School Psychology at the University of Rhode Island

Our program is dedicated to preparing psychologists of the highest quality to serve the psychological and developmental needs of children and adolescents within the interrelated contexts of family, school, and community. A scientist-practitioner model of graduate education guides our APA accredited and NASP approved Ph.D. degree program, and our NASP approved M.S. degree program. Within the environment of a psychology department, our program provides students with a strong foundation in psychological science combined with best professional practices in serving the needs of children, families, schools, and communities. The University of Rhode Island's School Psychology Program has historically maintained a leadership position among graduate education and training programs both regionally and nationally. School Psychology at the University of Rhode Island originated in 1964 by offering a masters degree and several years later (1970) introduced a course of study leading to the doctoral degree. This doctoral (Ph.D.) program was among the first in the United States to be fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and successfully participated in the first series of joint accreditations by APA and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

The URI School Psychology Program is staffed by 7 full-time, tenure track faculty members, and one part-time coordinator of field placements (practica and internships), as well as by the faculty and staff of the URI Psychology Department. Each year the Program admits 10 to 14 students, relatively equally distributed between the Ph.D. and M.S. programs. The Program is requires full-time student participation, with the M.S. program designed to be completed in 3 years, and the Ph.D. designed to be completed in 5 years. More information about the University of Rhode Island School Psychology Program can be found online, at: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/psy/school_welcome.shtml

Contact: Gary Stoner, Ph.D., Professor, and Program Director, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

School Psychology at Rhode Island College

The School Psychology Program at Rhode Island College provides state of the art C.A.G.S. (i.e., Specialist) level training for school psychology practitioners in educational settings. The program at RIC has full accreditation from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) until 2017. The program is built upon a reflective-practitioner model that promotes the use of evidence-based practice and data-based accountability. Students in the program receive broad training experiences encompassing both direct, indirect service, and system-wide service delivery models.  The program emphasizes a collaborative-problem solving model based on functional behavioral assessment, and data-based decision making. Graduates have a solid foundation in developing academic, social, and behavior interventions that are directly linked to assessment results. Students are well versed in both curriculum-based, response-to-intervention (RTI) and traditional, norm-referenced psychoeducational assessment models.

The program promotes the development of graduates as “change agents” in the field of education. Exceptional training experiences are available in system-wide endeavors, including response-to-intervention (RTI) for the identification of academic needs and social-emotional/behavioral needs, through School-wide Positive Behavioral Supports (SWPBIS). In order to prepare graduates for such work, the program enjoys a strong collaboration with other educational fields within the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development (including Educational Leadership, School Counseling, and Special Education), as well as the Henry Barnard Laboratory School, the School of Social Work, and the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities. This interdisciplinary perspective of training provides experiences for students to collaborate with members from other educational fields, and carry that collaboration into practice. The program also has strong connections with regional school districts and the excellent practicum/internship supervisors within those districts.

There are currently three full-time faculty in the program.

• Elizabeth Gibbons Holtzman, whose interests are in the areas of role of leadership in systems change: focus on RTI and Professional Learning Communities, addressing anxiety in the schools, and teen dating violence.
• Shannon Dowd-Eagle has interests in the areas of consultation, school-based problem solving teams, multi-tiered academic interventions within RTI, home-school partnerships, and school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS).
• John Eagle has interests in the areas of parental involvement in education, school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS), conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC), and response to intervention (RTI) systems.

The program is based on a cohort model and typically accepts 12-15 students in each cohort. The admission process occurs in the spring, and program entrance occurs only during the fall. The program is 3 years in length. Students receive a M.A. in Counseling after the second year and receive the C.A.G.S. after Internship during their third year. Graduates of the program are highly sought after and have received an exceptionally high employment rate both regionally and nationally.

For more information, please view the program’s website at http://www.ric.edu/counselingEducationalLeadershipschoolPsychology/schoolPsychologyProgram.php
or contact
John Eagle, School Psychology Program Coordinator, (401) 456-9642, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it