Master’s Program Overview
Caihong Li presents her research at the 2014 Children At Risk conference.
The Master’s of Science (MS) program in educational psychology provides students with an in-depth introduction to the field of educational psychology with a special emphasis on the theories and research methodologies employed in this field. Upon completion of the program, students will have mastered at least one content area of special interest to them and be fully prepared to conduct research in this area.
Students entering the program will select a program of study focusing on one of four areas of specialization: multicultural education, quantitative methods, motivation, or development. The Master’s program is typically a two-year program and requires 36 hours of graduate work. Students may choose one of two options: a Thesis Option, which allows the student to engage in an empirical research project, or a Scholarly Paper Option, which allows the student to conduct a focused review of research on a particular topic.
Suggested Timeline for Completion of the Master’s Degree
Faculty are committed to the thorough preparation of Master’s students and understand that the time required to accomplish this preparation may differ depending on numerous factors. Except under extraordinary circumstances, full-time Master’s students complete the program within two years. The following is a suggested timeline that students can use to gauge their progress toward degree completion. A full description of required courses is available in the educational psychology program handbook.
Year 1: Partial completion of required coursework—18 hours of formal coursework, including
- survey of educational psychology (3 hours)
- two development and/or learning theories classes (6 hours)
- two research methods classes (6 hours)
- one area of specialization class (3 hours)
Selection of Advisory Committee. Discussion with Advisory Committee regarding goals and objectives for final Master’s project. Attendance at professional meetings and departmental colloquia.
Year 2: Continued progress on completion of required coursework — 12 hours of formal coursework (+6 hours after 30 hours of formal course work for thesis option OR +3 hours after 33 hours of formal coursework for scholarly paper option), including
- multicultural psychology (3 hours)
- one or two development and/or learning theories courses (3 hours)
- one area of specialization course (3 hours)
- one research methods course (3 hours)
- thesis research or residency credit (6 hours)
- independent study in educational psychology (3 hours; scholarly paper option only)
- one additional course of the student’s choosing (3 hours; scholarly paper option only)
Thesis or scholarly paper proposal meeting with Advisory Committee will take place in the fall of the second year. Oral examination of thesis or scholarly paper will take place in the spring of the second year. Presentation at professional meetings and departmental colloquia.