Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology College of Education The University of Georgia UGA COE Resources & Services Research & External Affairs COeNews COE Events COE Departments & Directories COE Admissions COE Academic Programs About the COE About the COE
Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology
Navigation
 
Program Faculty

MA/PhD Program

MEd Program

EdS Program

Current Students

Prospective Students


   

Applied Cognition and Development (ACD)

M.A/Ph.D. Program

The M.A./Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with an emphasis on Applied Cognition and Development was designed for those who wish to contribute to research and scholarship on schooling and student learning of academic subjects using psychological principles of human development, and learning. Because of the commitment this level of scholarship requires, with few exceptions students in the program enroll full-time.

Some Recent M.A. Ph.D. Program Graduates

I. Admission Requirements

Admission is dependent on a number of factors including the match of the student's interests to the program, GPA, GRE and availability of an appropriate advisor. Candidates' admission is decided by the full-time graduate faculty of the program. A majority decision of the graduate faculty is required for the candidate to be recommended for admission to the program. In addition, a faculty member must agree to serve as temporary advisor for the student.

The M.A. with thesis is considered the typical route to the Ph.D. in the ACD program because of its research emphasis. Only students who are considered possible future candidates for the Ph.D. are recommended for admission to the M.A. program.

II. M.A. and Ph.D. Coursework Requirements

Core Course Requirements
Core courses are designed to give ACD graduate students basic skills and knowledge within two of three domains: cognition, development and motivation.

Required for M.A. and Ph.D. (when M.A. not from the department):

Two out of:
EPSY 6010 Foundations of Human Development for Education or 800-level equivalent
EPSY 6800 Foundations of Cognition in Education or 800-level equivalent
EPSY 6060 Foundations of Motivation for Education or 800-level equivalent
EPSY 6990/8990 Research Seminar in Educational Psychology (must be taken every semester offered by ACD faculty by every full-time student.)

Required for Ph.D.:


Any two of:
EPSY 8180 Psychology of Learning and Instruction
EPSY 8190 Theories of Achievement and Intelligence
EPSY 8060 Advanced Seminar in Motivation for Education
EPSY 8130 Psycholinguistics
EPSY 8170 Psychology of Reading

Educational Statistics and Research Methods Requirements

For MA:
ERSH 6300 Applied Statistical Methods in Education
ERSH 6600 Applied Educational Assessment
ERSH 6200 Methods of Research in Education

One of:
ERSH 8400 Qualitative Research Traditions
8310 Applied Analysis of Variance

For PhD: (applicant must meet MA requirements if not taken elsewhere)
Two quantitative methods:

ERSH 8320 Applied Correlation and Regression Methods in Education
ERSH 7250 Educational Program and Project Evaluation
ERSH 8610 Educational Measurement Theory
ERSH 7600 Construction of Educational Measuring Instruments
ERSH 8740 Exploratory Factor Analysis
ERSH 8750 Structural Equation Modeling
ERSH 8770 Multilevel Modeling
OR
QUAL 8410 Designing Qualitative Research
QUAL 8420 Analyzing Qualitative Data
QUAL 8510 Theories in Qualitative Design
QUAL 8520 Interviewing Research
QUAL 8525 Narrative Analysis
QUAL 8530 Case Study Research
QUAL 8540 Participant Observation
QUAL 8550 Writing Up Qualitative Research
QUAL 8560 Ethnomethodological and Conversation Analytic Studies

III. Annual Evaluation for MA/PhD Students

The student's progress in research, coursework, teaching, and general degree requirements will be assessed annually. Research and progress in degree requirements will be most heavily weighed because they will determine a student's ability to advance professionally. Teaching experience is also considered important for those students who want to take positions at universities or colleges. Further, an ACD faculty or adjunct faculty must be advisor for the student to be retained.
Students are required to complete and turn in a vita to their advisor by February 15th. The vita should include information for the student's entire time in the ACD program:

1. Research

List the projects and faculty involved, and contributions to each research project. List presentations, publications, and authorship. Turn in copies of the presentations and publications. List independent research. Indicate whether articles were submitted for publication and their status.

2. Coursework information

Provide transcript.

3. Teaching

List courses taught and provide copies of teacher evaluations.

4. Progress in general degree requirements

Indicate progress, as applicable, toward completing the master's degree proposal, master's degree defense, the doctoral written comprehensive exams, oral comprehensive exams, dissertation proposal, and dissertation defense. To remain in the ACD Program students must complete these requirements according to the schedule that follows; although the requirements are finished by most students in a shorter time frame.

5. Your professional goals

Describe professional goals (e.g., to work at a teaching college or research institution).

The deadlines below apply to full-time students only. Part-time students may exceed these timelines by 50%.

M.A. Degree: Defense to be completed by end of third year in program.

Ph.D. Degree: Written comprehensive exams should be completed by the end of the second year after admission to the PhD Program and written within one semester. Oral comprehensive exams should be completed within the span of one semester after completing the written comprehensive exams. Dissertation prospectus should be approved by the end of the third year after admission to the PhD Program. Dissertation defense should be approved by the end of the fifth year after admission to the PhD Program.

IV. Financial Aid

Financial support is available from a variety of sources: departmental teaching and research assistantships; university-wide graduate assistantships and fellowships; and federally funded research assistantships. Assistantships normally provide tuition and fee waivers. To be considered for all available assistantships completed applications must be received by the Educational Psychology Department by January 1st.

  COE photo
 

 

 
 
  Building the New Learning Environment