Skip to Content

Educational Psychology and Research, Ph.D.

College of Education

Gain extensive research skills and in-depth knowledge of theories and findings on development, learning, instruction, motivation and cognition. Concentrate on educational psychology or education research.

You have the potential to influence educational policy and practice. Get involved in cutting-edge research aligned with your interests like motivation and emotion, bullying and peer relations, survey design or assessment. Our productive faculty are publishing in top-tier journals and have outstanding records for securing funding.

Program Highlights

  • Lightbulb emitting light icon.

    Make an Impact

    Provide service to agencies soliciting expertise to address critical educational research questions.

  • Speech bubbles icon.

    Get Noticed

    Publish research in peer-reviewed journals and present at international conferences with help from our supportive staff.

  • Sketchbook with pencil icon.

    Practical Experience

    Pursue opportunities to participate in state and federally-funded research projects by joining a research team.

  • Safe distance for person icon.

    Career Options

    Work in various roles such as college professor, lead researcher or consultant in a state department of education.

What You’ll Study

The psychology concentration develops your understanding of psychological factors that influence human learning and their relationship to educational settings. The research concentration builds competencies in measurement and statistics for evaluating programs, research design, test construction and analyzing data with computer statistical packages.

Building Skills

Gain the professional and personal intelligence it takes to have a successful career.

  • Data Analysis

    Examining and interpreting information to uncover insights and inform decision making

    Collaboration

    Working with others to achieve a common goal or objective

    Organizational Skills

    Planning, prioritizing and managing tasks and resources to achieve specific objectives

  • Research

    Gathering and analyzing information to increase knowledge or solve problems

    Leadership

    Inspiring and guiding others to achieve common goals and reach their full potential

    Teamwork

    Working collaboratively with others to achieve a shared goal or objective

Using your degree

Make your college experience the foundation for a successful future.

Learn how alumni use degrees with outcome data from Gamecock GradStats, a service of the University of South Carolina Career Center.

Potential Careers

  • Faculty Member
  • Researcher
  • Assessment Officer
  • Testing Developer
  • Data Analyst
  • Director

Job Titles of Alumni

  • Director of Student Disability Services
  • Data Analyst
  • Clinical Associate Professor
  • Senior Education and Training Specialist
  • Senior Research and Evaluation Analyst

Average Alumni Salary

Five to 10 years after graduation without additional education $97,321

Workplace Settings

  • Education
  • State and Federal Government
  • Health Care
  • Research

Employers of Alumni

  • University of South Carolina
  • Regional Medical Center
  • South Carolina Department of Education
  • U.S. Department of Defense
  • Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
  • Association of American Medical Colleges

The program provided me with opportunities to be involved in different collaborative research projects. These experiences allowed me to work directly with students, educators, and educational institutions, thereby I gained experience in every aspect of research.

Gresi Bonomo Irdam
Portrait of Gresi Bonomo Irdam
©