.g., individual; group; peer-based) with supervisors (e.g., site; university; administrative; peers).

Internship Big Ideas

1. The school psychology internship is about expanding discipline, defined by Webster as:  
   1. a field of study, or training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties
   2.  moral character; orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior;
   3. self-control;
   4. a rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity
2. In contrast, the school psychology internship presents many students a sustained challenge because of institutional inertia, a tendency for schools to resist change. A consequence is for previous training to washout rather than being firmed up or expanded upon.
3. The school psychology internship provides the first sustained opportunity for future school psychologists to develop their own personal areas of interest and expertise and impact academic and behavior outcomes for all students.
4. Supervision is critical to success to support professional discipline and overcome inertia.