The School and Applied Child Psychology program prepares graduate students to become psychologists who work in schools, academic, research, community and private practice settings. The School and Applied Child Psychology programs follow a scientist-practitioner model, with emphasis on the integration of theory, research and clinical skills.
The M.Ed. program is designed to prepare students for provincial certification as a school psychologist with the British Columbia Association of School Psychologists (BCASP). Graduates of the M.ED. program are prepared to work as school psychologists in school-based settings. The M.A. program is foundational for admission to the Ph.D. program, whereas the M.Ed. is a terminal degree leading to practice.
Given the academic, clinical and research demands of the programs, all programs in SACP require full-time study. The M.Ed. requires two years on campus with a full-time internship in year 3. M.A. students are eligible to apply to move directly to the Ph.D. program in year 3, upon completion of their M.A. degree requirements in years one and two of graduate study.
The Ph.D. program is accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association and is designed to prepare doctoral-level psychologists who can serve as practitioners and supervisors in the field, university faculty and researchers, and leaders in School and Applied Child Psychology both nationally and internationally. The Ph.D. program requires three years of resident full-time study, comprehensive examinations, dissertation research, and a 1600 hour pre-doctoral internship.