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Educational Psychology Minor

College of Community Studies and Public Affairs / Psychology
Undergraduate minor

About The Program

The educational psychology minor is designed for those students who are interested in the theory and application of psychology in education. Such students might be interested in working with early childhood development programming, education, prevention/early intervention work or in areas of training and education within an organizational setting. The minor fits well with other majors including social work, human services, education, and human resources.

To complete the educational psychology minor, students are required to take a minimum of 20 credits of psychology, at least 12 of these credits must be taken at Metropolitan State and at least 12 credits must be upper division.

How to enroll

Current students: Declare this program

Once you’re admitted as an undergraduate student and have met any further admission requirements your chosen program may have, you may declare a major or declare an optional minor.

Future students: Apply now

Apply to Metropolitan State: Start the journey toward your Educational Psychology Minor now. Learn about the steps to enroll or, if you have questions about what Metropolitan State can offer you, request information, visit campus or chat with an admissions counselor.

Get started on your Educational Psychology Minor

Courses and Requirements

SKIP TO COURSE REQUIREMENTS

To complete the educational psychology minor, students are required to take a minimum of 20 credits. Of these credits, 12 must be taken at Metropolitan State and 12 credits must be upper division. More specific course requirements are below.

Educational Psychology Minor Requirements (20 credits)

+ Required Courses

This course introduces psychological perspective to teaching and learning in classroom contexts through an overview of theories, principles, issues, and related research in educational psychology. Through readings, lectures, discussions, videos, activities and assignments, we will explore thinking, learning and memory in both classroom and daily life situations. Topics include, but not limited to: child and adolescent development, research in educational psychology, cognitive process and motivation, information processing, assessment of student learning, classroom management, and instructional strategies in education.

Full course description for Educational Psychology

+ Guided electives

Choose at least one (additional choices can be used to meet requirements)

This course provides an understanding of the basic concepts and techniques involved in selecting, administering, scoring and interpreting psychological tests. Validity, reliability, standardization, norms and ethical issues are covered in the measurement of intellect, aptitude, achievement, interest and personality. Learning strategies include test demonstrations. Students take, score (where possible) and interpret several different tests.

Full course description for Psychological Testing

This course introduces students to the history of learning theories, and the development of current theories of learning such as classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning. An emphasis is on the basic methods of inquiry, as well as on applications of learning theories to areas such as education, business and behavioral change. This course is well-suited to students interested in education, as well as psychology, and is often preparation for graduate study in psychology and education.

Full course description for Psychology of Learning: Contemporary Theories and Applications

What is the role of the future in educational psychology and educational thought and teaching? In this independent study, students study topics related to education in the twenty-first century; alternative learning environments, modes and strategies; the current status of lifelong-learning philosophy, theories and methods in the United States and abroad; and futurist technology and research methods. Students learn techniques for futuristic/creative thinking about relationships and systems, and develop skills to assist them in resolving cultural, linguistic and other barriers to effective education and learning.

Full course description for Education Futures

Students in this course examine the potential problems and ethical decision making in the applied behavior analysis field. Topics include the field's learning principles, history, ethical considerations, the behavioral model (identification of target behaviors, behavior measurement, intervention techniques and evaluation) and implementation strategies in a variety of contexts including clinical settings. Students also review recently published literature describing behavior analysis research.

Full course description for Practical Behavior Analysis and Modification

+ Electives (additional courses that can be used to meet requirements)

This course covers the theory and developmental processes of adolescence, including viewpoints of adolescence, self and adolescent identity, biological influences, thinking and intelligence, and development of moral values and adolescent pathologies. Students learn to identify and describe these variables as interactive in the developmental process.

Full course description for Adolescent Psychology

This course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the social-learning approach and corresponding set of techniques for teaching and modifying individual behavior in group settings where the opportunity for individual attention is limited. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of individual differences among children, including ethnic and gender differences. It is designed for individuals who have an interest in and/or responsibility for working with children, ages two-12, in group settings such as school-age child care and schools.

Full course description for Working with Children in the Middle Years

This course is an introduction to formal and informal assessment strategies and their application to work with young children. The emphasis is on observing, recording and using authentic performance-based assessment, communicating assessment results to colleagues and parents, and applying assessment data to curriculum planning.

Full course description for Observing and Assessing Young Children: Birth Through Age Five

In this course students explore questions related to psychology's response to diversity and ethical principles, including: How has psychology dealt with issues of culture, race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation and ableism? How has this influenced basic theories in psychology? How does this affect specific groups or individuals in areas of research, assessment and therapeutic practice? What are the ethical standards that guide, and the ethical dilemmas that currently face, the field of psychology? How do issues of diversity and ethical principles influence and intersect with each other? Further, this course is designed to develop and expand students' critical knowledge of the central role of race, racism, and anti-racism in multiple contexts of society and aspects of everyday life. Students are asked to think critically about the societal and individual effects inherent in the information covered in this course.

Full course description for Introduction to Diversity and Ethics in Psychology

In this course, students learn how family life affects individuals by examining the current theories and research on family systems. Learning strategies include role-playing demonstrations. Evaluation is based in part on individually-designed projects on the family of origin. Recommended: An introductory sociology or psychology course.

Full course description for Family Systems

Forums are on topics of current importance in the field of psychology and are offered in collaboration with the Minnesota Psychological Association. Students are asked to write papers summarizing the content and discussing the relevance of principles and practices presented to their own activities or within a specified hypothetical context. Specific topics are listed in the Class Schedule or announced in the Catalyst. Note: At least 12 credits in psychology, human services, or social work prior to registration.

Full course description for Friday Forum Topics