Required Courses – HDCLS Doctoral Program

Please note required coursework may vary from year to year. Current students should always defer to their Program of Work for course requirements and consult with their faculty advisor / Graduate Advisor for any needed clarifications.

HDCLS doctoral students are required to complete:

  1. EDP Foundation courses,
  2. HDCLS Program courses,
  3. Out-of-Specialization courses, and
  4. Qualifying Process and Dissertation coursework.

Student coursework may vary depending on prior graduate coursework and waivers. Required courses are designed to meet relevant APA and licensure requirements. All required courses must be completed with a grade of at least B-. 

Note: the first digit in a Course Number denotes the number of credit hours of the course. Example: EDP 480C Correlation & Regression Methods = 4 credit hours.

I. EDP Foundation Courses (26 credit hours)

The Educational Psychology Foundation courses represent foundational knowledge in educational psychology, and reflect APA guidelines requiring doctoral-level psychologists to have basic knowledge in the breadth of scientific psychology, its history of thought and development, research methods, and applications. Foundation courses must be completed prior to the Qualifying Process.

A. Methods Foundation (17 hours)

  • Prerequisite Course: EDP 380C.2 Fundamental Statistics: prerequisite for all Methods courses. 
  • EDP 480C.6 Statistical Analysis for Experimental Data
  • EDP 380D.4 Psychometric Theory and Methods
  • EDP 480C.4 Correlation & Regression Methods
  • EDP 381C.2 Research Design & Methods for Psychology and Education

B. Development & Learning Foundation (9 hours)

Human Development & Social Foundation Courses (Choose 1):

  • EDP 382C.2 Social Psychology
  • EDP 382F.3 Life Span Development

Learning Foundation Courses (Choose 1):

  • EDP 382D.6 Motivation and Emotion
  • EDP 382D.4 Psychology of Learning
  • EDP 398T College Teaching Methodology

+1 additional course from either Human Dev/Social or Learning areas

II. HDCLS Program Courses (21 hours)

  • EDP 381C.6 Literature Review and Research Synthesis
  • EDP 382Q HDCLS Research Practicum (or approved substitute) (2 semesters)
  • 1 EDP course with Diversity/Culture focus (course choice must be approved by Area Chair)
  • Additional 3 course electives in the HDCLS area (course choice must be approved by Area Chair)

III. Out-of-Specialization Courses (9 hours)

The Graduate School requires doctoral students complete 9 hours of coursework outside of their area of specialization. These courses are an opportunity to enhance research/clinical interests and form relationships with out-of-area faculty; course choice must be approved by faculty adviser.

  • 1 course (minimum 3 hours) taken outside of the EDP department
  • 2 courses (minimum 6 hours) taken either outside of the EDP department, or in an EDP program area outside HDCLS

IV. Qualifying Process & Dissertation (12+ hours)

  • Qualifying Process: EDP 395R Qualifying Process Research (2 semesters, no later than the semester in which turn in qualifying document)
  • Dissertation: EDP 3/6/999W Dissertation, beginning the semester following advancement to candidacy.

HDCLS Predoctoral Project

Prior to graduation, HDCLS students are required to complete a research project to demonstrate research proficiency. The HDCLS Predoctoral Project is led by the student (must be first-authored) under the supervision of an HDCLS core faculty member. The project involves completing the following stages of a study: conception, design, data analysis, and completion of a manuscript ready for publication. An HDCLS faculty committee consisting of the study supervisor and a reader will review the project at completion.

En-Route Masters

EDP doctoral students admitted without a master’s in the field must complete an en-route master’s degree before receiving the doctoral degree. See the En-Route Master’s page for requirements.

Doctoral Portfolio Programs (Optional)

Portfolio programs are optional opportunities for doctoral graduate students to obtain credentials in a cross-disciplinary academic area of inquiry while they are completing the requirements for a degree in a particular discipline. A portfolio program usually consists of four thematically related graduate courses and a research presentation.