REQUIREMENTS FOR MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.S.)
Introduction
The M.S. program in Instructional Psychology & Technology prepares students to assume rofessional positions in instructional design and evaluation or to pursue a doctorate in these fields. All M.S. students will be required to complete at least 6 credit hours each Fall and Winter semester to remain enrolled in the program.
The program requires 3 hours of Prerequisite credit, 14 hours of Core credit, 1 hour of Seminar credit, a minimum of 3 hours of Internship credit, 6 hours of Master's Thesis or 6 hours of Master's Project credit, and 12 hours of Specialization credit as approved by the student's advisory committee for a total of 39 hours. Students may specialize in Instructional Design and Production, Multimedia in Education, or Research and Evaluation.
1) Entrance requirements: Submit a complete application, official transcripts, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores--verbal, quantitative, analytical; three letters of recommendation; and a letter of intent. See the Graduate Studies Catalog for university minimum GPA and TOEFL requirements. Note: The GRE must be taken two months in advance in order for the scores to reach the University by the admission deadlines.
2) Entry Times Fall Semester and Summer Term.
3) Application Deadlines: The application for admission deadline is February 1st for both U.S. and international students.
Prerequisite Requirements
All students are required to take 3 semester hours of prerequisite courses. The following courses are recommended:
No. Course Title Credit Hrs.
EDLF 617 Professional and Scholarly Writing in Education 3 OR English 316 Technical Writing 3
Prerequisite classes may be taken before or after admission to the M.S. program. However, if the classes are taken after admission to the program, they should be completed during the first year.
Department Seminars
The Department holds a seminar each week during the Fall & Winter Semesters on Wednesday from 12 – 2 p.m. in 359 MCKB. All students and faculty in the Department are expected to attend this seminar. Students may receive 0.5 hours of credit for participating in 80% of the seminar sessions during a given semester by enrolling in IP&T 690R. One hour of seminar credit (two semesters) is required for M.S. students.
Internships
The internship is a practicum under the supervision of a faculty member. The student performs work on a professional level for a client who may or may not be within the university community. The internship may or may not involve remuneration.
Each student may register for 1 to 3 hours of IP&T 680R credit during any given semester. Master’s students must complete a minimum of 3 credit hours of internship to graduate. Students should plan on working at least three hours per week for every hour of credit. Students may not register for more than 3 credit hours of internship per semester; although they may work more than 10 hours per week on an internship. A document describing the internship requirements in more detail is available from the Department Secretary. Core Requirements
All M.S. students, regardless of area of specialization should receive broad training in Instructional Science and Technology. Breadth of training allows students to approach problems from several perspectives and increases their overall employability. In order to obtain this broad preparation it is strongly recommended that all students take the following core courses:
No. Course Title Credit Hrs.
IP&T 515 Microcomputers in School 1
IP&T 564 Instructional Design 3
IP&T 551 Quantitative Reasoning 3
IP&T 672 Empirical Inquiry in Education 3
IP&T 652 Assessing Learning Outcomes 4
Substitutions may be made for any of the courses listed above upon written justification and approval of the advisory committee.
Specialization Credit
There are three fields of specialization for M.S. students: Instructional Design and Production, Multimedia in Education, and Research and Evaluation. Every student is required to take a minimum of 12 hours of graduate credit in an area of specialization. Specialization courses may be selected from the following lists of IP&T courses, courses from other departments, approved Minor courses, etc. These courses should be selected in accordance with the guidelines given (p. 4) for each specialization and must be approved by the students' advisory committee no later than the end of the second semester after admittance to the program.
