Doctoral Program

The Doctoral Program

Program Director: Dr. Curt Carlson (curt_carlson@tamu-commerce.edu)

The Department of Psychology and Special Education offers a Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Educational Psychology. This program has an interdisciplinary perspective, with a strong foundation in methodology. The focus of the program is human cognition and instruction. Students will acquire an in-depth knowledge of human learning and cognition, instructional strategies, research, and evaluation. This emphasis will prepare students to integrate knowledge of human cognition and instructional practice across a variety of occupational, educational, and content matter domains, with emphasis on applications of learning technologies. For Frequently Asked Questions, click here.

Goals of the Ph.D. program in Educational Psychology

1    Provide students with an understanding of the past, present, and future development of the science of Psychology and the discipline of Educational Psychology.

2    Provide students with the understanding required for ethical decision-making and professional practices in the roles of researcher, student, and Educational Psychologist.

3    Provide students with an understanding of the processes and principles that underlie the discipline and science of Educational Psychology, including cognitive development, learning, cognition, and instructional design.

4    Provide students with the skills and understandings needed to design, execute, and evaluate research.

5    Provide students with an understanding of pedagogy and support the development of the skills needed to select, apply, and evaluate the use of educational technology to assist learning, teaching, and training.

Departmental and Federal financial support is available to graduate students during their training. Financial Aid opportunities exist in the form of scholarships, fellowships, grants, and loans. Funding is available, but highly competitive. (Link to Financial Aid)

Admission Requirements

The application deadline is April 15 for fall admission and November 15 for spring admission. Applicants are notified in writing of their status after the application review process.

Students should apply for admission to the Graduate School by completing the application form and providing the requested documentation (i.e., transcripts, GRE scores, recommendations, goal statement, resume). It is possible to transfer prior graduate coursework in Psychology, provided that the classes were taken within the time frame outlined by the Graduate School. Only courses that closely match a corresponding course in the curriculum of the Educational Psychology program will be considered for transfer credit.

Admission to the doctoral program in Psychology is competitive, since available facilities and faculty do not permit admission of all qualified applicants. Thus, the Department of Psychology and Special Education maintains the right to deny admission to applicants that fail to meet personal or academic admission standards.

The following information is required or recommended by the Department for consideration of admission:

1)    Graduate Record Examination:
There is no cut-off or minimum score. However, the following scores are desirable.
        GRE quantitative: 550 and higher
        GRE verbal for native English speakers: 500 and higher
        GRE writing: 4.5 and higher

2.    Transcripts:
Applicants are not required to have completed an undergraduate or graduate major in
Psychology, nor is any prerequisite graduate coursework required for admission.

a.    Applicants holding the master's degree must have an overall grade point average of at least 3.50 on graduate work, exclusive of practicum and thesis grades.
b.    For students applying with a completed non-thesis master's degree, completion of the thesis will be required prior to admission to doctoral candidacy.

Master's to Ph.D. in Psychology

The Department of Psychology and Special Education offers the Master of Science and Master of Arts degrees in Psychology. Students can obtain a 30 hour Master's degree with a thesis or 36 hour degree without a thesis. Most of the coursework completed for the M.A. and M.S. programs may be transferred to the Ph.D. program in Educational Psychology.

Ph.D. Curriculum Description

The University requires 90 hours for all incoming students, regardless of whether or not you enter with a completed Master's degree. However, the cognate (minor) part of your degree plan can be filled with Master's level courses transferred in from another university. The student advisor in the department addresses this during the student's first year in the program.

To meet Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board requirements, no more than 49% of a student's coursework can be taken online and used for credit toward the degree.

The program has five components: Program Core, Doctoral Tools, Electives, Cognate area, and Research Credits (i.e., thesis and dissertation). More specifically:

Program Core: (21 hours) (* = recommended as first courses to take)

Psy 505 Introduction to Educational Psychology (or Psy 511 Cognitive Science)*

Psy 509 History and Systems of Psychology

Psy 594 Ethical Issues in Organizations

Psy 618 Group Dynamics*

Psy 620 Human Learning and Cognition*

Psy 621 Advanced Cognition (req 620)

Psy 625 Cognition and Instruction I

Psy 622 Research and Design (may not be required for students with a thesis in‐hand)*

Psy 627 Social Cognition

Psy 675 Advanced Topics in Educational Psychology Doctoral Tools: (18‐21 hours)

Doctoral Tools

Psy 695 Research Methodology (Doctoral Tools 1)

Psy 612 Introduction to Statistics (Doctoral Tools 2)

Psy 681 Intermediate Statistics (Doctoral Tools 3)

Psy 610 Nonparametric Statistics (Doctoral Tools 4)

OR Psy 670 Multivariate Statistics (Doctoral Tools 4)

Psy 671 Advanced Tests and Measurements (Doctoral Tools 5)

Electives:

Psy 514 Learning

Psy 515 Physiological Psychology

Psy 517 Human‐Computer Interaction (to be created)

Psy 545 Developmental Psychology

Psy 572 Psychological Assessment and Measurement (if taken prior to 671)

Psy 601 Perception

Psy 626 Cognition and Instruction II (req 625)

Psy 661 Organizational Change

Psy 679 Program Evaluation

Psy 680 Professional Development

Psy 689 Directed Independent Study (may be taken repeatedly)

Cognate Area: (18 hours). The cognate area is similar to a minor. This should be a grouping of courses that ties into an area of specialization relevant to your academic and career goals. This area should be constructed in consultation with the director of the doctoral program. Final approval of the cognate area is in the hands of the Coordinator and the Graduate School.

Sample Approved Cognate: Computer Science

CS 504 Introduction to Computer Applications

CS 514 Internet Development

CS 515 Fundamentals of Programming (req 504)

CS 520 Information Structures and Algorithm Analysis (req 515)

CS 531 Java Programming (coreq 520)

CS 538 Artificial Intelligence (req 520)

Research Credits: (12‐18 hours)

Psy 518 Thesis (up to 6 hours; required of students without a Master's)

Psy 718 Dissertation (up to 12 hours)

Residency Requirements for Ph.D. Program

All students must complete a residency requirement, which obligates students to enroll in 6 hours of on-site courses during at least four different summer sessions or long semester sessions. The purposes of the residency requirements are to:

1    enhance the professional development and academic growth of the student and;
2    provide opportunities for faculty to guide each student's academic program and determine student competency and academic progress.

The majority of students fulfill the residency requirement by taking the core courses which are offered during the 10 day compressed summer session.

Although face‐to‐face courses and online courses will be offered during the fall and spring semesters, we realize that many of our students do not live nearby. Thus, the required courses in the program will be offered during compressed summer sessions.

Below you will find a logical course sequence for the summer residence.

First Summer at Commerce

Psy 618 Group Dynamics

Psy 505 Introduction to Educational Psychology OR Psy 511 Cognitive Science

Second Summer at Commerce

Psy 620 Human Learning and Cognition

Psy 622 Research and Design OR approved elective substitute

Third Summer at Commerce

Psy 625 Cognition and Instruction I

Psy 671 Advanced Tests and Measurements OR approved elective substitute

Fourth Summer at Commerce

Psy 627 Social Cognition

Psy 675 Advanced Topics in Educational Psychology

Opportunities After Graduation

Career opportunities for educational psychologists exist with federal and state educational agencies, national and state legislative groups, regional educational laboratories and research centers, higher education, public and private schools, professional organizations, high technology companies, military, publishers, private funding agencies, medical organizations, and private consulting. Increasing opportunities for educational psychologists are expected in all settings where job training or retraining is required and where technology-assisted learning (including distance education) is employed.