Educational Psychology, Ph.D.

About the Educational Psychology Doctoral Program

Students enrolled in the educational psychology program earn a M.Ed. or a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. Students have the option of selecting a specialization in school psychology; quantitative methods; or cognition, motivation, and development. Students are required to complete a minimum of 36 semester credit hours for the Master of Education degree; additional hours are required for licensure and/or certification as a licensed specialist in school psychology (LSSP). Students pursuing a master’s degree can do so with or without a thesis. Students specializing in quantitative methods or cognition, motivation, and development require a minimum of 91 semester credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree for the Doctor of Philosophy degree; additional hours are required for licensure and/or certification as an LSSP. The Quantitative Methods specialization provides a unique doctoral training experience wherein students are trained as quantitative specialists who can interface quantitative methods with substantive issues across the educational, behavioral, and social sciences. Current methodological interests in quantitative methods include longitudinal structural equation modeling, multilevel modeling, mixture modeling, psychometrics, item response theory, nonparametric statistics, and many other topics on quantitative methods as applied across the educational, behavioral and social sciences.

Applicants to either the M.Ed. or Ph.D. program must first apply to, and be cleared by, the Graduate School before being reviewed and approved by the educational psychology faculty. Admission to a master’s program does not constitute later admission to a doctoral program. Applicants without a strong background in psychology may be required to complete leveling courses before unconditional admission to the program. See https://www.depts.ttu.edu/education/graduate/psychology-and-leadership/educational_psychology_phd.php for more information.