Educational Psychology: Which degree to purse.

[renaissancewoman87]

This post is to get info for a friend.
I have a friend who's really interested in becoming an Educational Psychologist. Which degree would be the best to pursue? Do any of the big 3 have a focused degree for this?

[davewill]

The only way I know to become a psychologist is to get a doctorate. A Bachelor's in Psychology would be a logical starting point. I think all of the Big3 have that. However, your friend should work backwards from the end point in order to map out a plan that will work. What grad degree is required for the career they actually want? Do they have a particular school or particular degree they wish to end with?

[cookderosa]

This post is to get info for a friend.
I have a friend who's really interested in becoming an Educational Psychologist. Which degree would be the best to pursue? Do any of the big 3 have a focused degree for this?

I agree with Dave, and by "educational psychologist" am I understanding that she wants to be a public school psychologist/counselor? That's different than a licensed clinical psychologist which does require a doctorate (counselor can be with a master's but requires a state license).

So, if your friend is literally starting from scratch- zero credit- then my advice is to spend the absolute bare minimum time and money on a bachelor's degree because an expensive master's or doctorate are most certainly going to be required (she'll have to find out which kind and if a specific accreditation is needed for that kind). The "bare minimum" may allow her to attend one of the big 3, but the overreaching criteria here is to say "bare minimum that allows......" whatever degree she plans to pursue AFTER her bachelor's degree, not "bare minimum at the big 3" without regard to future plans. Does that make sense?

PS be sure she's looking at the right kinds of websites and not one of those "eHow" things- she needs to keep her search on the professional pages like the APA https://apadiv15.org/

State by state licensure info https://www.apapracticecentral.org/ce/st...1541548464

[sanantone]

There's a difference between being an educational psychologist and a school psychologist. Educational psychologists are researchers, and they do not need a license. School psychologists are practitioners, so they do need a license.

School psychologists actually do not need a doctorate (check your state's requirements). Typically, you only need a master's degree. Many go for an EdS.

School psychologist and school counselor are also two different things. Both only require a master's degree in most states, but the type of degree and training are different.

[sanantone]

Now that I have more time, I can go into more detail.

APA only accredits doctoral programs. So, if your state only requires a master's or EdS for school psychologists, obviously, APA accreditation won't be something that's needed unless someone decides to go above and beyond and earn a doctorate. Below the doctoral level, NASP is an important accreditor.

Earning a bachelor's in psychology would be logical, but it's usually not necessary. Graduate psychology programs, in general, tend to have a small list of prerequisites and maybe a list of preferred degrees which will include more than just psychology. It's not that common to specialize at the undergraduate level, so a bachelor's in general psychology will be fine.

NASP has a list of licensing requirements for school psychologists by state. It's important not to confuse the requirements for clinical/counseling psychologists and school psychologists because they are very different.

EdS means education specialist. So, when state requirements mention a specialist degree, they are talking about an EdS or similar degree e.g. PsyS. The EdS is in between a master's and a doctorate.

https://www.nasponline.org/standards-and...quirements

For school counselors, however, it gets more complicated. States often require several years of teaching experience, so one would need to either choose a program that leads to a teaching license or complete an alternative certification program.