Frequently Asked Questions
What is School Psychology?
How do School Psychologists and School Counselors Differ?
What is the Difference
Between a Specialist Degree and a Master's Degree?
What Field Experiences are
included in the curriculum?
What are the Research
Opportunities at MSU-Moorhead?
How should I prepare
for Graduate Study?
I already have
a Graduate Degree. What would I need to take?
What is the cost of tuition and
fees at MSU-Moorhead?
Where are MSU-Moorhead
School Psychology Graduates now?
What does the
Fargo/Moorhead Community have to offer?
Note: Additional information on some of these questions and responses to other questions about School Psychology may be found in the student section of the "Career Center" pages of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) web site. Go to: http://www.naspcareercenter.org/students/index.html
What is School Psychology?
School psychologists are an integral part of
the support team available in America's schools. School
psychologists are specially trained to help students of all ages
reach their fullest potential academically and socially. Through
their skills in consultation, assessment, intervention, and program
evaluation, school psychologists work closely with teachers,
administrators, parents, and community agencies to identify and
treat students' problems.
See also "What is a School Psychologist?"at:
http://www.nasponline.org/about_nasp/whatisa.html
How do School Psychologists and School Counselors Differ?
Although the specific roles of both school psychologists and school counselors will vary somewhat, commonly school psychologists tend to be more involved with the special education system than are school counselors, and school counselors are more involved with the general population of students than are school psychologists.
School psychologists usually are a key part of assessment teams that are responsible for determining whether students are eligible for special education services, and for later evaluating the effectiveness of services provided and making modifications as appropriate. As part of this role, the school psychologist is often responsible for the intellectual assessment of the student, and generally collects a variety of other assessment information, as well. School psychologists also serve as consultants to parents and teachers in developing and monitoring academic and social/behavioral interventions for students.
In contrast, most school counselors deal primarily with regular education students. Elementary school counselors often provide individual and group counseling to students; for example, they may do social skills training or conduct groups for kids dealing with divorce or loss. Secondary school counselors may do some individual and group counseling, but also are involved in school-wide assessments, scheduling classes, and helping students with post-high school planning (e.g., college applications, vocational planning).
The roles of the school psychologist and school counselor often do overlap; for example, both may be involved in developing behavioral intervention plans, individual and group counseling, working with families, crisis intervention and coordination of services with outside agencies.
In many states, school counselors must have education degrees and experience as a classroom teacher in order to be certified. This generally is not a requirement for school psychologists. While teaching experience is a good background, many school psychologists have undergraduate degrees in psychology or another discipline, rather than in teaching.
What is the Difference Between a Specialist Degree and a Master's Degree?
A Specialist degree is a degree earned after a person has a Master's degree (or the equivalent of a Master's degree). It is a degree that falls between a Master's and a doctoral degree. In the MSUM School Psychology program, the Master of Science (M.S.) degree is earned after the first 30-31 credits of coursework and the Specialist degree is earned after an additional 30-31 credits for a total of 61 semester credits of graduate work in school psychology. Students are not admitted into the Specialist degree program until they have completed the M.S. degree.
The basic training standard for graduate programs in school psychology is a minimum of 60 semester credits. Not all institutions in all states are authorized to grant Specialist degrees. Some training programs which cannot grant Specialist degrees may grant the Master's after all 60 (or more) credits have been completed or they may grant the Master's earlier and then award a "Certificate of Advanced Study" or some other recognition of the additional credits taken.
MSUM has been authorized to grant a Specialist degree to school psychology students since 1985. Students who complete the degree may use the abbreviation "PsyS" as part of their professional title.
What Field Experiences are Included in the curriculum?
Field-based practica in both first and second years of study provide actual public school experience to students. Students are placed in school settings within the first month of enrollment. Practica are supervised by local educators and school psychologists and are coordinated with on-campus course work so students can apply concepts and techniques learned in class.
Students usually complete practica in three different settings. Since we are on the border between Minnesota and North Dakota with access to different sizes and types of school systems, students have the opportunity to learn about how different educational systems operate. Also, the Fargo-Moorhead and surrounding area schools are becoming increasingly diverse with sizable Hispanic and American Indian communities and increasing numbers of new immigrants from a wide variety of counties. Thus, students' practicum experiences are diverse in many aspects.
