Overview
Completing an acceptable prospectus and passing the qualifying (prospectus) examinations are prerequisites for admission to doctoral candidacy in Educational Psychology. They are part of the evaluative criteria used to determine which students will be permitted to continue in the program to pursue a Ph.D.
As part of qualifying for admission to doctoral candidacy, each student must prepare, and be examined on, a prospectus based on some topic of research interest relevant to educational psychology. The prospectus will consist of an annotated reading list, an integrative review, and a proposal for a research study based on the chosen topic. The prospectus is prepared under the supervision of a prospectus adviser, who will be selected from available faculty by the student and appointed by the Graduate Adviser.
With the approval of their faculty adviser, students choose their 5th, 6th, or 7th semester for their prospectus due date. Since prospectus advisers must be selected about a year before the prospectus is due, and since there is information disseminated prior to that selection process, students are strongly advised to let the Graduate Coordinator know, as soon as possible, in which semester they will turn in their prospectus.
Before the semester in which their prospectus is due, students must have satisfactorily completed six domain courses (one primary and one secondary in Domain 1, and one primary each in Domains 2, 3, 4, and 5). Failure to complete these six domain courses before the deadline will result in the student failing the prospectus process, and the GSC will determine whether the student may be given an Option 2, Option 3, or Option 4 (see Evaluation for Advancement to Candidacy).
Following the submission of the prospectus summary, a prospectus evaluation committee is formed by the Graduate Adviser. The committee consists of the prospectus adviser (as chair) and two other members of the faculty. The Graduate Adviser comprises the committee based on faculty ratings of their ability to serve (based on knowledge of the topic), the program area of faculty, and distribution of workload among faculty. The committe will prepare a written and an oral examination. These exams may cover any aspect of the prospectus, as well as theories, methods, and content not addressed in the prospectus, but covered in domain or area courses completed by the student.
Regardless of which semester you choose to turn in your prospectus, you must take two semesters of 396T before the end of the turn-in semester, or the GSC cannot vote on your eligibility for advancement to candidacy. No other course may be substituted for the 396T course. A summer registration is permissible only with the prior agreement of the prospectus adviser, who must agree to be available to supervise during the summer. These courses are a part of the Program of Work, and the student cannot advance to candidacy if these courses are not successfully completed.
