It takes a minimum of 30 credit hours to complete a master’s degree either on campus or online. For more information, go to our Master’s Degree webpage.

Applicants holding a bachelor’s degree are eligible for entry into the EDPR doctoral program. They can obtain a master’s degree after they fulfill the master’s level requirements on the path to their doctorate.

Ideally, in your application to the program, you would name 2-3 current faculty members with whom you would like to work. Your top choice would usually be assigned as your advisor if you are accepted into the program. You will be assigned an advisor if you did not include this information in your application. Students may ask to work with professors or switch to a new advisor whose research interest is congruent with their own once they begin the program. 

Yes. Applicants who are accepted in the EDPR program are expected to participate in research. Once students are enrolled in the program, research is their priority in the program. They will be asked to assist faculty in research, join collaborative research, and conduct independent research.

Before you apply to the program or while you are studying in the program, contact the professor you are interested in working with to get more information or send your inquiry to the faculty program coordinator.

EDPR faculty members do not have lab spaces but classrooms are commonly used for lab meetings in Ball Hall. It is important for students to examine the faculty members’ publications to learn whether they want to get involved in a particular type of research. Feel free to make an appointment with every faculty member to learn what kind of research opportunities are available.

The requirements and details for each degree program can be found under the “Degrees & Certificates” dropdown at the website of Educational Psychology and Research.

The approximate tuition can be found here: cost of attendance estimator >. Students who are employees of certain organizations (e.g., UofM, UT Health Sciences) may be able to take advantage of the Educational Assistance benefit programs.  

Classes are offered online and in-person. Both in person and online students are able to register for either course format. Students in the online M.S. degree program can fully complete the program through online courses. 

A full-time M.S. student may need 4 semesters and a part-time M.S. student may need 3 - 4 years. For a full-time Ph.D. student, it takes about 6-7 years, similar to the national average completion time.

Career options

No. The primary focus of the EDPR program is to foster research within the education setting. Prospective applicants who desire to pursue a career in counseling or school psychology are encouraged to apply to the counseling program or the school psychology program at the University of Memphis that are designed with that goal in mind.

No. To prepare for working as a school psychologist, please visit the School Psychology Program at the University of Memphis.

Please see our flyer titled, “What can I do with an M.S. in Educational Psychology and Research."

Because our students come to our program from a great variety of backgrounds, there is no way to characterize their careers in a single statement. Most full-time and international students who graduated from the program have become faculty members and researchers in higher education. Most part-time students received a promotion in their existing full-time position outside of higher education.

For the current EDPR M.S. program description and requirements, search for Educational Psychology and Research, (MS) in the Academic Catalog. For the current EDPR Ph.D. program description and requirements, search for Educational Psychology and Research (PhD) in the Academic Catalog

There are two types of elective courses for EDPR students to choose from: those within the EDPR major and those available in the graduate school catalog across campus. EDPR students are required to take core courses (See the Academic Catalog, 24 hours for Ph.D. and 12 for M.S.). Students can discuss with their advisor about what elective courses they may take with EDPR and across campus.

For the spring class offerings and schedule, check your MyMemphis account Student Pages My Resources for the registration tool links around the first week of November. For the summer and fall courses, check your MyMemphis account Student Pages My Resources for the registration tool links around the first week of April.

Note: There are a limited number of catalog courses available each semester and some available courses have limited seats available. It is always a good idea to sign up for your courses earlier. Avoid taking all the required courses first. You would be better off by taking infrequently offered EDPR courses when they are offered. Speak with your advisor if you are uncertain.

In general, if you are from a field of inquiry noticeably different from Educational Psychology and Research, you should start with foundation courses like Life-Span Human Development, and Introduction to Research Design and Methodology. These courses are in the EDPR core courses (15 credits in all). However, other than the required core courses, you are free to take other EDPR elective courses in any order after consulting with your advisor. Take those EDPR courses that are not offered every semester as soon as they are made available. Some courses are offered only every 2 or 3 years.

It is difficult to predict whether some courses, especially the upper-level courses, will be available in the next semester. It is advisable to take your major’s electives as early as you can in your program to avoid the problem of a course not being offered later on. We strongly encourage students to sign up early for courses when the availability date first starts. The student should ask their advisor or the instructor about individual course offerings. 

Yes. You are welcome to take EDPR courses in either format especially in our M.S. program. However, our doctoral students are expected to take courses on campus although some EDPR courses are offered online for the 8000 level. Doctoral students should consult their advisors if they must take an online course in a special circumstance.

Yes. It is advisable to take your major’s electives as early as you can in your program to avoid the problem of a course not being offered later on. We strongly encourage students to sign up early for courses when the availability date first starts. The student should ask their advisor or the instructor about individual course offerings. 

student with a master’s degree needs to complete 54 hours to meet the doctorate program requirement. A doctoral student with only a bachelor’s degree will complete 72 credit hours. For more information on the EDPR program requirements, go to our Ph.D. Degree webpage.

The Residency Project is a milestone in your doctoral program which demonstrate your ability to conduct an independent research project. You need to complete it no later than the end of your coursework. Only upon its completion may you take the comprehensive examinations.

EDPR has the highest percentage of international students in the College of Education, especially among doctoral students. One half of the master’s students are African Americans. There are more women than men in both M.S. and Ph.D. program. Many students already developed a career before entering the program.

The EDPR program provides a reference list of past and current students’ publications upon request.

The department is more than likely to offer a graduate assistantship to a full-time doctoral student. But it is not automatic and guaranteed. It is assessed annually and contingent on the student’s academic performance. Students may apply for an assistantship when applying for admission.

The department offers graduate assistantships in the beginning of the academic year primarily to full-time doctoral students. A graduate assistantship usually consists of a tuition waiver up to 4 courses and a monthly stipend for 9 months. An assistant may be assigned to a variety of academically or administratively related tasks. Assistantships are also offered at other locations on campus for which EDPR students are welcome to apply.

At the University of Memphis, the financial aid for a graduate student is uniformly called Graduate Assistantship, also known as GA. It varies greatly by amount, location, and work assignment. One common type of work assignments is to assist a professor in teaching. Another common type is to assist a professor in conducting research. So, TA (teaching assistant) and RA (research assistant) are work assignments covered under GA (graduate assistantship).

Our department in general does not offer any financial aid to master’s students. However, there are assistantship openings at times across campus. Students are encouraged to seek financial aid opportunities across campus.

Yes. In February 2021, the University of Memphis was ranked a top military friendly schools for seven consecutive years. Once you have registered for classes as a degree-seeking graduate student, fill out and submit Veterans’ Yellow Ribbon Request form. For more information, consult University’s Program and Benefits webpage.