The School Psychology program at Cleveland State University promotes the welfare of children and their families by preparing school psychologists who possess knowledge, skills, and values supporting their role as problem-solvers in schools and other educational settings. As an urban university, CSU is committed to meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse population – both the students enrolled in university educational programs and the clients whose needs will be served by our graduates.

The program faculty views School Psychology as a discipline within the field of Psychology. This broadly-based orientation facilitates teaching and learning about development, cognition, physiology, and social interaction (including dimensions of human diversity), as well as their applications to work with children, adolescents, and adults in educational settings. At the same time, learning experiences are designed to develop skill in assessing and intervening upon children's academic and other school performance problems. Faculty subscribe to an eco-behavioral model of service delivery, which is reflected in the program curriculum and in scholarly research activities. This model emphasizes the direct assessment of children's behavior, including environmental factors, for purposes of developing, implementing, and evaluating the impact of appropriate academic and behavioral interventions. The CSU School Psychology Program is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists.

The Psychology Specialist (Psy.S.) degree is awarded to students upon completion of three years of full-time preparation. Students are required to complete the Master of Arts degree program in Psychology (School Psychology specialization) as a pre-requisite for admission to the Psy.S. degree program, which comprises an additional year of study beyond the M.A.