Specialization Tracks

Students may pursue specializations for the M.A. in School Psychology.

Adelphi offers additional credits to allow for the opportunity to pursue a certificate in Bilingual School Psychology and also, a specialization in Autism.

Students also have an opportunity to apply for acceptance to a federally funded Infant Mental Health specialization program (IMH-DP).

Bilingual School Psychology Specialization

This program has been recognized by the Psychologist-In-Training (PIT) program of the NYC Department of Education and students who are pursuing a bilingual certification are eligible to apply for a paid internship position.

To obtain the bilingual specialization, and thus to qualify for the New York State certificate in Bilingual School Psychology, students need to complete 15 graduate credits (five courses) in areas related to bilingual assessment, education and counseling. Three of the courses students need to take are offered in the School Psychology program and two in the TESOL program in the School of Education. Specifically,

Courses in the School Psychology Sequence:

1. 0504-702 Multicultural Issues in Psychology
2. 0504-719 Internship (Bilingual setting)
3. 0504-625 Counseling and Assessment of the Multicultural Child

Courses in the TESOL sequence

1. 0804-500  Foundations of Bilingual Multicultural Education
2. 0804 540  Assessment considerations for ESL and Bilingual Population

Autism Specialization

To obtain a specialization in Autism, school psychology students would need to take the following four courses:

1. 0810-640 Diagnosis of and Intervention in Autism Spectrum Disorders
2. 0810-650 Autism I: Students with Severe to Moderate Autism                            
3. 0810-660 Autism II: Students with AS, HFA and Related Disorders
4. 0504-626 Counseling Students in the Autism Spectrum

Any two of these courses can be taken as electives within the School Psychology sequence.

Infant Mental Health (IMH-DP)

The Infant Mental Health specialization (IMH-DP) is a full-time fully funded intensive training project that requires students to participate in courses and to complete a separate two-day a week internship requirement in an infant/early childhood center between the second and third years of their studies.

Students complete the remaining requirements for the school psychology program one year later. Students who complete the IMH-DP project are eligible for endorsement as an Infant Mental Health Specialist through the New York Association of Infant Mental Health (NYS-IMH).