About School Psychology PhD

Learn about the program at a virtual information session

Meet with Faculty and students to learn more about our School Psychology Program. We will discuss our exciting program of study and the integrated practicum experiences. We will share our current research endeavors, and current students will discuss what it is like to live, learn, and play as full time graduate students at UMass Amherst. RSVP to the Program Overview Session for the Zoom link invitation.

  • Thursday, October 16, 2025: Program Overview // 6:00-8:00 EDT

Profession-Wide Competencies and Discipline Specific Knowledge

Health service psychology (broadly) and school psychology (specifically) is grounded in what the Standards of Accreditation term discipline-specific knowledge. Students in our program have access to learning experiences in which they develop a graduate level of understanding in core areas of psychology such as:

  • History and Systems of Psychology
  • Affective Aspects of Behavior
  • Biological Aspects of Behavior
  • Cognitive Aspects of Behavior
  • Developmental Aspects of Behavior
  • Social Aspects of Behavior
  • **Advanced Integrative Knowledge of 2 domains listed above
  • Research Methods
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Psychometrics

Throughout their experiences within the PhD program in school psychology, students will be given opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and achievement of particular profession-wide competencies. These competencies are as follows:

  • Research
  • Ethical and Legal Standards
  • Individual and Cultural Diversity
  • Professional Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors
  • Communication and Interpersonal Skills
  • Assessment
  • Intervention
  • Supervision
  • Consultation and Interprofessional/Interdisciplinary Skills

Quick Links: 

Doctoral Program Course Sequence  |  Admissions

Students in our APA-accredited PhD program complete a minimum of 117 graduate credits. Students who enter the program directly from the baccalaureate degree earn a masters of education (M.Ed.) in education en route to completing the doctoral program requirements. Students who enter the program with previously earned graduate credits may apply up to 9 of those credits toward the doctoral plan of study. Students are not required to retake courses that apply to the doctoral plan of study in school psychology, rather, courses and credits in excess of the 9 that are transferred in are waived from the doctoral plan of study and replacement courses are selected in areas mutually agreed upon by the student and advisor. In these instances, students often elect to take addition course work in areas of psychology and neuroscience, and measurement and statistics. Typically, students are awarded their PhD degree after 5 or 6 years of graduate work – 3 or 4 years of coursework (including practicum requirements), 1-year full-time doctoral internship, and dissertation work (which usually bridges the 4 years on campus and the year of internship).

Questions about our APA-accreditation should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 336-5979
apaacred [at] apa [dot] org (apaacred[at]apa[dot]org)
www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

Licensure

All Educator Licensure programs at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Second Education to meet licensure requirements in the state of Massachusetts ONLY.  

Many US states are signatories to the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement which facilitates the mobility of educators among the states that are members of NASDTEC. This agreement makes it possible for an educator who completed an approved program and/or who holds a certificate or license in one jurisdiction to earn a certificate or license in another state or jurisdiction, with possible additional requirements. 

If you are seeking licensure in another state, here is a Teacher Licensure Agency Directory for you to contact other states.