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**Review** Graduate Catalog 2025-2026

Educational Psychology Ph.D.

Program Overview

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences

General Doctoral Degree Admission Requirements

View delivery options, start terms and admission requirements

Director: Carl E. Granrud, Ph.D.

Location: McKee 0014

Telephone: 970-351-2957

Website: www.unco.edu/cebs/psychological-sciences/

The overall goal of the program is to produce university instructors and scholars capable of original basic and applied research in psychological and educational processes.

There is considerable emphasis on research training within the program. Research topics of the faculty include learning, cognition, motivation, development, measurement, assessment, and social and cultural process with applications to formal and informal educational settings.

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.

All students must take the common core concentration area and electives in consultation with the advisor. Students must take a minimum of 68 hours to graduate. A doctoral minor is also available.

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.

Degree Requirements — 68 Credits

Proseminar — 3 credits

PSY 705Proseminar in Doctoral Studies

3

Foundations — 12 credits

PSY 630Advanced Child and Adolescent Psychology

3

PSY 644Motivation in Education

3

PSY 654Seminar in College Teaching

3

PSY 681Learning and Instruction

3

Diversity and Cultural Awareness — 3 credits

Select ONE of the following options:

ECLD 593Language, School and Society

3

ECLD 602Teaching Culturally Linguistically Diverse and Bilingual Learners

3

EDF 777Social Justice in Education Reform

3

ET 527Social Justice in the Digital Age

3

HESA 655Multiculturalism in Higher Education and Student Affairs

3

HESA 665International Higher Education and Student Affairs

3

PSY 640Cultural Issues in Education Psychology

3

Doctoral Seminar — 1 credit

PSY 710Advanced Doctoral Seminar

1

Research Core — 12 credits

PSY 663Apprenticeship

1- 3

PSY 674Measurement I: Classical Test Theory

3

SRM 603Statistical Methods II

3

SRM 700Advanced Research Methods

3

PSY 663: Take 3 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:

SRM 610Statistical Methods III

3

Optional additional courses:

PSY 675Measurement II: Contemporary Test Theory

3

SRM 608Experimental Design

3

SRM 625Applied Multiple Regression Analysis

3

SRM 626Applied Multilevel Modeling

3

SRM 627Survey Research Methods

3

SRM 629Structural Equation Modeling

3

Research Tool II: Qualitative Methods — 3-6 credits

Take the following course:

SRM 680Introduction to Qualitative Research

3

Optional additional courses:

SRM 685Educational Ethnography

3

SRM 686Qualitative Case Study Research

3

SRM 687Narrative Inquiry

3

Coursework for Specialization — 9 credits

Choose 9 credits of the following courses:

PSY 575Educational Assessment

3

PSY 595Special Topics in Psychology

1- 5

PSY 622Directed Studies

1- 3

PSY 664Advanced Social Psychology

3

PSY 675Measurement II: Contemporary Test Theory

3

PSY 693Research Practicum

1- 3

PSY 694Practicum

3

PSY 695Special Topics in Educational Psychology

1- 3

Dissertation — 16 credits

PSY 797Doctoral Proposal Research

1- 4

PSY 799Doctoral Dissertation

1-12

PSY 797: Take 4 credits.

PSY 799: Take 12 credits.

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