About This Degree

The Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, which houses the Psychology Department, ranks in the top 2% of all graduate colleges of education. The college was also ranked third in the nation in total research dollars received, according to "America's Best Graduate Schools" U.S. News & World Report.

Psychology Department faculty actively collaborate with students on a variety of research projects, including parenting interventions for Latino families, interventions for individuals with anxiety disorders, cognition in young children, animal modeling of drug abuse, impulsivity, etc. Students are active in presenting at national conferences, authoring journal articles and book chapters, and submitting for grant funding.

Specialization(s):

Students must choose a specialization.

• School Counseling (MS): This specialization focuses on the training of professional school counselors who will work in K-12 public and private school settings. Training is provided in the design and implementation of school-based comprehensive guidance programs. Coursework includes individual and group counseling for diverse populations; behavior and educational assessment and intervention; research and methodological foundations; career development; and ethical, legal, and professional standards.
• School Psychology (EdS): This specialization is only available for the education specialist degree. It focuses on the preparation of school psychologists who will work in the K-12 school setting. Students receive broad training in assessment, intervention, and consultation with parents and educators. Students receive training intended to allow them to promote positive educational and mental health outcomes for school-aged children from all cultural, economic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.
• Combined Clinical-Counseling-School Psychology (PhD): This specialization is APA-accredited and provides a unified approach to doctoral training across the three traditional practice areas of clinical, counseling, and school psychology. Emphasis is placed in training psychologists who will be able to provide psychological services and conduct research in a variety of settings. Students in this program have the opportunity for specialized training in school/child clinical psychology, health/neuropsychology, and rural/ethnic minority psychology.
• Experimental and Applied Psychological Science (PhD): This specialization is designed to train researchers. Students can focus their training in a variety of areas, including behavior analysis, cognition and behavior and brain, and sociobehavioral epidemiology. Students receive extensive research training and experience and routinely have extensive publication records by the time they graduate.

Location(s)

• MS - Logan Campus , Regional Campuses (Beaver, Bicknell, Blanding, Brigham City, Castle Dale, Cortez, Delta, Ephraim, Heber, Junction, Kanab, Kaysville, Milford, Moab, Montezuma Creek, Monticello, Monument Valley, Nephi, Orem, Price, Richfield, Roosevelt (Uintah Basin), Salt Lake, Tooele, Tremonton, Vernal (Uintah Basin), Wendover)
• EdS - Logan Campus
• PhD - Logan Campus

Distance Education

The MS in psychology with a specialization in school counseling is available through USU's Regional Campuses and Distance Education program.

School Counseling Specialization

• Students who graduate with the school counseling specialization work as counselors in K-12 public and private schools.

School Psychology Specialization

• Students who graduate with the school psychology specialization work as psychologists in K-12 schools.

Combined Professional-Scientific Psychology Specialization

• With the combined professional-scientific psychology specialization, students can work as psychologists in the following capacities: hospitals, academia, university counseling centers, private practice, community mental health centers

Experimental and Applied Psychological Science

• Students who graduate with the experimental and applied psychological science specialization work at universities in faculty or research positions.

Admissions Requirements

For most students, some psychology prerequisites will need to be completed before beginning the graduate program. However, these do not need to be taken before students can be accepted to the program.

Application Requirements:

• Complete the online application
• Pay the $55 application fee
• Score at or above the 40^th percentile on the GRE. For MS students in the school counseling specialization, the MAT is also accepted.
• Have a 3.0 or higher GPA on your last 60 semester or 90 quarter credits
• Provide transcripts of all college/university credits
• Provide three contacts for letters of recommendation
• Submit a statement of professional intent/interest

International students have additional admissions requirements.

Admissions Deadlines

School Counseling specialization:

• Fall semester – May 1

School Psychology specialization:

• Fall semester – February 1

Combined Clinical-Counseling-School Psychology specialization:

• Fall semester – December 15

Experimental and Applied Psychology Science specialization:

• Fall semester – January 31

Master's Degree Plan Option(s)

Students receiving the MS must complete this plan option:

• Plan C, which does not involve a thesis or a defense meeting and is comprised of coursework only.

Students receiving the EdS must complete this plan option:

• Plan A, which requires students to complete graduate-level coursework and write a thesis.

Students entering the PhD programs directly from their undergraduate degrees must complete the Plan A master's degree work as well as the PhD dissertation. 

Financial Assistance

A variety of funding opportunities are available, including fellowships, scholarships, assistantships, tuition awards, and travel support each year. Additionally, students may be eligible for subsidized health insurance through qualifying assistantships. 

Program Requirements

Click here to see course requirements for the Master of Science.

Click here to see course requirements for the Educational Specialist.

