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EDP Contacts
EDP Staff Contacts Directory >
Overview
The Department of Educational Psychology (Department) is situated administratively within the College of Education. As a graduate student, you were admitted to both the Department and to the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin: you are enrolled in the Graduate School, and your field of study within the Graduate School is Educational Psychology. Your area of specialization is on record in our office and at the Graduate School, but will not appear on your diploma. The general structure is:
University of Texas at Austin > College of Education > Department of Educational Psychology > Specialization Areas (Counseling Psychology, HDCLS, Quantitative Methods, School Psychology)
Graduate School Organization
The Graduate School is composed of the Office of Graduate Studies, which includes the Vice President and Dean of Graduate Studies and staff, and departmental Graduate Studies Committees. The legislative body of the Graduate School is the Graduate Assembly, a group of approximately 30 faculty members (elected from among three groups of academic disciplines) who are members of Graduate Studies Committees. Six graduate students (elected by the Graduate Student Assembly) from degree programs across the Graduate School also serve as representatives on the Assembly. The Vice President and Dean of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Assembly are responsible for overall policy and for the quality of graduate work. Each department or field of study offering a graduate degree has a Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) that is composed of all active tenured and tenure-track faculty (assistant, associate, and full professors). The GSC sets policy and supervises the Department's graduate programs.
Each department on campus has a Department Chair who oversees the functioning of the department. Each department offering graduate work also has a Graduate Adviser (who serves as the administrative link between the Office of Graduate Studies and the department), as well as a Graduate Coordinator (a staff member who assists the Graduate Adviser). The Graduate Adviser is nominated by the Department Chair and approved by the academic dean(s) involved in the department. See the EDP Staff and Faculty directories for position incumbents.
In addition to your Graduate Coordinator and Graduate Adviser, the Office of Graduate Studies is the central source of information for graduate students. It is the office that administers Graduate School matters and provides processes and guidelines for all stages of graduate study. The Office of Graduate Studies is located in the Main Building (Tower), Room 101.
The EDP Graduate Studies Committee (GSC)
The GSC includes all tenured and tenure-track teaching faculty in the Department. The GSC establishes degree requirements and policies for the department, student evaluations, advancement to candidacy, periodic student reviews, and other graduate student matters. It elects a Chair and a Vice-Chair.
- Student Representatives. Student representatives volunteer to attend some GSC meetings for discussions related to departmental policy and requirements, to serve on Standing Committees, and to provide assistance for departmental functions. All GSC discussion of specific student matters is confidential, and student representatives are not present at student evaluation or review meetings.
- GSC Executive Committee (GSC EC). The purpose of this group is to make decisions on student matters in an expeditious manner. The GSC EC decides on student petitions related to waivers of Department requirements. The GSC EC is composed of the GSC Chair and Vice-Chair, the Department Chair, and the Graduate Adviser, who serve as ex officio members.
EDP Department Program Areas
The Department of Educational Psychology (EDP) is comprised of four distinct Program Areas:
Counseling Psychology / Counselor Education
Our doctoral program in Counseling Psychology is scientist-practitioner based, preparing Ph.D. psychologists to work with problems of human behavior in a range of social processes and systems. The master's program in Counselor Education prepares counselors to work in academic settings, including schools (K-12) and post-secondary educational institutions (community colleges, colleges, and universities).
Counseling Psychology doctoral program overview and goals >
Counselor Education master's program overview and goals >
Human Development, Culture and Learning Sciences
The master's and doctoral programs in Human Development, Culture, and Learning Science (HDCLS) train graduate students in theories of human cognition, culture, development, language, learning, motivation, social, and personality psychology. Graduates are prepared for teaching and research careers in these areas.
HDCLS doctoral and master's program overview and goals >
Quantitative Methods
The master's and doctoral Quantitative Methods specializations offer training in modern statistical and psychometric methods to prepare graduates to advance methodological research and to apply those methods to address educational and social science research questions. Our graduates are employed in academia, professional testing organizations, educational research and development agencies, industrial psychology agencies, governing agencies of higher education, state departments of education, and research and program evaluation divisions of large school districts.
QM doctoral and master's program overview and goals >
School Psychology
The School Psychology doctoral program uses a scientist-practitioner model to prepare psychologists to understand and enhance the development of children and adolescents in context. The master's program is designed for students who are interested in a future doctoral training, but first wish to gain experience as a researcher or as a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP). Our graduates are employed in colleges and universities, school systems, mental health and child guidance centers, medical centers, and independent clinical practice.