This master's degree which includes a credential requires a minimum of 71 units and is a 3 year program for those attending full-time. At the discretion of the program director, up to 16 units may be transferred from an accredited graduate program in counseling, psychology or a related area.

ED 777A: Issues in Education (3 units)

This course covers the basic trends and issues in education generally and in the student's particular discipline. The student will be involved in research, journal writing and/or presentations. The presentation will cover educational and social trends and their pedagogical implications in an interdisciplinary forum.

ED 777B: Field-Based Research (3 units)

This course brings the master of arts in education experience to a conclusion. Building on previous coursework, students will be expected to conduct a short research study at their work site or in their community. The student's work will include designing the study, collecting and analyzing data and writing up the findings.

ED 779: Values in School and Society (3 units)

This course focuses on a cultural, historical, philosophical and/or social analysis of schools and schooling as a basis for developing an understanding of the educator's role as a change agent and as a basis for personal and professional decision making. The university's philosophy and values as expressed in the Fresno Pacific Idea and their implications for schools and society will provide one perspective for such analysis.

PPP 716: Psychological Assessment and Prescription for Linguistically Diverse Students (3 units)

This course presents theory, best practices and procedures applicable to the assessment and education of children with learning problems. The course prepares future school psychologists to strategically and explicitly intervene on behalf of culturally and linguistically diverse students who are at risk academically.

PPP 718: Behavioral Assessment/Intervention (3 units)

Students will be exposed to a comprehensive examination of behavioral principles as they relate to the assessment and management of behavior. Students will gain specific knowledge and skills in practical approaches and strategies in carrying out experimental and applied behavior analysis as applied to diverse populations and especially within educational settings.

PPP 720: Seminar in School Psychology (3 units)

The seminar in school psychology is designed to provide an introduction to the basic tenants and elements of school psychology. Emphases will include the ethical, legal and philosophical foundations of school psychology, as well as the pragmatic issues surrounding provision of effective psychological services to both students and staff.

PPP 722: Assessment I (3 units)

This course is designed to acquaint students with the knowledge of human assessment and train students in assessment methods and theories particularly related to intellectual and cognitive characteristics of typical and atypical pupils, including limited English proficient pupils, as these factors affect learning performance.

PPP 724: Assessment II (3 units)

The student will be trained to administer, score and interpret a variety of assessment instruments frequently used with children. Assessment measures to be covered include nonverbal cognition, perceptual/motor skills and adaptive behavior. Each student will acquire acceptable administration, scoring and interpretive skills within each of the aforementioned domains.

PPP 734: Early Intervention and Behavioral Assessment (3 units)

This course will cover normal and exceptional development from birth through preschool years. There will be discussion and investigation of various developmental delays, including environmental reasons (nutrition teratogens), disease, infections, toxins, genetic difficulties and more. Students will become familiar with how children are referred for assistance, definitions of intensive and non-intensive services and types of assessments needed.

PPP 771: Behavioral Research Methods in Education (3 units)

This course addresses behavioral principles as applied in educational settings. It covers the design and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative methods with particular emphasis placed upon single subject design. Behavior manifested by school age children is examined as part of the natural world, and behavior change is explained by principles derived from scientific research. Course content includes principles and procedures of reinforcement, extinction, differential reinforcement punishment, discriminiation and generalization training, shaping, fading, and programming. Classical conditioning, conditioned reinforcement, schedules of reinforcement, behavioral definitions, reliability and validity, and direct observation are also addressed.

PPP 793: Supervised Experience (1-3 units)

This course consists of fieldwork experience in California public schools under the supervision of a credentialed PPS school psychologist or an educational psychologist. Field practice shall be 450 hours. Emphasis is placed on attainment and completion of professional competencies, interpersonal skills, professional conduct and continuing development of theory, skills and knowledge related to the responsibilities of a school psychologist. Proof of liability insurance required.