Click here to see course requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy.

 

Each specialization requires hands-on experiences in addition to coursework.

School Counseling specialization

• 1 semester (150 hours) of Practicum
• 1-2 semesters (600 hours) of internship

School Psychology specialization

• 1 year (300 hours) of practicum
• 1 year full-time (1200 hour) internship

Combined Professional-Scientific Psychology specialization

• 3 years of practicum (300 hours each); 1 year in Psychology Community Clinic, 1 year in school/child setting; 1 year in adult setting
• 1 year full-time (2000 hour) internship
• Professional Competencies: Research Competency 1 (conference presentation; Research Competency 2 (publishable article); Clinical Comprehensive exam (written and oral)

Experimental and Applied Psychology Science specialization

• Professional Competencies: Research Competency 1 (conference presentation), Research Competency 2 (publishable article), Grant Proposal

The Psychology Department has contacts with many organizations throughout Cache Valley and surrounding areas in which students can complete practicum and internship work.

 

PhD Qualifying Exams:

Students in either PhD program must pass a clinical comprehensive exam, which consists of a written portion and an oral presentation. Students must also complete two research competencies: the first, a paper or poster presentation at a regional or national meeting; and the second, the authorship and submission of a publishable scholarly article. The exam and competencies must be completed by October 1 of the fall that students apply for internship.

Students in the experimental and applied psychological science specialization have additional requirements:

• Students entering with a BS or BA must pass a comprehensive exam before beginning their forth academic year. Students entering with an MS or MA must complete the exam before their second academic year. The exam will be designed by faculty within the student’s emphasis area.
• Students must also complete the following professional milestones before their final dissertation defense: present a paper at a conference, author at least one publishable scholarly article, and complete and submit a grant proposal appropriate to their area of research.

Advisor(s)

Susan Crowley
Professor, Combined Program Director of Training
Office: EDUC 485
Phone: (435) 797-1251
Email: susan.crowley@usu.edu

Donna Gilbertson
Associate Professor, School Psychology Program Director
Office: EDUC 494
Phone: (435) 797-2034
Email: donna.gilbertson@usu.edu

Camille Odell
School Counseling Program Program Director
Office: EDUC 482
Phone: (435) 797-5576
Email: camille.odell@usu.edu

Timothy Shahan
Associate Professor, Experimental and Applied Psychological Science Director
Office: EDUC 499
Phone: (435) 770-7619
Email: tim.shahan@usu.edu

Faculty

Carolyn Barcus, EdD, Utah State University
Clinical Assistant Professor
Area: Counseling psychology, therapy, multicultural issues
Office: EDUC 481
Phone: (435) 797-1465
Email: carolyn.barcus@usu.edu

Scott Bates, PhD, Colorado State University
Associate Professor
Area: General psychology, research methods and statistics, social psychology
Office: EDUC 480
Phone: (435) 797-2975
Email: scott.bates@usu.edu

Susan Crowley, PhD, Texas A&M University
Professor, Combined Program Director of Training
Area: Personality theories, psychotherapy, projective assessment, supervision
Office: EDUC 485
Phone: (435) 797-1251
Email: susan.crowley@usu.edu

M. Scott DeBerard, PhD, Utah State University
Associate Professor
Area: Health psychology, empirically validated treatments, research methods, statistics, introduction to practicum
Office: EDUC 471
Phone: (435) 797-1462
Email: scott.deberard@usu.edu

Melanie Domenech Rodriguez, PhD, Colorado State University
Associate Professor
Area: Multicultural psychology ethics, child/adolescent psychology, assessment
Office: EDUC 425
Phone: (435) 797-8282
Email: melanie.domenech@usu.edu

Jamison Fargo, PhD, University of Cincinnati
Associate Professor
Area: Quantitative methodology
Office: EDUC 492
Phone: (435) 881-8797
Email: jamison.fargo@usu.edu

Clinton Field, PhD, Idaho State University
Assistant Professor
Area: Behavior modification, applied behavior analysis, pediatric psychology, behavioral assessment and intervention, child assessment and intervention
Office: EDUC 486
Phone: (435) 760-4132
Email: clint.field@usu.edu

Renee Galliher, PhD, University of Tennessee
Associate Professor
Area: Child and adolescent psychology, rural psychology, psychology of gender, statistics
Office: EDUC 479
Phone: (435) 797-3391
Email: renee.galliher@usu.edu

Donna Gilbertson, PhD, Louisiana State University
Associate Professor, School Psychology Program Director
Area: Applied behavior analysis, consultation, psychoeducational assessment
Office: EDUC 494
Phone: (435) 797-2034
Email: donna.gilbertson@usu.edu

