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Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Educational Psychology

Overview

Educational Psychology is an undergraduate degree program in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Foundations. This is a non-teaching major that leads to a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in educational psychology but not certification as a teacher.  You may find important program information including the handbook, curriculum guide, and supporting interest area course list below:

You should consider educational psychology major if you are interested in working with people of various ages and in a range of settings. It is an appropriate major for those who want to work in helping professions but are not seeking to become a classroom teacher.  The Educational Psychology B.S. degree can now also be completed online.  Our online program (https://online.msstate.edu/epy/) offers great flexibility for those who want to build a solid foundation in educational psychology. 

Educational psychology is the science of learners and learning, including their differences and their development as they grow and change. These differences include changes that are biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial. Educational psychologists are interested in areas that affect students’ learning and achievement; such that they are interested in understanding motivation, individual differences in abilities, student exceptionalities, creative thinking, and personality. Educational psychology also involves learning the techniques of the scientific method that apply to our field—using tests and measurements, statistics, and research methodology. Thus, educational psychology involves a wide range of topics about people, and your major courses are designed to help you learn about these topics while also helping you learn the methods in how knowledge is gained in the field.

You should consider educational psychology if:

  • you enjoy helping and working with others,
  • you want to understand why people think and act the way they do, and
  • you seek enriching courses in human development, learning, and other topics relevant for applying psychology to teaching, coaching, counseling, and other professions. See career opportunities page.

Curriculum

  • To graduate with a B.S. degree in Educational Psychology, you will need to
    1. complete the following 124-hour degree program:
      • general education requirements (42 hours)
      • educational psychology major requirements (70 hours)
        • educational psychology major core (46 hours; C or better)
        • educational psychology other requirements (6 hours)
          • communication (3 hours)
          • human/cultural/diversity (3 hours)
        • supporting interest area area (18 hours)
      • general electives (12 hours)
    2. have a GPA of 2.25 or above on a 4.00 scale to transfer to and graduate from the program.
  • To finish the B.S. degree in EPY in four years with no summer school, you will need to take 15-16 hours each regular semester. If this is your first term at MSU and you've not yet taken a full load at a senior college, it would be a good idea to limit your first semester to 12 hours or 15 hours maximum.
  • You may only transfer 62 hours from junior or community colleges.
  • It is most important that you get to know your advisor and see that faculty member during preregistration times. Your degree program is your responsibility. Make sure your folder contains all transcripts. Keep your program up to date each time you visit your advisor.

Educational Psychology Faculty

Employment Opportunities

There are many exciting jobs for graduates of the B.S. degree in Educational Psychology. You may view some of these work opportunities at "What Can I do With an Educational Psychology Degree?"

Accelerated Master's Program in Educational Psychology

Highly qualified undergraduates at Mississippi State University are encouraged to apply to the Accelerated Master's Program in Educational Psychology. This program permits students to earn up to 15 hours of graduate level coursework during their final two years of undergraduate studies. Students take graduate-level courses and earn both undergraduate credit and graduate credit simultaneously. Upon completion of the graduate course(s), undergraduate credit is also awarded for the course. 

Students need to consult with their undergraduate EPY advisor prior to taking the course to ensure graduate credit could be applied to a program of study for the M.S. degree in General Educational Psychology.

Application Process and Criteria:

Application to this program may be made after achieving Junior classification (i.e., after completion of 60 or more hours of graded undergraduate courses). The initial application will be to the EPY Program. The application deadlines for this program are November 1 (to begin in Spring semester) and May 1 (to begin in Fall semester). The accelerated master's program is offered only at Starkville (Campus 1). If a student intends to apply for this program, they should submit an application online prior to the deadline and before taking the courses for which the student would like to earn dual credit.

Requirements for entrance into the Accelerated Program for undergraduates include the following:

  • A GPA of 3.50 or higher on a 4.00 system for all undergraduate work
  • A minimum of 60 hours toward a bachelor's degree
  • A statement of purpose (500-750 words, e.g., why applying for the program)

Once the student is accepted into the accelerated program, the student and the advisor may select up to 15 hours that will satisfy both undergraduate and graduate requirements. These courses may be split level (i.e., split 4000-6000 level) or 8000 level courses. The student should take the courses for graduate credit (i.e., 6000-level or higher).

Students are permitted to opt out of the combined program at any time, at which point they could complete only the undergraduate portion of the program. No additional dual counting of courses would occur after the student leaves the combined program.

Students are expected to apply to the EPY graduate program by their last semester in which they are enrolled in the bachelor's program; however, students can apply as soon as they achieve junior classification status (i.e., completion of 60 credit hours). Application to the graduate degree program would be made through the standard application process via the Office of the Graduate School. Students will receive the bachelor's degree once the requirements for that degree are met. Students will be required to complete all the requirements for both the bachelors and master's degrees to receive both degrees, and those requirements will be identical to the requirements for students enrolled in the B.S. and M.S. programs. Students will be classified as undergraduates until they fulfill all the requirements for the undergraduate degree. At that time, they will be classified as graduate students and subject to the guidelines pertaining to the M.S. degree.

Minor in Educational Psychology

Students not majoring in educational psychology may wish to select a minor. An EPY minor provides students with a general background of psychological topics and principles as they relate to education. A minor consists of 18 hours of coursework in educational psychology. This includes 18 hours of EPY courses.

For the 18-hour minor in EPY, students may choose to complete any 18 hours from the following approved course list: 
EPY 2513, EPY 3063, EPY 3503, EPY 3543, EPY 4033, 
EPY 4073, EPY 4313, EPY 4513, EPY 4553, EPY 4683.

Contact undergraduate minor coordinator, Dr. Elaine Wei (ewei@colled.msstate.edu), for any questions you may have.