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Masters Program Requirements

Masters Program Requirements

Overview:   The M.S. program in Instructional Psychology and Technology prepares students to assume professional 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: 

for a total of at least 39 hours of credit. Students may specialize in Instructional Design and Production, Multimedia in Education, or Research and Evaluation.  Maters students should also make themselves aware of the department enrollment and progress policy.
   
Prerequisite
Requirements:		   A high level of writing proficiency is required throughout the Masters program. A technical writing course or demonstrated competence is required as a prerequisite. One of the following courses is recommended:
  • EDLF 617 Professional & 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. 
   
Seminar
Credit:		   The IP&T department holds a seminar each week during the Fall & Winter Semesters on Wednesday at 12:00 noon - 1:00 pm. All students and faculty in the Department are expected to attend this seminar. Students may receive 0.5 hrs. 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.
   
Internship
Requirements:		   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 599R credit during any given semester. Masters 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. Consult the Internship Guide for information about how to find and register for an internship.
   
Core
Requirements:		  

All M.S. students, regardless of area of specialization should receive broad training in Instructional Psychology 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: 

Number Course Title Credit Hours
IP&T 520 Foundations of Technology 3
IP&T 564 Instructional Design 3
IP&T 550 Empirical Inquiry and Statistics 6
IP&T 661 Introduction to Evaluation 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
Requirements:		   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 7 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.

Students specializing in Instructional Design and Production may select courses from any of those listed below. However, it is recommended that they emphasize IP&T courses in Development and Production. 

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. 

Students specializing in Research and Evaluation should select specialization coursework from IP&T courses in Research, Evaluation, and Measurement. 

It is also recommended that students in all specializations consider taking IP&T 620 Principles of Learning.
Specialization
Courses:		  

A. Instructional Psychology and Technology Courses 

1.  Development and Production Courses 
  • IP&T 560 Microcomputer Materials Production 
  • IP&T 655 Instructional Print Design and Production
  • IP&T 664 Advanced Instructional Design 
  • IP&T 665 Instructional Visual/Video Production
  • IP&T 682 Project & Instructional Resource Management 
  • IP&T 760 Advanced CAI Programming 
2.  Research Courses
  • IP&T 656 Qualitative Inquiry in Education  
  • IP&T 750 Research Synthesis and Conceptualization  
  • IP&T 756 Advanced Qualitative Inquiry in Education  
3.  Evaluation and Measurement  4.  Other 
B. Other Departments 
(100 and 200 level courses may not apply towards the Masters Degree.) 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 677R Seminar in Cognitive Processes
2.  Statistics
  • Stat 334 Methods of Survey Sampling 
  • Stat 435 Analysis of Categorical and other Non-parametric Data 
  • Stat 510 Introduction to Statistics
  • Stat 511 Statistical Methods for Research 1
  • Stat 512 Statistical Methods for Research 2
  • Stat 531 Experimental Design 
  • Stat 534 Sampling 
  • Stat 536 Modern Regression Analysis 
  • Stat 611 Multivariate Statistical Methods 
  • Psych 501 Data Analysis in Psychological Research 1
  • Psych 502 Data Analysis in Psychological Research 2
3.  Others
  • Anth 442 Ethnographic Skills
  • CHum 281 Computers and Teaching 1
  • CHum 287 Programming Humanitites Applications 1
  • CpIn 230 Introduction to Multimedia
  • CS 142 Introduction to Computer Programming
  • CS 404 Ethics & Computers in Society
  • EdLF 672 Research Methods
  • Hist 490 Historical Research & Writing  
  • Phil 305 Predicate Logic 
     
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
Seminar:		   Four or more students with interest in a special, narrow topic of Instructional Psychology and Technology 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.
   

Masters
Thesis/Project:

  

A minimum of 6 hours of thesis credit, IP&T 699R, or project credit, IP&T 698R, is required for graduation. Students are required to complete their work on 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 student's ability to synthesize and practically apply information obtained from their courses, interships, 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 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 online or from the department secretary.
   
Department
Policies:		  

To encourage, facilitate and monitor student progress in the program, the faculty has approved the following policies. 

  • With guidance from your chair and advisory committee, prepare your Program of Study plan using the Program of Study Form Word].
  • Students should submit a Program of Study Form by the third week of their second semester or term. A program of study list must be submitted before students will be allowed to register for the third semester or term.
  • Students should 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 each 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. 
  • The five year time limit for completing the Master's graduate degree is strictly enforced.

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