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prospective students

This page is for prospective PhD students who might be interested in working with me in the school psychology program at Utah State University. You'll find information about the program, the field, and specialized opportunities through my lab, and answers to some frequently asked questions.

USU's School Psychology Program

USU's school psychology program is accredited by APA. We have a fantastic group of faculty who are excellent researchers, psychologists, and mentors. We're located in the Department of Psychology within the College of Education and Human Services. The program website linked above has important information, information about faculty, and links to the PhD program handbook. Skimming through the handbook is a great way to learn more about program details and become familiar with our ways of work. In general, PhD students in the program are funded with an assistantship and provided with a tuition waiver.

USU has a particularly scenic campus. Logan, UT is in the Cache Valley surrounded by beautiful mountain views. The town of Logan itself is a thriving semi-rural community with a lot of charm. It is a lovely place to live. Check out the drone video for an overview (ha) of the campus.

Although students get broad, generalist training, our program is particularly strong in the area of mental health services. We are associated with the Sorenson Center for Clinical Excellence, a state-of-the-art clinic facility. Utah also has a robust state-wide school mental health collaborative through the University of Utah that we are involved with.

School Psychology (and Health Service Psychology)

Health service psychology consists of three (highly overlapping) traditions of applied psychology that can lead to independent licensure as a psychologist: Clinical psychology, counseling psychology, and school psychology. Health service psychology programs are particularly demanding, even compared to other doctoral programs, because it is almost as if you are completing two doctoral degrees: One giving you advanced research training and one for advanced practice training. In addition to research courses, lab involvement, and thesis/dissertation, you take clinically focused courses and complete anywhere from 3000-4000 hours of supervised clinical experience prior to graduation, which is then followed by another 2000 hours of postdoctoral clinical training for independent licensure as a psychologist.

While this is extremely difficult, health service psychologists come out very well trained in many areas and have considerable career flexibility. There is a national shortage of school psychology practitioners and university faculty. When fully licensed, graduates can work in a variety of clinical settings as well, such as outpatient, residential, hospital, and more. If you decide that clinical work or faculty life is not a fit for you, full-time research or data positions are possibilities if this is a passion of yours. There is also demand for district leadership, training, and consultation roles to help school systems improve services for all learners. A great resource for those considering applying to HSP program is Mitch Prinstein's Uncensored Advice for Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology. While this is geared toward clinical psychologists, it is relevant for school and counseling applicants as well.

I am of course biased, but school psychology in particular is a great field. Schools are so important to society and there is an intense need for people trained to work with youth experiencing emotional/behavioral challenges — and to prevent those challenges from developing in the first place. I see school psychology as a mix of clinical skills, systems thinking, and prevention mindsets.

Reinbergs Lab

Beyond the generalist training and school mental health learning through the PhD program, students in my lab gain expertise in suicidology. I am committed to training graduates that are well versed in many aspects of suicidology, including prevention, assessment, intervention (including DBT and CAMS), and postvention at individual and systems levels. Suicidology involves many different areas and students are encouraged to follow their specific passions when pursuing research projects within the field. I tend to be very available and responsive to mentee needs.

Our lab nearly exclusively pursues quantitative suicide research. (This is of course not to say that qualitative research is not valuable and important, however, the lab does not have the expertise to guide qualitative work). I am also committed to training graduate students that are comfortable in working with quantitative data and generalized linear modeling. I can also support students in learning the basics of applying more advanced techniques including structural equation modeling, item response theory, missing data methods, and analyzing data from complex sampling designs. The lab conducts all analyses in either Stata or R and students are expected to develop proficiency in either language (or both!).

Frequently Asked Questions

After reading the above, you likely still have questions. I've tried to collect some of the questions I anticipate below:

Are you taking a student this year?

Yes. I plan on accepting a PhD student to begin Fall 2025. Although it may not be up to date, this document at one point listed labs in suicidology that were accepting students each year. You may find other places of interest to you from that list!

Are students funded?

In general, yes. PhD students in the program are typically funded through an assistantship and receive a tuition waiver. Refer to the handbook and department website for more specific details.

What are you looking for in a prospective student?

Selection for doc programs is largely about fit/match with the lab. Students should be passionate about suicide prevention. They should intend to launch a career that includes research. Lastly, students should be excited about working with youth in schools and other settings.

Although the program does prepare students to do clinical work, the lab and PhD program in general are not a good fit for students who primarily want to do clinical work. Strong applicants have some exposure to youth populations receiving psychological services (e.g., through school programs, clinics, hospitals), some exposure to research involvement, and have some familiarity with basic data wrangling skills. Strong applicants are excited to learn data management and statistical analyses while also learning clinical skills.

What types of research projects would doc students in the lab pursue?

I am open to supervising projects across many areas of suicidology. I want to help students find a balance between their particular passion areas and the areas in which I'm able to mentor them. Broad topic areas might include: Psychometric questions related to suicide, depression, or BPD; complex survey analysis of national or Utah specific public health datasets with variables related to suicide; lethal means; behavior therapies like DBT; improving school-based services for youth with NSSI / suicidality / emotion regulation concerns; examining how insights from 'third wave' behavior therapies can advance our understanding of suicidal ideation; or replicating adult studies with youth/families.

What interests are you not a good match for?

There are several areas that tend to fall outside my general realm and for which I am likely not the appropriate mentor. These include questions in suicidology or mental health that are primarily related to:

  • Biology
  • Animal models
  • Neuropsychology
  • Geropsychology
  • Early childhood (0-3)
  • Qualitative or mixed methods
  • Developmental disabilities (such as autism and intellectual impairment)
  • Non-behavioral psychotherapies/interventions

Where can I get more information about grad school in health service psychology (i.e., clinical/counseling/school)?

Here are some additional resources, many of which I learned about from Tyler Renshaw's prospective student page.