The purpose of the Educational Psychology Program is to prepare students to apply psychological and educational principles, empirical methods, and research findings to practical problems in a variety of professional settings. Majors may concentrate in a content area within educational psychology that is flexibly tailored to their unique professional objectives, or follow a prescribed curriculum in gifted education. Those who choose individualized programs begin with an academic core that includes human development, learning, and psychometric assessment before narrowing their focus. Those who select the gifted specialty focus on the characteristics and needs of gifted children, methods of teaching the gifted, the development and evaluation of gifted programs, and/or research conducted in gifted education.
Graduates with individualized programs are typically employed as educational research, evaluation, or teaching specialists in universities, medical colleges, federal agencies, school systems, state departments of education, or private corporations. Those with Masters degrees are qualified to design developmentally appropriate curricula, validate tests, assess educational programs, evaluate educational products, and participate in educational or psychological research investigations. Doctoral graduates are qualified to become university professors and assume leadership roles as educational psychologists in federal or state agencies, medical schools, or private corporations.
Graduates who specialize in education of the gifted are employable as gifted education specialists in public or private schools, private foundations, state or federal agencies, and colleges or universities. Degrees in educational psychology with a specialty in education of the gifted are offered at both the master’s and doctoral levels. The Master of Education degree (M.Ed.) provides a core of courses that gives students general competence in the areas of assessment, development, and learning, and special expertise in the development of curriculum and instructional strategies for working with gifted students. The Ph.D. and Ed.D. are designed to provide in-depth study of gifted children and programs for gifted children. The doctoral degrees prepare graduates for positions in universities or public education.
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