Gretchen Gimpel Peacock, PhD, University of South Carolina
Department Head, Professor
Area: Behavioral assessment and intervention, child behavior therapy
Office: EDUC 487 E
Phone: (435) 797-0721
Email: gretchen.peacock@usu.edu

Christopher Johnson, PhD, University of Texas - El Paso
Assistant Professor
Area: Behavioral medicine/health psychology, psychometrics, research design and methodology, statistics/structural equation modeling, scientific/critical thinking
Office: USU Ephraim education center
Phone: (435) 633-3211
Email: christopher.johnson@usu.edu

Kerry Jordan, PhD, Duke University
Assistant Professor
Area: Developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, animal behavior
Office: EDUC 473
Phone: (435) 797-2797
Email: kerry.jordan@usu.edu

Gregory Madden, PhD, West Virginia University
Associate Professor
Area: Experimental analysis of behavior
Office: EDUC 498
Phone: (435) 881-8467
Email: greg.madden@usu.edu

Gayle Morse, PhD, University at Albany, State University of New York
Assistant Professor
Area: Environmental toxins and mental health, mental health in diverse populations
Office: EDUC 488
Phone: (435) 797-5547
Email: gayle.morse@usu.edu

Amy Odum, PhD, West Virginial University
Associate Professor
Area: Behavior analysis, behavioral pharmacology
Office: EDUC 496
Phone: (435) 797-5578
Email: amy.odum@usu.edu

Timothy Shahan, PhD, West Virginia University
Associate Professor, Experimental and Applied Psychological Science Director
Area: Behavior analysis, contemporary behavior theory, research methods
Office: EDUC 499
Phone: (435) 770-7619
Email: tim.shahan@usu.edu

Donal Sinex, PhD, Washington University - St. Louis
Professor
Area: Perception and psychophysics
Office: EDUC 422
Phone: (435) 797-8921
Email: don.sinex@usu.edu

David Stein, PhD, Brigham Young University
Professor
Area: Psychopathology, assessment of personality and affect, substance abuse risk and prevention effectiveness
Office: EDUC 484
Phone: (435) 797-3274
Email: david.stein@usu.edu

JoAnn Tschanz, PhD, Indiana University
Associate Professor
Area: Neuropsychology, abnormal psychology, physiological psychology, assessment
Office: EDUC 423
Phone: (435) 797-1457
Email: joann.tschanz@usu.edu

Michael Twohig, PhD, University of Nevada - Reno
Assistant Professor
Area: Abnormal psychology, assessment, research methods, anxiety disorders
Office: EDUC 483
Phone: (435) 797-1402
Email: michael.twohig@usu.edu

Karl White, PhD, University of Colorado
Professor
Area: Educational research and evaluation methodology
Office: EDUC 430
Phone: (435) 797-3013
Email: karl.white@usu.edu

Professional Organizations, Honor Societies, and Clubs

American Psychological Association: The APA is a scientific and professional organization that represents psychology in the United States. With 150,000 members, APA is the largest association of psychologists worldwide.

Labs, Centers, Research

American Indian Support Project: This project was launched in 1986 as an effort to impact the shortage of Native American mental health professionals and school psychologists. The Psychology Department at USU remains committed to training American Indian graduate students at the master's and doctoral levels.

Center for Clinical Studies: This center has one overarching objective: to assist in advancing the field of clinical psychology in developing effective and acceptable psychological interventions.

Center for Persons with Disabilities: The CPD is a nationally recognized research center that joins the expertise of researchers and faculty with community partners to address the most difficult challenges facing persons with disabilities and their families. Research addresses issues that cross fields ranging from biomedicine to education. In clinical experiences, learners join teams of professionals, family members, and individuals with disabilities to deliver services and supports.

Laboratory Animal Research Center: The LARC is a controlled laboratory that utilizes animals in teaching and research. The proper care of animals is of utmost importance as it relates to the effectiveness of research and the safety of the animals and researchers.

Multisensory Cognition Laboratory: This lab uses both habituation and choice paradigms to investigate the development of numerical cognition across the human lifespan. The lab is particularly interested in whether multisensory information enhances our abilities to discriminate between and perform computations on numbers.

Office of Methodological and Data Sciences: The primary goal of the OMDS is to provide high-quality, faculty-supervised research desgin and quantitative analysis services to graduate students. It also provides essential methodological consulting experiences to graduate students in the Department of Psychology.

Psychology Community Clinic: This clinic serves as the primary mental health service and training site for graduate students studying clinical, counseling, and school psychology. It provides mental health services to a broad range of clients in the area, as well as students and staff at USU. Services are provided by graduate students working at a level approparite to their training under the supervision of licensed psychologists.