School Psychology

This program allows admission in the Fall. The next application cycle will be for Fall 2025. 

  • The Fall 2025 application cycle opened October 1, 2024 and the CSULB Cal State Apply Application closes December 2, 2024

How to Apply
Statement of Purpose prompt, etc., and MyCED Program Application Deadline

Request to be added to the prospective student list for this program

Students completing this program are typically employed in Prek-12 educational settings and provide direct and indirect social-emotional, behavior, and academic supports to children and youth. The program is designed to be completed in 3 years, which includes 2-3 years of full time (9-12 units per semester) coursework, 450 hours of practicum, and a 1200-hour internship. Classes are held in the late afternoon (4:00PM) and evenings (7:00PM). Our faculty adhere to NASP's nondiscrimination and equal opportunity policy. 

  • Upon successful completion of the program, graduates of the CSULB School Psychology program are awarded the Education Specialist degree (Ed.S.). For more information on the Ed.S., see School Psychology Degrees (PDF)
  • Graduates meet the qualifications for the California Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) credential in School Psychology from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
  • CSULB School Psychology program is ranked #8 in the nation for scholarly productivity
  • Program faculty were recently awarded U. S. Department of Education grants totaling more than $3 million to train school psychologists to work with transition-age foster youth and culturally- and linguistically-diverse learners. For more information, go to Financing Your Education.
  • Our students have a 100% Praxis exam pass rate for four years in a row!
  • For more information, see Why Choose CSULB?

The School Psychology Program is aligned with the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Professional Standards and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Pupil Personnel Services School Psychology Program Standards and Performance Expectations. These standards are associated with the following program learning outcomes: 
 

Outcome 1: 

Understand and utilize practices that permeate all aspects of service delivery including data-based decision-making, consultation, and collaboration. 

 

Outcome 2: 

Provide student-level services for academics and mental and behavioral health. 

 

Outcome 3: 

Provide systems-level services to promote learning, safe and supportive schools, and collaboration across family, school, and community. 

 

Outcome 4: 

Demonstrate consideration of foundational concepts of service delivery, including equity, diversity, evidence base, ethical principles, and legal guidelines. 

The CSULB school psychology program is based on an ecological theoretical perspective (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). By promoting an ecological model, our students learn to understand that student achievement and behavioral difficulties result from a discrepancy between a student's developing skills and the multiple demands of their environment (Ogbu, 1981; Sroufe, 1979).  Additionally, our students are trained to become actively engaged in their school communities to identify and address the environmental factors that reduce equity and access to educational opportunities, particularly those impacting marginalized and minoritized student populations, in order to promote safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environments (Grapin & Proctor, 2023).   

Accordingly, our students are well versed in the varied conditions of risk and sources of resiliency that impact child development and student learning (Doll, Zucker, & Brehm, 2004), with a particular emphasis on manipulable rather than static conditions (Wang, Haertal, & Walberg, 1993).  For example, beginning at the center of an ecological system with the child, our program teaches future school psychologists to measure a student's academic, cognitive, social, and emotional skills as well as behavior in order to make recommendations for accommodations, interventions, and services (Ysseldyke et al., 2006). Additionally, the program prepares future school psychologists to assist in developing personal competencies such as confidence, perseverance, conflict resolution, and organization for students at risk of school failure (Bernard, 2000).

An ecological model does not solely focus on the learner.  Recognizing that learning is a transactional process in which the learner is affected and affects the learning environment and the learning process, our program emphasizes the proximal and distal environmental influences of family, home-school collaboration, peers, neighborhoods, communities, world of work, public policies and culture.  For example, home-school collaboration is associated with student test scores, grades, attitudes toward schools, behaviors, attendance, academic engagement, and need for intervention services, with positive outcomes in these areas documented for families from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgerounds (Christenson & Reschly, 2009).  CSULB students receive extensive preparation in consulting and collaborating with parents and teachers on modifying the learning environment so that the effectiveness of both parents and teachers is maximized (Gutkin & Curtis, 1999; Zins & Erchul, 1995).

Recognizing that teacher preparation and competency is at least as influential on student outcomes as home environment and student characteristics (Darling-Hammond, 2006), the program teaches future school psychologists to identify and promote best practices for all students, including English Language Learners and those with exceptional needs (Samway & McKeon, 2007; Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2011).

School psychologists are often called on during times of crisis.  Therefore, our program trains students to respond to crises according to best practices (Brock & Jimerson, 2012), and more importantly, to be actively involved in crisis prevention programs (Brock, Nickerson, Reeves, Jimerson, Lieberman, & Feinberg, 2009).  Training in crisis prevention and intervention is based on the theoretical tenets described above – increasing personal competency and resiliency among students, forging strong school/home/community partnerships, and preparing school personnel to respond to student needs.

Because school psychology has become an increasingly litigious profession, our program is also grounded in current legal and ethical guidelines for practices. Our students are taught within a scientist-practitioner model to apply evidence-based practices, current legal mandates, and established standards of ethical practice (e.g., AERA, APA, NASP) in making decisions about assessment, intervention, and prevention for students with and without disabilities.

In summary, the program relies on a variety of knowledge bases to prepare its students for the ever-changing role of a school psychologist.

  • Prospective applicants are invited to attend on- or off-campus program informational meetings to speak with currently enrolled students and CED staff from the Graduate Studies Office. Please see  Information Sessions website for scheduled events
  • The website of the National Association of School Psychologists has a range of information regarding how to become a School Psychologist and how School Psychologists serve school communities.
  • The CSULB Graduate Studies Office of the College of Education offers information sessions for prospective students. Please see Graduate Studies Office Events website.