Educational Psychology Ph.D.
Program Overview
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences
See “Educational Psychology Ph.D.”
All students will take 15 credits of Foundation courses covering key disciplines within the field of Educational Psychology, including cognition and instruction, motivation, cultural issues, measurement, and development. In addition, students will take courses in the Research Core as well as Research Tool I (Quantitative Methods) and Research Tool II (Qualitative Methods) in order to gain the research skills, knowledge, and expertise to support their scholarly work while in the doctoral program. Finally, the student is given the opportunity to specialize their content knowledge and skills by selecting three courses of their choice, in consultation with their advisor.
Degree Requirements — 68 Credits
Proseminar — 3 credits
| PSY 705 | Proseminar in Doctoral Studies | 3 |
Foundations — 12 credits
| PSY 630 | Advanced Child and Adolescent Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 644 | Motivation in Education | 3 |
| PSY 654 | Seminar in College Teaching | 3 |
| PSY 681 | Learning and Instruction | 3 |
Diversity and Cultural Awareness — 3 credits
Select ONE of the following options:
| ECLD 593 | Language, School and Society | 3 |
| ECLD 602 | Teaching Culturally Linguistically Diverse and Bilingual Learners | 3 |
| EDF 777 | Social Justice in Education Reform | 3 |
| ET 527 | Social Justice in the Digital Age | 3 |
| HESA 655 | Multiculturalism in Higher Education and Student Affairs | 3 |
| HESA 665 | International Higher Education and Student Affairs | 3 |
| PSY 640 | Cultural Issues in Education Psychology | 3 |
Doctoral Seminar — 1 credit
Research Core — 12 credits
Research Tools — 12 credits
Total credits from Research Tool I and II must add up to 12 credits.
Research Tool I: Quantitative Methods — 6-9 credits
Take the following course:
Optional additional courses:
| PSY 675 | Measurement II: Contemporary Test Theory | 3 |
| PSY 686 | Advanced Seminar in Measurement and Assessment | 3 |
| SRM 608 | Experimental Design | 3 |
| SRM 625 | Applied Multiple Regression Analysis | 3 |
| SRM 626 | Applied Multilevel Modeling | 3 |
| SRM 627 | Survey Research Methods | 3 |
| SRM 629 | Structural Equation Modeling | 3 |
Research Tool II: Qualitative Methods — 3-6 credits
Take the following course:
| SRM 680 | Introduction to Qualitative Research | 3 |
Optional additional courses:
Coursework for Specialization — 9 credits
Choose 9 credits of the following courses:
| PSY 575 | Educational Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 595 | Special Topics in Psychology | 1- 5 |
| PSY 622 | Directed Studies | 1- 3 |
| PSY 664 | Advanced Social Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 675 | Measurement II: Contemporary Test Theory | 3 |
| PSY 686 | Advanced Seminar in Measurement and Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 693 | Research Practicum | 1- 3 |
| PSY 694 | Practicum | 3 |
| PSY 695 | Special Topics in Educational Psychology | 1- 3 |
Dissertation — 16 credits
| PSY 797 | Doctoral Proposal Research | 1- 4 |
| PSY 799 | Doctoral Dissertation | 1-12 |
Comprehensive Exams
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 website or the program office.
Research Tools
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, qualitative research methods, or another approved area.
Deficiencies
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 68-credit minimum.
Master’s Degree en route to the Ph.D.
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. See Educational Psychology for more information. Students must complete all program requirements (including Comprehensive Examination) for the M.A. in addition to the minimum 68 credit hours required for the Ph.D. Students must be conferred with the M.A. degree prior to admission to doctoral candidacy.