Educational Psychology
Chair: Michelle Perry
Graduate Programs Coordinator: Dorothy Espelage
226 Education Building
1310 South Sixth Street
Champaign, IL 61820-6990
(217) 333-2245 or 1(888)843-3779
Fax: (217)244-7620
edpsy@uiuc.edu
www.ed.uiuc.edu/edpsy
Doctor of Philosophy
For the on-campus Ph.D program, Educational Psychology accepts applicants who have completed their bachelor's degrees as well as those who have master's degree. Students who enter the program without a prior master's incorporate their master's class work and research into their doctoral program, and earn a master's degree as one step toward their Ph.D. The doctoral program is planned by each student with an adviser to develop the student's ability to do scholarly research in a specialized field.
The Ph.D. program requires 64 semester hours of credit beyond the master's degree, including up to 32 semester hours of thesis research credit. Acceptance of credit earned elsewhere does not reduce the Graduate College academic residence requirement. The College of Education requires a residence period beyond the master's, which must include two successive semesters of full-time study on the Urbana-Champaign campus. Each candidate will satisfy an early research requirement early in the program under the guidance of a research committee.
Research Methodology Requirement: A Ph.D. candidate is required to demonstrate competence in one of several research methodology areas. The four courses typically submitted as part of this demonstration are taken in addition to the minimum of 64 semester hours of credit beyond the master's degree. Requirements for all research methodology areas are available on the College of Education website and in the Student Academic Affairs office of the College.
Qualifying Examinations:Near the end of coursework and before admission to the oral preliminary examination, a Ph.D. candidate must complete written qualifying examinations in the general field of study embraced by the student's division, and in a special field covering an area of specialization proposed by the student with the concurrence of the adviser. Each portion of the examination is read and evaluated separately by at least three readers. All parts of the examination must be judged competent doctoral work by all readers.
Thesis: A Ph.D. candidate must complete and defend a thesis in accordance with the general requirements of the Graduate College.
Interdisciplinary Programs
Educational Psychology's doctoral students may also become involved in particular interdisciplinary programs such as Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education (SLATE). A link to SLATE can be found in the department website.
On-line Master's Program
The department does not have an on-campus terminal master's program; however, it currently offers an on-line professional Master of Education (Ed.M.) degree with a focus on Curriculum, Technology, and Education Reform (CTER). Admissions requirements are somewhat different from the doctoral program and applicants should consult the CTER website for current admissions criteria and program description.
Financial Aid
Educational Psychology offers teaching and research assistantships with accompanying tuition waivers for the bulk of its financial aid. Some fellowships, grants, and additional tuition and service fee waivers are also available.
Admission
Applications: Applicants must submit a complete application for admission, including three letters of reference, official transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate work, and other items listed in the department website.
Grade Point Average: The preferred department standard for grade point average is 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. The University calculates undergraduate GPAs on the last two years of grades for degreed applicants and in the last one year for students who have not yet completed their bachelor's degree. Graduate GPAs are calculated on the total of all graduate level courses taken beyond the undergraduate degree.
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): Educational Psychology looks for applicants with English competence equivalent scores of 613 (paper and pencil test) or 257 (computer-based test) or above. Students who are accepted with lower scores will be required by the University to enroll on a limited status basis for at least their first semester.
Division Affiliation: All applicants to the Educational Psychology doctoral program must specify which one of four divisions they wish to enter. The divisions are: Cognitive Science of Teaching and Learning (CSTL); Counseling Psychology (Counseling); Child Development; and Studies in Interpretive, Statistical Measurement, and Evaluative Methodologies for Research (Queries). Detailed information about each division and about the research interests of their faculty can be found on the department website.
Although all Ph.D. students are admitted to a specific division, the actual coursework, research, and faculty often overlap divisional boundaries. Departmental policy makes it possible for a student to change advisers and affiliation from one division to another when interests and research foci become more clearly defined or change. Many faculty members are affiliated with more than one division.