Plan Description
The Master of Science - Educational Psychology is appropriate for students seeking the core knowledge, research tools, and educational experiences necessary to succeed in various educational settings. The program is appropriate for elementary, secondary, and special education teachers who wish to enhance classroom skills; students interested in pursuing advanced studies in educational psychology; students interested in obtaining a specialist degree in school psychology; as well as students who plan to apply their skills in government or business settings. Students’ individualized programs are tailored with attention to their area of specialization.
Learning Outcomes
www.unlv.edu/degree/ms-educational-psychology
Plan Admission Requirements
Admission to graduate studies at UNLV requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university with either a minimum grade point average of 2.75 overall or a 3.00 in the last two years of undergraduate work. Master’s degree programs require that an application for admission be submitted to the Graduate College, as well as transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
Admission to the Master of Science degree program in Educational Psychology is based on the following criteria:
- Department application
- Preference given to students whose scores relate to the 50th percentile or better on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
- Three letters of recommendation
- One writing sample
- Transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
- Graduate College application is available online
All domestic and international applicants must review and follow the Graduate College Admission and Registration Requirements.
Subplan 1 Requirements: Thesis Track
Total Credits Required: 34
Course Requirements
Required Courses – Credits: 1
EPY 701 - Proseminar in Educational Psychology
Learning and Development Courses – Credits: 6
EPY 711 - Human Growth and Development
EPY 712 - Foundations of Learning and Cognition
Research Courses – Credits: 9
EPY 702 - Research Methods
EPY 721 - Descriptive and Inferential Statistics: An Introduction
EPY 723 - Theory and Practice of Human Measurement I
Elective Courses – Credits: 12
Students must complete a minimum 12 credit hours of advisor-approved electives.
Thesis – Credits: 3
EPY 749 - Thesis
Degree Requirements
- A minimum of 34 credits is required for the degree. Students must maintain a grade point average of 3.00 or better in the program and a grade of B or better in core course work.
- The culminating experience for the M.S. degree is the defense of the students’ master’s thesis.
- Students who choose to complete a thesis will select a Graduate Faculty member to serve as chair. The chair and the student will select the other committee members. Each committee must have three members. Committee members must be named by the time the student submits their Program of Study to the Graduate College. The student must defend a thesis proposal before data to be used in the thesis are collected. The committee will meet and determine whether to accept or reject the proposal. A proposal can be accepted provisionally given that the student follows the committee’s suggestions for revision. Upon completion of the thesis, an oral defense will be scheduled. This defense will be scheduled and conducted in accordance with the Graduate College’s policies for thesis and dissertation completion.
Graduation Requirements
- The student must submit all required forms to the Graduate College and then apply for graduation from both degrees up to two semesters prior to completing his/her degree requirements.
- The student must submit and successfully defend his/her thesis by the posted deadline. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.
- Student must submit his/her approved, properly formatted hard-copy thesis to the Graduate College, and submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest by the posted deadline.
Subplan 2 Requirements: Non-Thesis Track
Total Credits Required: 34
Course Requirements
Required Courses – Credits: 1
EPY 701 - Proseminar in Educational Psychology
Learning and Development Courses – Credits: 6
EPY 711 - Human Growth and Development
EPY 712 - Foundations of Learning and Cognition
Research Courses – Credits: 9
EPY 702 - Research Methods
EPY 721 - Descriptive and Inferential Statistics: An Introduction
EPY 723 - Theory and Practice of Human Measurement I
Elective Courses – Credits: 15
Students must complete a minimum of 15 credit hours of electives. Students electing to complete the professional paper must complete EPY 782 - Independent Study as part of their elective credits.
Internship – Credits: 3
EPY 794 - Internship
Degree Requirements
- A minimum of 34 credits is required for the degree. Students must maintain a grade point average of 3.00 or better in the program and a grade of B or better in core course work.
- The culminating experience for the M.S. degree is the completion of an internship with either a written comprehensive examination or a professional paper.
- Students will be asked to complete either a Comprehensive Examination or a Professional Paper.
- The professional paper is an in-depth exploration of a topic agreed upon by the student and adviser. In general, it is not original research but explores constructs from Educational Psychology and is related to the student’s internship experience. The Professional Paper is evaluated by the adviser and approved by the department before the degree is granted.
- The comprehensive exam option for the culminating experience is comprised of questions reflective of the core areas (learning and development, research and measurement), and the specialty. All students who take the comprehensive exam in a given semester will respond to items from a set selected for that semester. In consultation with the Comprehensive Examination Evaluation Committee, the student’s adviser/committee chair may create an additional item to reflect the student’s internship experience. Students will have 15 days to complete the examination. A department Comprehensive Examination Evaluation Committee will evaluate the responses for each examinee. Each student’s adviser/committee chair will also evaluate his/her student’s responses to the selected items.
- Students completing the comprehensive exam may opt to take additional elective courses in place of the internship in order to satisfy the required minimum of 34 credit hours.
Graduation Requirements
- The student must submit all required forms to the Graduate College and then apply for graduation from both degrees up to two semesters prior to completing his/her degree requirements.
- The student must successfully complete a culminating experience.