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Admission Requirements

Admission Requirements for the MA in School Psychology are:

• An earned baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university
• Completion of undergraduate courses in general psychology, statistics and experimental psychology. Recommended, but not required, is a course in psychological testing.
• Achieve a 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA based on a system in which a 4.0 is equivalent to an A grade.
• Achieve an acceptable score (at least 25th percentile or better on all subscales) on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test or achieve the same level on another nationally normed standardized summative assessment of undergraduate achievement. Applicants who can demonstrate the successful completion of substantive graduate work in psychology or a related field and/or have at least five years work experience in an educational or clinical setting may be exempted from the GRE or other standardized test requirement.
• Submit three letters of recommendation from former faculty members or employment supervisors.
• Submit a written personal statement of at least 500 words describing your background, experiences, and goals and how these factors relate to your desire to become a school psychologist.
• A personal interview with the program director.

Admissions requirements for applicants to the twenty-four credit Advanced Certificate Program are the same as those for the MA in School Psychology listed above. Admissions requirements for the thirty-nine Credit Advanced Certificate program are the same as those of the Master of Arts Professional Teaching Certification:

• Earned baccalaureate degree from an accredited university; prerequisite courses: Introduction to Psychology, Introductory Statistics, and Research Methods in Psychology or the Social Sciences.
• Provisional Teaching Certificate if intending to pursue permanent teaching certification.
• Achievement of acceptable scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test (25th percentile or better) or the National Teachers Examination (NTE), or the New York State Teacher Certification Examination (TCE).
• Two letters of recommendation from former faculty members.
• Where applicable, a letter of recommendation from a school principal.
• An on-campus interview with the program director.

Applicants to either of the advanced certificate programs who have already earned a relevant MA degree elsewhere must undergo a transcript evaluation to determine content area comparability with Marist College MA programs and the requirement for GRE scores at the 25th percentile or above may be waived. When the evaluation reveals the need for coverage of content areas included within the Marist College-approved programs, applicants will be apprised of additional course requirements over and above those of the advanced certificate program to which they have applied. Minimally, an applicant with a relevant master's degree from another institution will be required to take fifteen credits in the Marist College program. Applicants to any of the school psychology programs who have earned graduate credits in psychology short of a master's degree at other institutions will also have their transcripts evaluated. Acceptance of credits will be determined on an individual basis.