The Applied Educational Psychology (AEP) concentration represents all major areas of traditional Educational Psychology, including learning, development, measurement, instructional strategies, and academic assessment. Completion of the Ph.D. concentration requires a total of 72 graduate credit hours beyond a Master’s degree (24 of which are dissertation hours).
Students select a Cognate from a rich array of options which are listed below. In addition, the Concentration curriculum includes four of the six courses required to satisfy curriculum requirements for the Board Certified Behavior Analysis (BCBA) credentials. The other two courses required for meeting the BCBA coursework requirements may be completed through the Special Education Cognate (SPED 430 and SPED 555 ). The major learning outcomes in the concentration are (a) extensive knowledge of the traditional areas in Educational Psychology, (b) the skills necessary to contribute to relevant scholarship in the field, and (c) contributions to the professional literature through oral and written products.
Admission to the Concentration will be based on successful completion of a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology or a related field such as teacher education, GRE scores, grade point average at all collegiate levels, statement of career goals, and professional references. Other prior graduate work will be examined on a case-by-case basis to determine if it can be used to satisfy some course requirements for the PhD concentration. Entering students must have completed graduate coursework in life-span human development, learning theory, and introductory research.
Professional Development Core (6 credit hours minimum)
Advanced Core (21 credit hours)
Research (15 credit hours)
Must complete the following two research courses
Select three of the following research courses
Cognate (6 credit hours)
Students choose at least two courses from one of the following areas for a cognate: Gifted/Talented Learners, Instructional Strategies in Special Education, Educational Technology or Instructional Technology, Higher Education Administration, or Cultural Studies in Education. Other cognates may be negotiated with the Applied Educational Psychology faculty. (Note: Students planning to work toward BCBA certification will need to complete SPED 430 Applied Behavior Analysis in School Settings and SPED 555 Methods of Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders to satisfy the Cognate requirement for the AEP PhD or in addition to another Cognate.)
EDPY 600 Doctoral Research and Dissertation (24 credit hours)
Total hours for program = 72 credit hours
*Note: To complete the BCBA curriculum, students must complete EDPY 517 , EDPY 515 , EDPY 636 , SPED 555 , and SPED 430 . In addition, students much choose either EDPY 505 or EDPY 603 .