Master of Science (M.S.) in Educational Psychology

Admission will be limited to the most qualified applicants based on a combination of the following:

• An undergraduate grade-point average of 3.00 or above.
• If graduate coursework has been completed, a graduate, grade-point average of 3.00 or above.
• Preference may be given to students with scores above the 50th percentile on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
• A score of 600 or above on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is also required for students who do not speak English as their first language.
• Three letters of reference from university faculty or other individuals qualified to judge the applicant's academic potential.
• The applicant's statement of professional interests and goals.

The admission process begins with applications submitted to the Graduate College.

Specific instructions are included in the application materials. Admission applications are reviewed in the spring semester. Applications must be received by March 15.

Students will be required to take core courses in three specialty areas: (1) learning and development, (2) research methods and measurement, and (3) specialty electives. Students may specialize in learning, development, evaluation, instructional design, quantitative and/or qualitative research methodologies.

The M.S. consists of 34 credits. Of these, 16 are required courses, 12 are electives, and 6 will directed toward the culminating project. Individual programs of study may exceed the minimum requirements and specific coursework will vary depending on particular area of emphasis.

A complete listing of the course requirements is available in the UNLV Graduate Catalog.

The culminating experience for the Master of Science in Educational Psychology is determined by the area of specialization. Examples are:

Thesis Option:

• EPY 749 Thesis (6 Credits)

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.

Comprehensive Exam Option:

The comprehensive exam option for the culminating experience is comprised of questions reflective of the three core areas (learning; development; research methods, statistics, and measurement), and the student's specialty. All students who take the comprehensive exam in a given semester will respond to three items (one from each of the core areas) from a set selected for that semester. In consultation with the Comprehensive Examination Evaluation Committee, the student's adviser/committee chair will create an additional item to reflect the student's elective courses or internship. All students completing the comprehensive exam will respond to the items during a four-day time frame schedule to allow the student to graduate at the end of that semester.

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. For students who do not complete an internship, additional specialty/elective courses are required for the minimum of 34 credits for the Master of Science degree.