Specialization Courses
A. Instructional Psychology & Technology Courses 1. Development and Production Courses IP&T 655 Instructional Print Design and Production IP&T 665 Instructional Visual/Video IP&T 682 Project & Instruct. Resource Management IP&T 664 Advanced Instructional Design IP&T 760 Advanced CAI Programming
2. Research Courses IP&T 673 Research Synthesis and Conceptualization IP&T 674R Inquiry Methods Naturalistic Inquiry in Education Quasi-Experimental Studies Cost-Benefit Analysis in Education Meta-Analysis Theory Building & Modeling in Education
3. Evaluation and Measurement IP&T 653 Measurement Theory IP&T 663 Evaluation of Educational Programs and Curricula 4. Other IP&T 657R, 667R,Projects 677R, or 687R IP&T 680R Internships IP&T 693R Directed Individual Study
B. Other Departments (Undergraduate courses may apply toward prerequisite requirements, but they may not apply towards specialization credit.) Recommended courses include, but are not limited to the following:
1. Psychology Psych 520 Advanced Developmental Psychology Psych 531 Organizational Psychology Psych 535 Behavior Modification Techniques Psych 550 Theory & Research in Social Psychology Psych 560 Learning Theory Psych 565 Motivational Psychology Psych 575 Cognitive Processes Psych 584 Cognitive Neuroscience Psych 655 Attitude Measurement & Change Psych 678R Seminar in Mathematical Psychology
2. Statistics Stat 334 Methods of Survey Sampling Stat 435 Analysis of Categorical and other Nonparametric Data Stat 531 Experimental Design Stat 534 Sampling Stat 536 Modern Regression Methods Stat 611 Multivariate Statistical Methods
3. Others Comms 345 Producing and Performing for Television Hist 490 Historical Research & Writing Anth 442 Ethnographic Skills Phil 305 Predicate Logic
Students specializing in Instructional Design and Production may select courses from any of the options described before. However, it is recommended that students emphasize IP&T courses in Development and Production. Other highly recommended courses include IP&T 661 -Evaluation in Education and IP&T 620 - Principles of Learning.
Students specializing in Multimedia in Education should select courses in Development and Production with an emphasis in Computer Production courses. Internships and the Master's Thesis should involve issues related to multimedia in education. Other recommended courses include IP&T 661 - Evaluation in Education and IP&T 620 - Principles of Learning.
Students specializing in Research and Evaluation should select specialization coursework from IP&T courses in Research , Evaluation, and Measurement.
Declared Minor
Students are free to take relevant coursework in any other department on campus as approved by their advisory committee. If a student wishes to declare a minor in another discipline, that student should contact the department concerned for information on requirements for a minor. Special Seminars
Four or more students with interest in a special, narrow topic of Instructional Science may request that a faculty member sponsor a seminar in that special area. These seminars are associated with assigned IP&T credit. This credit may be used toward the fulfillment of the specialization requirement.
Master's Thesis/Project and Final Oral Examination
A minimum of 6 hours of thesis (IP&T 699R) credit or project (IP&T 698R) credit is required for graduation. M.S. students are required to complete their work with a Master's Thesis/Project and to give an oral defense of their thesis/project in a Final Oral Examination. Questions related to the Thesis/Project will test the students' ability to synthesize and practically apply information obtained from their courses, internships, and other experiences.
Once a student has decided on a thesis/project topic and identified a chairman and advisory committee, the student must prepare a thesis/project prospectus. The prospectus must be approved by the student's advisory committee and the department chair before the study may be conducted.
After the written thesis/project has been approved by the student's advisory committee in a preliminary oral exam, the student should make arrangements through the department secretary (a minimum of two weeks in advance) for the final Oral Examination.
A document describing the thesis/project requirements in more detail may be obtained from the department secretary.
Department Enrollment and Progress Policies
To encourage, facilitate and monitor student progress in the program, the faculty have approved the following policies:
According to the Office of Graduate Studies, students should submit a program of study by the third week of their second semester or term. A study list must be submitted before students will be allowed to register for the third semester or term.
Students may not register for internship, project or thesis credit without approval from their committee chair or sponsor.
Students who do not register for at least 6 credit hours per year will be automatically dropped from the program.
Once students are dropped from the program, they will have to apply to be considered for readmission in February and compete with new students for admission.
Readmission for students who have not completed any course work, projects, etc., for two years will be very unlikely.
The five year time limit for completing the master’s degree is strictly enforced.