Educational Psychology Ph.D.
Degree Requirements — 67 CreditsSee: "Educational Psychology Ph.D.".
All students complete course work in the areas of Human Development, Learning and Cognition, and Measurement and Assessment. Students declare an emphasis in any one of these three areas, and the comprehensive examination and dissertation are in that area. Students may further specialize in their emphasis area through additional electives such as Apprenticeships, Practica, Directed Studies, as well as research and teaching assistantships.
Learning and Cognition — 9 credits (take 3 of the following):PSY 635 Individual Differences in Cognition (3)
PSY 681 Cognition and Instruction I (3)
PSY 682 Cognition and Instruction II (3)
PSY 685 Advanced Seminar in Learning and Cognition (3)
Human Development — 9 creditsPSY 630 Advanced Child and Adolescent Psychology (3)
PSY 680 Neuroscience Seminar (3)
PSY 684 Advanced Seminar in Human Development (3)
Measurement and Assessment — 9 credits; (Research Tool I)PSY 575 Educational Assessment (3)
PSY 675 Measurement II: Advanced Techniques (3)
PSY 686 Advanced Seminar in Measurement and Assessment (3)
Professional Applications — 6 creditsPSY 654 Seminar in College Teaching (3)
PSY 661 Trends and Issues in Educational Psychology (3)
Research Core — 18 credits; (Research Tool II*)SRM 603 Statistical Methods II (3)*
SRM 610 Statistical Methods III (3)*
SRM 700 Advanced Research Methods (3)
SRM 680 Introduction to Qualitative Research (3)
Two electives, to be chosen in consultation with the advisor, including but not limited to, courses in qualitative methods (such as ethnography or case study methods), quantitative methods (such as regression analysis or multivariate analysis), or program evaluation.
Research Proposal/Dissertation — 16 creditsPSY 797 Doctoral Proposal Research (4)
PSY 799 Doctoral Dissertation (12)
Doctoral students take comprehensive examinations when they have fulfilled the requirements of the graduate school and are considered prepared by their advisor. Specific procedures for written comprehensives and oral defense of the comprehensives are available from the program office.
Ph.D. students in Educational Psychology must demonstrate competency in two research tools, as required by the UNC Graduate School. Those tools, as indicated above, are measurement and assessment and research methods.
Upon entrance to the Ph.D. program, a candidate must be able to satisfy the core course requirements (or the equivalent) for the M.A. degree in education psychology, or must take additional courses to meet those requirements. Doctoral program courses may have prerequisites that necessitate a student’s program credits to be above the 67-credit minimum.
Students may apply for admission to the Ph.D. in Education Psychology and complete their M.A. in Education Psychology on the way to the doctoral degree. The application process and the admission criteria are the same as for the Ph.D. program. Once admitted, students will complete the 30-credit MA program described on page 9. Students must complete all program requirements (including Comprehensive Examination) for the M.A. in addition to the minimum 67 credit hours required for the Ph.D. Students must be conferred with the M.A. degree prior to admission to doctoral candidacy.