Department of Psychology and Special Education

In addition to graduate degrees, our department offers the Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees with a major in psychology. This major prepares students for graduate study in psychology and for careers in psychology-related fields. A graduate with a major in psychology should possess the following competencies: 1) knowledge of the scientific method, research design and statistics, and their application in the study of human behavior, and 2) understanding of basic psychological principles, critical thinking skills, and the nature of cognitive processing.

The juxtaposition of Psychology with Special Education is uncommon, but we find a sensible alignment of programs. Likewise, although ours is not an educational psychology program per se, the Ph.D. has its emphasis in educational psychology--specifically the area of cognition & instruction. The masters in psychology allows formal emphasis in school psychology (Specialist degree), applied (clinical) psychology, and experimental psychology, although other "tracks" are possible. A variety of options for a masters in special education are also available. Undergraduate courses for both majors and minors are offered in psychology or special education. For scholarship information related to any of these programs, click here. The purposes of our faculty are to provide instruction in the subject areas of psychology and special education, add to the knowledge base of those disciplines through scholarship, and to provide service to the community in our areas of professional expertise. Our department also provides access to several student organizations.

Like a large number of other psychology departments across America, ours emerged in the early 1960's. With its roots in pedagogy, the program has always been housed in the College of Education. The relationship between psychology and special education also runs deep here, with the programs having long been joined. The current emphasis on "cognition and instruction" emerged in the late 1990's, reflecting our commitment to evolve and develop curricula to meet the changing needs of our students. The clinic is also an integral part of our department. Our department is based primarily out of Commerce, but also provides classes in the metroplex, Navarro, Midlothian, and Collin County.