Doctorate in Educational Psychology
Course Directors:
Professor Peter Farrell and Dr Garry Squires
The professional doctorate programme for qualified educational psychologists recruits students annually. Each year we have an open day in May for prospective students to meet with the tutors and find out more about the course. Interviews are then held in June. This webpage gives an overview of the course and a more detailed course handbook is available as a PDF file from the link at the bottom of the page.
The course offers an opportunity for participants to develop advanced skills and knowledge in the theory and practice of educational psychology and to pursue original lines of research. It combines taught elements, covering new and innovative developments in educational psychology with training in contemporary approaches to applied research.
Taught elements:
The taught elements consist of workshops totalling 5 days per year and associated research training. The workshops encompass psychological assessment and intervention for individuals, groups and institutions. Their precise nature and content reflect current developments and new initiatives in the field and, also, the needs and wishes of the cohort of students on the course. One of the workshops is offered as a freestanding CPD course for practising educational psychologists.
Students attend seminars at the university for a day per month. The contents include:
- Teaching of research methods
- Invited speakers
- Presentations from students about their project work
Students may also attend additional sessions arranged to teach specific research skills. These are identified through an annual skills audit.
Learning resources are available to registered students through the course webCT site and can be accessed using the internet.
Tutorial support:
Students are allocated a tutor who supervises their work throughout the course. Other staff with relevant expertise may be asked to support students on particular aspects of the academic programme. Tutorials are arranged at a time convenient to the student and the tutor and are additional to the monthly seminars.
Assessment:
Students are required to submit the following for assessment:
- Three assignments linking theory, research and professional practice as an educational psychologist (8-10,000 words each).
- A thesis (40,000-50,000 words)
Detailed guidelines for the presentation of assignments and the thesis are given to students at the start of the course. All assessed work is expected to be of a standard suitable for publication in a referred journal.
Length of course:
Five to six years part-time.
- DEdPsych course handbook 2007/08 (PDF, 254 KB)