School Psychology

At Lewis & Clark, students benefit from rigorous training that takes place in the heart of the thriving Portland Metro area. And graduates are able to find work both inside and outside of Oregon. That’s because we offer the only Ed.S. degree program in Oregon with national approval from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

I appreciated the sense of vision in this program—we learned not just the functional skills, but also skills for beyond the first five years…the program had both the nitty gritty and the long distance vision.” School Psychology alumnus

School psychologists provide essential support services for students, teachers, families, administrators and other professionals to address the needs of children—social, emotional, and cognitive.

And school psychology is a growing profession. It was named the #1 social services career for 2013 by U.S. News.

About School Psychologists

They possess not only an in-depth understanding of children, families and schools, but also a highly-developed set of relational and communication skills. In this way, school psychologists are able to see and understand children in rich and comprehensive ways—through observation, consultation, data collection and assessment—and share those understandings in helpful ways to parents, teachers, and other school personnel. The primary goal of school psychologists is to help children flourish in schools, at home, and in life.

About our Program

In our nationally-approved program, we emphasize the development of this deep understanding of children, families and schools as well as the development of these effective relational and communication skills. Through coursework and practica in counseling, consultation, assessment, and intervention, our students learn to work effectively with individual children, whole families, special education teams, as well as whole school communities to help create learning environments that foster the healthy development of all children.

Program Details

Credits: 63 semester hours
Program Length: Three years (full or part-time study available). For an overview of the program structure, see the course sequence.
Start: Summer or fall
View current program of study in the course catalog; for more details, view program handbook.
View admissions requirements and deadlines
Program Director: Peter Mortola, Ph.D., pmortola@clark.edu 

This specialist degree-level program is designed for students seeking licensure as school psychologists. The Ed.S. degree demands a level of preparation significantly greater than that called for by a master’s degree. The Ed.S. is widely regarded as the intermediary degree between a masters and a Ph.D. Program completion requires a minimum of three years (including coursework in fall, spring, and summer semesters). The third year of the program is a full-time internship in a public school setting with on-campus supervision.

Learn More

• About the Profession of School Psychology
• FAQs about the Program
• Forms, Evaluations and Handbooks
• Admissions Requirements and Deadlines

Advising and Contact Information

Program Director: Peter Mortola, Ph.D., pmortola@lclark.edu 
Program Faculty:  Ruth Gonzalez, Ph.D., NCSP, Mary Clare, Ph.D., Carol Doyle, Ph.D.
Adjunct Faculty: Colleen Hanson, Ed.D., Cynthia Velasquez Bogert, M.S., Phil Bowser, Lee Ann Sharman

Resources for School Psychology Students

http://www.nasponline.org
http://www.ospaonline.com
http://oregon.gov/TSPC/index.shtml

Accreditation

This program is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), the International School Psychology Association (ISPA), and the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC). Because of our NASP approval, graduates are able to apply for the National Certificate of School Psychology (NCSP) which enables graduates to apply for licensure in many states.