Education Specialist

Residency and Employment

Currently, the Ed.S. program can be completed in three calendar years. Since the curriculum is carefully sequenced, full-time study (as defined by the program advisor or director) is required of students without prior graduate work.

Students in this program may have time for an assistantship or part-time job up to 16-20 hours per week. However, students working in psychology-related positions outside of the University must have these positions approved in advance to ensure practice within all appropriate ethical guidelines. As a result, the Program Director must be notified in writing of all gainful employment engaged in by students throughout their studies when that employment exceeds six hours per week. 

To expand on the student employment area, the current policy passed by the School Psychology program faculty states:

It is expected that students accepted into the Program will follow the pattern below with respect to financial aid and/or assistantship support:

  • First Year: Graduate assistantship in the department or as set up by the department
  • Second Year: Graduate assistantship in the department or as set up by the department
  • Third Year: Paid Internship in a local school system as set up by the department
  • Fourth Year: Assistantship support as available

Exceptions to the pattern include:

  1. When the student chooses not to take an assistantship because of no financial need or otherwise.
  2. When the student (with prior faculty approval) chooses to be employed in the community. Employment here requires a letter to the program director and cannot involve more than 20 hours per week.

Ordinarily it is expected that students will accept a department or department-approved assistantship, however, community employment is acceptable only when the nature of the employment is clearly related to the goals of the USF School Psychology Program.