The Perfect Match: School Psychology PhD Program Achieves 100% Internship Match Rate Again.

In February 2025, doctoral student Karisa Odrunia sat among hundreds of school psychologists at a conference in Seattle. It was Match Day. As presenters talked through slides, she felt a pull to check her email. Her stomach tightened as she saw a message from the match system. After years of coursework, practicum hours, multiple internship applications, and interviews, everything came down to this one moment. She opened the message.

She had matched - at her top clinical training site, the University of Northern Colorado’s High Plains Psychology Internship Consortium. 

“It was the best feeling ever,” she said. 

The match signified a major step toward earning her Ph.D. and becoming a licensed psychologist. 

Karisa and her classmates were all matched to their top sites. This year, the program has once again achieved a perfect match rate, well above the 80% average match rate for other  APA-accredited programs. 

This sustained success is not only a reflection of student preparedness but also of the program's quality and its investment in student success, even though it was only accredited three years ago. 

The Match Process

School psychology doctoral students transition from 2 years of experience in the school setting to professional practice, beginning their third year of advanced training. They are encouraged to complete at least two years of this advanced field-based training before applying for an internship. 

“We want them to be just as competitive as everyone else in the match cycle,” shared Katherine Lee, the director of clinical training for the school psychology Ph.D. program. 

Students build a strong foundation in school psychology–learning how to support children, navigate special education systems, and advocate for students. They also gain clinical skills in therapy, assessment, and working with other providers. After completing their practicum, they are ready to enter the match process.

During the match, students and clinical sites rank each other, and an algorithm determines placements. Students interview with sites they’re interested in, and once matched, they move, often out of state, to complete a year-long clinical internship.

Behind The Perfect Match Rate: Preparation and Training

James Webster, one of the students in this year’s cohort, was matched at the Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania, a placement over 120 people interviewed for. 

What set him apart from the competition?

“The program makes us really well-rounded. During my practicum, I worked in schools, prisons, psychiatric hospitals, and private clinics,” he shared. 

A strong network of community partnerships makes this comprehensive training possible. Annual practicum fairs and CEU sessions connect students with supervisors and clinical partners who may become their future supervisors.

These relationships help sustain a steady pipeline of training opportunities and ensure students are exposed to a wide range of clinical settings before entering the match pool.

Support and Community

When Erin Dunn, a student in last year’s cohort, moved from Seattle to Las Vegas to pursue her degree, she expected to join a competitive cohort like the one in her previous program. Instead, she found a school family. 

“The people are my favorite part of the program. We shared resources and reminded each other about deadlines,” she said. 

Matched to her first-choice site, a community mental health clinic in Minnesota, Erin found that she got through the arduous parts of the match process with the help of her faculty and fellow students. 

“The program paid for software we could use to track our hours and be on top of our documentation,” she said. 

The program’s faculty also wrote timely recommendation letters to support the students’ applications and were supportive throughout the entire match process. 

“We are not just making sure our students are meeting expectations. We see them as our future colleagues,” Katherine Lee said.

More Than a Statistic

While a consecutive 100% match rate is an impressive achievement, it also reflects the quality of a program that prepares its students for all the steps in their academic and career journeys.

“We are investing in people who will graduate and contribute to the needs of society,” Katherine disclosed.

As the demand for mental health professionals continues to grow, UNLV’s school psychology Ph.D. program students like Karisa, James, and Erin are transitioning to promising careers and serving our communities.

Written by: Sakinah Musa