Recruiting Undergraduate Students
Recruiting Secondary/High School Students
Respecialization
Increasing Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (CLD) in Graduate Programs
Increase exposure to the profession through undergraduate advising. Academic advisors in Psychology, Education, and general university advising departments should be equipped with the appropriate knowledge and promotional materials to present school psychology as a viable career option.
Increase exposure to the profession through undergraduate coursework. School psychology may be discussed in both introductory-level psychology and education classes as well as in separate coursework dedicated to careers in psychology (Grapin, Bocanegra, & Schilling, 2016; Schilling, Grapin, & Hyson, 2016). Sample syllabi are available through the Graduate Educators Community on the NASP website.
Encourage early involvement in state and national professional organizations. Undergraduate students should be afforded discounted rates for professional memberships and conference registration. They should be encouraged to present at professional conferences with graduate faculty and students in school psychology programs (SPPs).
Advocate for an increased presence of school psychology in undergraduate textbooks. The most recent investigations of undergraduate introductory psychology texts suggest that school psychology is relatively less discussed than other applied psychology fields (e.g., clinical psychology; Haselhuhn & Clopton, 2008). The inclusion of school psychology in introductory texts would allow for greater early exposure to the profession among undergraduates.
Provide opportunities for undergraduates to complete internship experiences in school psychology. The School Psychology Undergraduate Recruitment (SPUR) Program at Montclair State University is an example of a program that offers school psychology internships for undergraduates. This program requires students to complete a 45-hour internship in which they shadow a school psychologist and meet for bimonthly group supervision with a graduate faculty member in school psychology. For more information about this program, please contact Sally Grapin at grapins@montclair.edu.
Encourage undergraduate involvement in school psychology research. Undergraduates should be encouraged to join research teams led by school psychology faculty members.
Deliver school psychology presentations to undergraduates. Graduate students may be invited to give brief informational presentations on school psychology in introductory psychology and education classes and in related extracurricular group meetings (e.g., Psychology club and Psi Chi meetings). NASP provides a downloadable, adaptable PowerPoint presentation to use for such presentations.
Encourage collaboration among psychology, education, and other related departments/schools. Increased collaboration may allow SPPs to enhance their visibility among students with related professional interests (e.g., social work, teacher education, counseling, etc.).