Educational Psychology and Research

Educational Psychology and Research (EPR) offers programs leading to a Master of Science in Education (M.S.Ed.) or a Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.). For either degree, students choose a Development and Learning track (D&L) or a Research, Evaluation, Measurement and Statistics track (REMS). Students applying for a program should indicate in which track they are interested. Requirements for graduate degrees emphasize identification and attainment of goals and objectives rather than courses or credit hours alone.

Goals of the Program

Graduate study in EPR at the University of Kansas has four general purposes:

To prepare prospective faculty members for active contributions to undergraduate and graduate programs in educational psychology and research at other colleges and universities;
To prepare highly-skilled research and evaluation personnel who will investigate educational and psychological problems and/or contribute to the areas of statistics, measurement, evaluation, and research methods;
To prepare graduates, through the content and methods of educational psychology and research, to contribute to our understanding of the process of education, to the solution of educational problems, and to the improvement of educational practice;
To prepare graduates to participate actively in the identification of new problems and goals and in the development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of innovative solutions for educational problems.

Faculty

Frey, Bruce, Ph.D. - Classroom assessment; evaluation methodology; instrument development; program evaluation; cognitive spirituality.

Hansen, David, Ph.D. - Adolescent development in the non-formal settings, including out-of-school activities and employment; processes of real-world decision making and initiative.

Harrington, Robert, Ph.D. - Sources of stress contributing to anger and disruptive classroom behavior in school-age children; factors contributing to classroom teacher stress; best practices in early childhood school psychological services; psychological techniques with preschool children; personality assessment.

Kingston, Neal, Ph.D. - Measurement and Research Methodology

Patterson, Meagan, PHD - Intergroup attitudes; identity and self concept; academic motivation and achievement

Peyton, Vicki, Ph.D. - Applied statistics and measurement; confirmatory factor analysis; educational and psychological item analyses.

Poggio, John P. , Ph.D. (C0-Director, Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation) - Psychometric methods; educational assessment and policy; large scale assessment.

Skorupski, William, Ed.D. - Item response theory and applications; psychometric methods; scaling; test score equating.

Two degree programs are available:

Doctoral Plan of Study

The Educational Psychology and Research Doctoral Plan of Study (pdf) contains signature items for a student's doctoral advisory committee, department notation, school and program core requirements, research skills, supervised college teaching, coursework, program requirements, a checklist and the Ph.D. Residence Agreement.

The Core Requirement for Doctoral Students in the School of Education

The core requirement for doctoral students in the School of Education includes courses in statistics or research, human learning or development, history, philosophy, or social foundations of education and general curriculum or general instructional strategies.

Masters Plan of Study

The Educational Psychology and Research Masters of Science in Education Plan of Study (Word) contains thesis advisory committee, department notation (signatures), core requirements including coursework and program requirements for the M.S.Ed. Degree.

For PRE Department admissions and degree requirements, click Admissions Information.

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