A 1200 hour internship during the third year of study serves as the capstone experience for student's training. Internships are usually positions within school districts or special education cooperatives in the tri-state area. Internships students have taken in recent years have all been at least partially paid, and usually fully paid, positions.
What are the Research Opportunities at MSU Moorhead?
All students must complete an empirical thesis as part of the Master's degree program. Students coming in with a Master's degree in a related field who have not completed a thesis must do so as part of their degree program. The thesis provides the student the opportunity to do an in-depth project under the individual supervision of a faculty member. These projects may be directly related to research being conducted by the faculty supervisor or they may be independent of the faculty supervisor's research, but still within that person's area of interest and expertise.
Students also often have the opportunity to assist with faculty research projects. For example, for the past several years students have assisted in collecting data for a series of studies on the language and literacy skills of American Indian students. They have also assisted in collecting data for an evaluation study of a controversial vision therapy project in a local school system.
How Should I be Preparing for Graduate Study?
MSUM welcomes applicants with a variety of undergraduate majors. To be adequately prepared, however, students must have completed at least 9 semester credits of psychology and one statistics course prior to admission or during the first semester of enrollment. Experience in working with children or human services agencies also is helpful. Strong communication skills and critical thinking ability are essential to success in the program.
Students who already have a master's degree that is substantially equivalent to our M.S. degree may be allowed to enroll directly in the Specialist program with approval of the School Psychology Coordinating Committee.
I Already Have a Graduate Degree. What Would I Need to Take?
Incoming students who have a Master's or doctoral degree that is substantially similar to our Master's degree may be able to enroll directly into the Specialist degree program. However, any classes that are a part of our Master's degree program that the person has not had as part of the previous degree must be taken as part of the Specialist degree. That often is a significant number of credits since there is not as much overlap as one might anticipate between the courses required for school psychology and those commonly taken as part of a Master's degree program in Counseling, Clinical Psychology or Social Work, for example. Also, since our core classes must be taken in sequence, recent Specialist-only students have still needed be on campus for a full two years before their internship year, although they have had lighter course loads than have the traditional students.
If there is not substantial overlap of the previous Master's degree with our M.S. degree, the student may be required to complete our M.S. degree as well as the Specialist degree. In these cases, comparable courses taken for the previous degree may be transferred in as long as they have been taken within the past five years, or so.
What is the Cost of Tuition and Fees at MSU Moorhead?
The cost of graduate tuition and fees per credit for 2003-2004 is $212 for residents. Tuition reciprocity is available for residents of North Dakota, South Dakota, Manitoba, and Wisconsin. As of July 2002, residents of other states pay in-state tuition.
Tuition and fees are set by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) Board and are subject to change. MSU Moorhead is committed to keeping costs as low as possible for students. Since graduate school expenses are relatively low at MSU Moorhead, a specialist degree in school psychology is a great investment in yourself.
Where are MSUM's School Psychology Graduates Now?
Most of Minnesota State University Moorhead's School Psychology Program graduates are working in public schools in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, as well as a number of other states, such as Arizona, Kansas, Iowa, and Oregon. Other graduates have advanced to doctoral programs or are working in private practice, community agencies or higher education institutions.
The job market is excellent for school psychologists in most parts of the country; in many places districts are having trouble finding enough school psychologists for the positions available. Our placement rate has been 100 percent. We anticipate that the demand for school psychologists will remain high in coming years.
What Does the Fargo-Moorhead Community Have to Offer?
With a population of more than 170,000, the
Fargo-Moorhead area community is the largest metropolitan area
between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Spokane, Washington. Fargo, ND and
Moorhead, MN are on the Minnesota/North Dakota border approximately
250 miles northwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul and 250 miles south of
Winnipeg at the juncture of Interstates 94 and 29.
Fargo-Moorhead is an educational center with four major higher
education institutions in the area (MSU Moorhead, Concordia College,
North Dakota State University, and Minnesota State Community and
Technical College Moorhead) together enrolling over 20,000
students. In addition, the area school systems are some of the best
in the region and the F-M area is a strong regional commercial and
health care center, with a growing presence in the high tech
sector. More dollars proportionately are spent on supporting the
arts in the F-M than anywhere else in the nation. The cities offer
the F-M symphony, theaters, dance companies and museums, plus a wide
variety of events on the college campuses year-round. The Fargodome
hosts major national concert tours and entertainment events of all
types. For more information and links go to our
F-M Area Attractions
page.