Department Organization / Contacts

On this page:

EDP Contacts

EDP Staff Contacts Directory >

EDP Faculty 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 (EDP). Within your field of study (EDP), you have an area of specialization: Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, HDCLS, Quantitative Methods, or School/Clinical Child Psychology. Your 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 (Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, HDCLS, Quantitative Methods, or School/Clinical Child Psychology)

Graduate School Administration

The Graduate School provides processes and guidelines for all stages of graduate study. 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 (GSCs). The legislative body of the Graduate School is the Graduate Assembly, which along with the Vice President and Dean of Graduate Studies, is responsible for overall policy and for the quality of graduate work. The Graduate Assembly consists of a group of approximately 30 faculty members (elected from among three groups of academic disciplines), and 6 graduate students (elected by the Graduate Student Assembly), from degree programs across the Graduate School. 

The EDP Graduate Studies Committee (GSC)

The EDP GSC establishes degree requirements and policies for the department, manages 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, serve on Standing Committees, and 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 Administration

EDP Department administration consists of faculty members serving in the roles of Department Chair, Graduate Adviser, and Program Area Chairs, as well as EDP Department administrative staff.

Each academic department on campus has a Department Chair who oversees the functioning of the department. Departments with graduate programs also have a Graduate Adviser (faculty member) and Graduate Coordinator(s) (staff member) who serve as the administrative link between the Office of Graduate Studies and the department. Both the Department Chair and Graduate Adviser are nominated by faculty and approved by the College's academic dean.

EDP staff also manage administrative matters for the department, including HR, accounting, space management, travel, curriculum management, registration, etc.

See the EDP Staff and Faculty directories for position incumbents.

EDP Department Program Areas

The Department of Educational Psychology (EDP) is comprised of four distinct areas of specialization, or Program Areas, listed below. Each Program Area has an Area Chair: a faculty member within the program area who represents the program at department leadership meetings and oversees program advising, curriculum and student matters.

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 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/Clinical Child Psychology

The School/Clinical Child 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.

SP doctoral program overview and goals >

SP master's program overview and goals >