PPP 794: Internship (8 units)

. Intended to allow the student to demonstrate proficiencies acquired during formal training on campus and to acquire additional knowledge and skills most appropriately gained through field placement. Intended to partially satisfy NASP certification criteria. Internship is generally offered in schools and agencies serving children from infancy to late adolescence. Principal supervision is provided by the off-campus agency, although the university provides indirect supervision. The experience occurs on a full-time basis over a period of one academic year or on a half-time basis over a period of no more than two consecutive years. In consultation with program director, students will register for appropriate number of units corresponding to the internship experiences anticipated to be completed during that term.

PPS 704: Counseling Applications in School Settings (3 units)

This course is designed to improve upon basic facilitation skills learned in prior coursework. Through this course students will develop an awareness of various theoretical components of counseling and understand and develop counseling techniques as they relate to counseling applications in schools. Contemporary psychological theories are presented. The course will provide opportunities to practice individual and group counseling skills and to explore the application of research-based counseling theory for identified populations.

PPS 705: Family-School Collaboration and Consultation (3 units)

This course provides candidates with opportunities and experiences to display knowledge and apply consultation skills to enhance family-school-community agency collaboration to promote student success.

PPS 708: Counseling for Diversity (3 units)

This course will involve the study of ethnicity from a global perspective utilizing a psychocultural approach. The following dimensions will be addressed in counseling multicultural children and parents: (1) social structure levels, (2) patterns of social interaction, (3) subjective experiences of identity and (4) patterns of behavior and expressive styles.

PPS 710: Assessment and Measurement (3 units)

This course is designed to allow students to gain knowledge and skills regarding the use of tests by both school counselors and school psychologists, including the who, what, when, where, why and how of assessment; the test selection process; administration procedures and communication of test results both orally and in writing to a variety of audiences.

PPS 712: Laws and Ethics (3 units)

This course covers current and proposed legislation in parent-child relationships. The course encompasses attendance and discipline procedures, pupil records, special programs, employment of minors, liability, the juvenile court system, due process, and miscellaneous laws and ethics.

PPS 713: Safe School Environments (3 units)

This course provides candidates with opportunities and experiences to understand ways school environments can both detract from and enhance the safety and well-being of pupils, staff and the entire school community. The course provides candidates with a review of the etiological roots of violence that occur within and outside the school community. Candidates will have opportunities and experiences to research and develop school safety strategies that include comprehensive school climate and crisis response plans addressing elements of prevention, intervention and treatment, culminating in the development of a comprehensive program to reduce the incidence of school site violence. The program provides candidates with knowledge and skills that address the needs of witnesses, victims and perpetrators of violence as they relate to improved behavior and enhance teaching and learning.

PPS 714: Practicum in Group Process (3 units)

This course exposes students to frameworks of group process and content, providing students with group experience from the perspective of both facilitator and group member. The course increases students' self-awareness and knowledge of both clinical and facilitated support group activities that embrace pupil diversity, developmental level and unique resiliency capacity, along with understanding the impact of support groups in promoting positive school climate and the reduction of at-risk behavior.

PPS 715: Leadership and Change (3 units)

This course will provide opportunities and experiences to display an understanding of the development, improvement and evaluation of programs that support effective pupil learning while serving as a systems change agent. Additionally, various models of supervision used to mentor pre-professionals in practicum and field experience placements will be discussed. The course will be presented from a practical and theoretical perspective.

PPS 717: Seminar in Behavior Pathology in Schools (3 units)

This is an overview course addressing emotional and behavior pathology most likely to be encountered by school psychologists in school settings with children and adolescents. Such disorders can adversely impact a student's development and learning potential and/or present management problems in the classroom setting. This course will examine the development and biological, psychosocial and cultural variables in the etiology of these disorders. Students will become familiar with characteristics, classification and diagnosis of such disorders.

PPS 798: Project/Thesis Proposal (1 unit)

Involves completion of a proposal for the project or thesis. Instruction is tutorial and reviews procedures along with development of a conceptual overview of the process of formulating and completing a thesis or project.

PPS 799: Project/Thesis-School Psychology (3 units)

Supervised project or thesis in the field of school counseling. Instruction is tutorial and will result in a completed project or thesis.
* Master of Arts Thesis/Project Handbook