Why Pursue a PhD in School Psychology
The PhD in School Psychology allows students to practice psychology in educational settings, conduct research in the field, pursue faculty positions, and assume leadership roles. Graduate students also complete a full-time internship/school-based practicum where they gain experience providing a range of psychological services, specialized practicum experiences, and a doctoral dissertation based on original research. This program offers three areas of specialization:
- Behavior analysis
- Bilingual school psychology
- Research and evaluation
Doctoral students in School Psychology will attain an understanding of basic content areas in psychology, as well as professional issues including ethical and legal principles, equity, cultural diversity, communication, and quality assurance principles. Students will learn professional competencies in assessment, intervention, consultation, and supervision of psychological services with diverse populations. Students will also demonstrate scientific knowledge and expertise in research methods and data analysis. Doctoral students are welcome to pursue research topics across a variety of areas, such as psychological assessment, mental health intervention, consultation practices, child development and learning, and education and mental health systems issues.
Faculty
School Psychology faculty demonstrate a range in both professional and personal experiences, including psychological practice in multiple settings (e.g., schools, mental health clinics), a variety of research interests, and a variety of content area expertise. School Psychology faculty are well regarded in the field, with publications in top journals across the school psychology, educational psychology, and general and special education fields. School Psychology faculty are also mental health professionals, with licenses and certifications from Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists (TSBEP) and National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).
Admission & Application Requirements
Applications are submitted through the UTSA Graduate Application. Please upload all required documents (listed below) on your UTSA Graduate Application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure completion and submission of the application, a nonrefundable application fee, and all required supporting documents are on file with UTSA by the appropriate application deadline.
| School Psychology (PhD) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Admission is only available for the Fall semester | ||
| Required Degree | Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in the United States or have proof of equivalent training at a foreign institution. | |
| Minimum GPA | 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) Departments may consider GPA of last 60 semester credit hours | |
| Coursework | 18 credit hours in an area related to this graduate degree and at least 12 hours must be at the upper-division level. | |
| Transcripts* | Required from all institutions attended; international transcripts must be recorded/translated to English | |
| Credential Evaluation | Required if you have earned university-level credit from foreign institutions. Submit an evaluation of your transcripts from Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) directly from the graduate admission application platform | |
| GRE | Required scores not older than five years. | |
| English Language Proficiency | 600 TOEFL Paper / 100 TOEFL Internet / 7 IELTS / Duolingo 120 | |
| Purpose Statement | Required - Applicants must prepare a Statement of Purpose (approximately 500 words), which outlines the applicant’s (1) reasons for pursuing the MA degree in School Psychology, (2) experiences relevant to the field of psychology or education, and (3) career plans. | |
| Letters of Recommendation | 2 academic or professional reference(s) demonstrating your attributes for successful completion of this program (you will request these through the Graduate Admissions Application; let your recommenders know of your deadline to ensure submissions are on time) | |
| *Unofficial transcripts will be taken into consideration for admissions; however, if admitted into the program, you must submit official transcripts to the University. | ||
Application Deadlines
Applicants are encouraged to have their admission file completed as early as possible. All applications, required documents and letters of recommendation, if applicable, must be submitted by 5:00 PM U.S. Central Time on the day of the deadline. Deadlines are subject to change.
| School Psychology (PhD) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Timing on Admission Decision: Students can expect to hear back on an admission decision within 4 to 6 weeks after February 15. | |||
| Application Deadlines for: | Priority | International | Domestic |
| Fall 2024 | December 1 | December 1 | |
| Spring | Not Available | Not Available | |
| Summer | Not Available | Not Available | |
Funding Opportunities
The PhD in School Psychology program offers stipends and assistantships. The purpose of these awards is to enable students to devote their attention to studies for the degree. All students who apply and are accepted into the PhD program will be considered for these awards using the same application that was filed for admission. Students who receive an award may be required to work as either a TA (teaching assistant) or RA (research assistant) at UTSA. Doctoral students who receive support must be registered for 9 semester credit hours during fall and spring and 3 semester credit hours during the summer.
Career Options
Doctoral students will be prepared to practice psychology in educational settings, conduct research in the field, pursue faculty positions, and assume leadership and supervisory roles in School Psychology.
UTSA prepares you for future careers that are in demand. The possible careers below is data pulled by a third-party tool called Emsi, which pulls information from sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, online job postings, other government databases and more to give you regional and national career outlook related to this academic program.
While in a doctoral program, a student may earn a master’s degree provided the following conditions are satisfied:
- A student must be admitted to candidacy.
- A student is eligible to receive a master’s degree upon completion of University-wide requirements and any additional degree requirements specific to the program.
- The Doctoral Studies Committee, Department Chair, and the Graduate Associate Dean of the College must recommend students for the degree.
- The student must apply for graduation by the published deadline the semester prior to awarding the doctoral degree.
- All required coursework in the doctoral program at the time of admission to candidacy must have been taken within the previous six years.
- If the master’s degree requires a thesis, the degree cannot be awarded on the basis of the doctoral qualifying examination.
- Students will not be approved for an additional master’s degree in the same field in which an individual has previously received a master’s degree.
Although some courses may be taught in an online or hybrid format, the majority of courses will be delivered in person due to the applied nature of School Psychology competencies and ongoing evaluation of students’ knowledge and skill development.
