Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology

Harold Abel School of Psychology

Educational Psychology Specialization

Deepen your knowledge of educational development and psychological research with this PhD in Educational Psychology specialization that can be tailored to meet your professional needs and research interests. Through your choice of electives, you can focus your study in such areas as instructional design science, teaching science, or developmental science, or choose a broader field of study. People who choose this specialization often plan to pursue careers as professors, educational psychologists, researchers, program administrators, or consultants.

The residential colloquia experience

As a doctoral learner, you will attend three one-week colloquia at specific stages in your program, in addition to your online courses. These energizing residencies provide you with insights and knowledge that will be valuable during your doctoral studies and beyond.

• Interactive guide to becoming doctoral at Capella colloquia
• A preview of the doctoral colloquium experience
• Colloquia schedules and other details

All credits listed below are quarter credits.

Core Courses

• PSY8002 - Orientation to Doctoral Learning in Psychology - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7110 - History and Systems of Psychology - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7210 - Lifespan Development - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7421 - Cognitive/Affective Psychology - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7520 - Social Psychology - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7543 - Ethics and multicultural Issues in Psychology* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7625 - Advanced Inferential Statistics* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7656 - Advanced Research Methods* - 5 quarter credits

Specialization Courses

• PSY7411 - Learning Theories in Psychology* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7610 - Tests and measurement – 5 quarter credits
• PSY7615 - Data analysis with SPSS – 5 quarter credits
• PSY8100 - Principles of Educational Psychology - 5 quarter credits
• PSY8120 - Computer Mediated Instruction/Learning - 5 quarter credits
• PSY9919 - Doctoral Comprehensive Examination* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY9920 - Dissertation Courseroom* - non-credit
• PSY9921 - Dissertation Research 1* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY9922 - Dissertation Research 2* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY9923 - Dissertation Research 3* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY9924 - Dissertation Research 4* - 5 quarter credits
•  
• In addition, choose 20 quarter credits from the following courses
• PSY7220 - Child Psychology - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7230 - Adolescent Psychology - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7240 - Adult Psychology - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7626 - Multivariate Statistics: Theory and Application* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7630 - Qualitative Analysis - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7660 - Survey Construction and Administration* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY8130 - Adult Learner in the Classroom - 5 quarter credits
• PSY8170 - Principles of Instructional Design - 5 quarter credits
• PSY8763 - Program Evaluation* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY8810 - Geriatric Psychology - 5 quarter credits
• PSY8992 - Selected Topics in Psychology - 2 quarter credits
• ED7210 - The Delivery of Distance Education - 4 quarter credits
• ED7211 - Designing Online Instruction - 4 quarter credits
• OR
• Choose one of the following recommended Educational Psychology concentrations
•  

For a research methodology concentration

• PSY7626 - Multivariate Statistics: Theory and Application* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7660 - Survey Construction and Administration* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY8763 - Program Evaluation* - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7630 - Qualitative Analysis - 5 quarter credits
•  

For a learning and instructional design concentration

• PSY8130 - Adult Learner in the Classroom - 5 quarter credits
• PSY8170 - Principles of Instructional Design - 5 quarter credits
• ED7210 - The Delivery of Distance Education – 4 quarter credits
• ED7211 - Designing Online Instruction - 4 credits*
• PSY8992 - Selected Topics in Psychology - 2 quarter credits

The total number of required courses for this concentration is 23.

•  

For a child and adult development concentration

• PSY7220 - Child Psychology - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7230 - Adolescent Psychology - 5 quarter credits
• PSY7240 - Adult Psychology - 5 quarter credits
• PSY8110 - Geriatric Psychology - 5 quarter credits

Two Elective Courses

• Choose any graduate courses

Note: Courses without a PSY designation may be worth fewer than five credits. Learners must carefully plan their elective courses to ensure that total credit requirements for the degree are met. Special topics courses in the Harold Abel School of Psychology can be used as an option to complete he total required credits needed for graduation.

Course Descriptions

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Learn more about our related specializations:

Master's degree

• Educational Psychology
• Evaluation, Research, and Measurement
• School Psychology
• Sport Psychology

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