Educational Psychology: Which degree to purse.

[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.