Course Requirements

Residency and Credit Hour Requirements

The program involves a minimum of five academic years of full-time study beyond the baccalaureate degree, which includes four years of full-time coursework (including summer courses) and a year of internship. The graduate school requires candidates to complete, including the dissertation, a minimum of 90 semester hours of graduate work beyond the bachelor’s degree (Graduate Catalog). However, our doctoral program in school psychology asks students to complete, including the dissertation, a minimum of 135 semester hours of graduate work beyond the bachelor’s degree. Our number of graduate credit hours is larger because doctoral candidates in the program must take additional coursework in education, consistent with most school psychology doctoral training programs, as well as complete a cognate (a formally recognized concentration of study, which includes specific courses and/or practica) in which to garner expertise. Therefore, a minimum of 119 semester hours is taken exclusive of credit for internship (6 credit hours) and dissertation (10 credit hours). These credit hours do not include undergraduate or remedial courses designed to remove admission deficiencies. Also, Ball State University residency requirements (Graduate Catalog) stipulate that at least two consecutive semesters of graduate work completed beyond the master’s degree must be in residence at Ball State.

Transfer Credits

Students who hold a master’s degree from an accredited institution other than Ball State may apply up to 42 of their semester hours to the Ph.D. program; however, they must complete at least two of their four academic training years at Ball State. Prior to enrolling in classes, students are assigned an advisor who will review prior graduate coursework and develop a preliminary plan of study. Once the preliminary plan has been developed, it is submitted to the Co-Director (Dr. McIntosh) for additional review and approval. During this process, students provide course syllabi for all courses they would like transferred to Ball State and/or to meet program requirements for faculty review. The review is typically conducted by the advisor and the faculty member who has expertise in the content area (e.g., cognitive assessment, human development, statistics). Prior course work must cover the breadth of scientific psychology and the current body of knowledge specific to each content area for it to satisfy program requirements. The transferred credits must meet stipulations that include but are not limited to a minimum student G.P.A. of 3.0 on all graduate work at other institutions; a minimum grade of B (B- does not transfer) on courses considered for transfer; and completion of hours within the seven years allowed for completion of advanced degrees at Ball State.

Students admitted without an undergraduate or master’s degree in psychology may be required to take additional undergraduate level courses in psychology or statistics prior to taking the more advanced courses required in the Ph.D. program.

Course Requirements

All the following courses are required for the doctoral degree. In addition, the sequence of courses have been outlined.

Year 1
Fall Semester
EDPSY 653 Individual Cognitive Assessment (3)
EDPSY 685 Introduction to School Psychology (2)
EDPSY 687 Pre-Practicum—School Psychology (1)
*EDPSY 603 Psychology of Human Development (3)
CPSY 631 Introduction to the Study of Personality (3)

Spring Semester
EDPSY 654 Academic Achievement and Intervention (3)
EDPSY 686 Pre-Practicum in Consultation (1)
EDPSY 612 Psychological Consultation (2)
EDPSY 651 Personality Assessment of Children and Adolescents (3)
EDPSY 750 Developmental Psychopathology (3)

Summer
EDPSY 640 Methodology of Educational and Psychological Research OR 643 Research Design (3)
*SPCED 609 Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis (3)
EDPSY 689 Practicum in School Psychology (3)
**EDPSY 641 Statistical Methods in Educational and Psychological Research (3)
SPCED 610 Behavior Consultation Techniques (3)
*On-line Course Only **Offered On-campus and On-line

Year 2
Fall Semester
EDPSY 689 Practicum in School Psychology (3)
EDPSY 642 Intermediate Statistics (3)
EDPSY 652 Introduction to Neuropsychology (3)
EDPSY 746 Theory of Measurement (3)

Spring Semester
EDPSY 688 Practicum in Consultation (3)
CPSY 621 Theories and Techniques of Counseling (3)
*EDRDG 610 The Teaching of Reading in the Elementary School (3)
EDPSY 765 Theories of Learning (3)

Summer
*EDPSY 745 Diagnosis and Interventions for Learning and Related Disorders (3)
*EDCUR 610 The Elementary School Curriculum (3)
Cognate Course (3)
CPSY 678 Theories and Techniques of Counseling the Culturally Diverse (3)
*On-line Course Only **Offered On-campus and On-line

Year 3
Fall Semester
EDPSY 775 Evidence-Based Treatments in Psychology (3) OR EDPSY 776 Legal, Ethical, and Multicultural Issues in Professional Psychology (3)  (These two courses are offered every other year.)
EDPSY 789 Supervision in School Psychology
EDPSY 741 Applied Regression Analysis for the Social Sciences
Cognate Course (3) OR EDPSY 791 Doctoral Internship in School (3)

Spring Semester
EDPSY 720 Developmental Theories and Research Across the Lifespan (3)
ID 705 Interdepartmental Research Colloquium (2)
Cognate Course (3)
Cognate Course (3)

Summer
Cognate Course (3)
Cognate Course (3)
PSYSC 691 Systems of Psychology (3)
Cognate Course (3)

Year 4
Fall Semester
DISS 799 (5)
SOPSY 610 Social Psychology (3)
EDPSY 775 Evidence-Based Treatments in Psychology (3) OR EDPSY 776 Legal, Ethical, and Multicultural Issues in Professional Psychology (3) (These two course are offered every other year.)
EDPSY 791 Doctoral Internship in School Psychology (3; Elective)

Spring Semester
DISS 799 (5)
Cognate (3)
EDPSY 791 Doctoral Internship in School Psychology (3; Elective)

Year 5
Fall Semester
EDPSY 792 Doctoral Internship in Professional Psychology (3)

Spring Semester
EDPSY 792 Doctoral Internship in Professional Psychology (3)