Human Development and Family Science, BS with grad track option leading to Educational Psychology, MS

Academically strong undergraduate students with a major or minor in human development and family science (HDFS) may apply for and be admitted to the master’s in educational psychology while still undergraduates. Doing so allows them to finish first their bachelor’s degree and then their master’s program on an accelerated pathway. With departmental approval, and subject to the requirements of the accelerated master’s degree (see below), four undergraduate courses are replaced with their graduate counterparts. These four graduate courses also count toward the 33 hours for the master’s degree in educational psychology.

Admission requirements and program policies

Admission requirements

Students who have completed 75 credit hours of undergraduate course work may apply for admission into the grad track program in educational psychology by submitting the following:

Official GRE scores: verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing. The department views higher GRE scores as positive indicators of potential success in the program. However, lower GRE scores do not exclude a candidate who shows positive indicators in other areas. GRE scores must be sent electronically from ETS, institutional code 6481.
At least two written letters of recommendation from individuals who can give evidence of the candidate’s reading, critical thinking, writing and quantitative skills. These letters must be sent from the references, signed and on letterhead. Preference is given to letters from full-time EPSY faculty and/or the UNT faculty from whom the applicant has taken upper-division or graduate courses.
Resume or vita that includes educational and any professional experiences.
A personal statement (1–3 pages) stating the applicant’s goals and rationale for applying to the desired degree concentration. Please describe any related job experiences or any relevant research and/or evaluation experiences.

Students meeting the grad track requirements will be notified to start the accelerated program after completing 90 credit hours of course work toward their undergraduate degree program. This official notification is required for taking graduate-level courses.

Program policies

All undergraduate students who have been accepted into the grad track degree program must complete all of the bachelor’s degree requirements and graduate within 12 months of the first day of the semester for which they were admitted to the accelerated program or enrollment in graduate level course work will be suspended.

In addition to meeting the requirements of the undergraduate degree, students in the grad track program are required to maintain an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0 while in the accelerated program. Students failing to meet this requirement will be dismissed from the grad track program (but retain the courses in their undergraduate degrees).

Please see the Graduate Catalog or department web page for additional requirements for the BS and MS degrees.

Program requirements

Students seeking a master’s concentration in Family Science will take the following courses in the grad track option:

EPSY 5050 - Foundations of Educational Research Methodology
EPSY 5323 - Parent and Family Education
EPSY 5413 - Family Relationships
EPSY 5443 - Family Economics and Management

Students seeking a master’s concentration in Learning and Development will take the following courses in the grad track option:

EPSY 5000 - Introduction to Educational Psychology
EPSY 5050 - Foundations of Educational Research Methodology
EPSY 5133 - Infant and Child Development
EPSY 5143 - Advanced Adolescent Development

Students seeking a master’s concentration in Child Life will take the following courses in the grad track option:

EPSY 5050 - Foundations of Educational Research Methodology
EPSY 5133 - Infant and Child Development
EPSY 5143 - Advanced Adolescent Development
EPSY 5213 - Child Life Seminar