2024-2025 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog
School Psychology
For additional information about opportunities your college offers, please refer to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences section in this catalog.
Website: gvsu.edu/psychology
Degree Offered
Specialist in school psychology
School psychologists are licensed professionals who provide academic, behavioral, and mental health services within the school environment. Collaborating with teachers, school administrators, and other school professionals, they conduct evaluations and design intervention plans for students who are struggling with a range of academic and behavior problems. Recent legislative and financial shifts in education are driving schools to make significant systemic changes. Because of their training, school psychologists play crucial roles in transforming schools and evaluating outcomes for students, schools, and communities.
School Psychology at Grand Valley
The three-year, full-time school psychology program at Grand Valley is designed to create leaders and innovators in the field of education. Students will receive extensive training through coursework, practicum, and research experiences in the assessment, prevention, and intervention of academic, social, and mental health problems in a wide range of students. We aim to create school psychologists who are data-based problem solvers that make an impact on schools at the local, state, and national level.
Upon completion, students will earn a specialist degree in school psychology. Students are eligible for licensure at the state and national level. A marked distinction of our program is that upon graduation, following passing an examination and completing required supervision hours, students are also eligible to become Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA).
Admission
All admissions materials must be received by January 15. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must have achieved of following:
- Completed a bachelor's degree in psychology, special education, or a related field with a minimum 3.0 grade point average. Students with a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field are eligible for admission; however, they may have to enroll in prerequisite courses (beyond those listed as follows) prior to beginning the program. The number and topic of courses will vary depending on the individual's degree and background experiences.
- Submitted official transcript from the undergraduate degree-granting institution.
- Successfully completed undergraduate prerequisite courses (research methods, statistics, and child development).
- Submitted official or unofficial transcripts from institutions where required prerequisite courses were completed (if different from the degree-granting institution)
- Submitted a personal statement.
- Provided a professional curriculum vitae or resume.
- Submitted three letters of recommendation.
- Recommended but not required: Submitted GRE scores (verbal, quantitative, and writing).
Program Requirements
The following program is available: