An educational psychology degree is a graduate program in how people learn: the cognitive, developmental, motivational and social factors that shape learning, and the measurement tools used to study and improve it. It is an academic and applied degree rather than a licensing one. Most master's programs in educational psychology do not lead to a state credential, which is exactly why so many of them can be completed fully online.
That non-licensure status confuses people, because the degree sits next to two licensed fields: school psychology and school counseling. This guide explains the difference, lays out what you can do with the degree, and lists verified online master's programs at regionally accredited public universities.
What an educational psychology degree is
Educational psychology master's programs usually carry an M.Ed., M.A. or M.S. title and run 30 to 36 credits. Course titles vary by university, but the core clusters are consistent:
- Learning and cognition: memory, attention, problem solving, transfer, and how instruction changes what students can do.
- Human development: cognitive, social and emotional development from early childhood through adulthood, with attention to individual differences.
- Motivation and self-regulation: mindsets, self-efficacy, goal setting and the habits that drive persistence. Readers of this site's measuring MESH resources will recognize the research base.
- Measurement and assessment: test construction, reliability and validity, classroom and large-scale assessment, and basic statistics.
- Research methods: reading, critiquing and designing studies, often with a capstone project or thesis.
Programs then specialize. The University of Georgia, for example, offers online emphases in Applied Cognition and Development and in Measurement, Data Science, and Statistics. Texas A&M's online M.Ed. has a Developmental Sciences emphasis. The University of Northern Colorado's online M.A. is labeled Teaching Applications and is aimed at practicing educators. The University of Alabama's online M.A. concentrates on Learning and Assessment.
Educational psychology vs school psychology
This is the most important distinction on this page.
School psychology is a licensed practitioner role. School psychologists assess students for learning disabilities and other disabilities, help determine special education eligibility, design interventions, and consult with teachers and families. The field's professional body, the National Association of School Psychologists, sets the training standard in its 2020 Standards for Graduate Preparation. A specialist-level program must include at least 60 graduate semester hours (at least 54 excluding the internship) and a supervised internship of at least 1,200 clock hours, with at least 600 of those hours in a school setting. NASP's credentialing standard states that the specialist-level program is the minimum for being credentialed as a school psychologist. The degree is often an Ed.S., which we cover in the education specialist degree guide.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms the practical result. Its psychologists page notes that school psychologists typically need at least a master's degree in school psychology, and that education specialist (Ed.S.) and doctoral degrees are also accepted.
Educational psychology is the study of learning itself. A master's in educational psychology does not include the 1,200-hour internship, does not lead to a school psychologist credential, and will not let you conduct special education evaluations. The University of Alabama's program page says this directly: the degree does not lead to certification or licensure and does not qualify graduates to become school psychologists.
The formats differ too. Because school psychology requires an in-person internship and usually in-person clinical coursework, fully online programs are rare. Drexel University's Ed.S. in School Psychology, for instance, runs as a full-time hybrid cohort with core courses in person and a 90-credit total. Fort Hays State University is one of the few to offer an online or virtual version of its Ed.S., and even there the 1,200-hour internship happens in schools.
If you want to test and diagnose children, choose school psychology. If you want to understand and improve how learning happens, and work in curriculum, assessment, research or training, choose educational psychology.
Who the degree is for
- Teachers who want a deeper grounding in learning science and assessment without leaving the classroom, or who plan to move into instructional coaching or curriculum roles.
- Aspiring researchers who want a master's before applying to doctoral programs in educational psychology, learning sciences or quantitative methods.
- Assessment and data people in districts, state agencies and testing companies who need formal training in measurement.
- Trainers and learning designers in business, healthcare, the military and nonprofits who want the theory behind adult learning and evaluation.
Texas A&M's program page lists the range plainly: graduates work in PreK-12 schools, higher education, nonprofits, private industry and government, in roles such as research and development specialist, academic advisor, data analyst, family educator and youth services coordinator.
Licensure track vs non-licensure track
Nearly all educational psychology master's programs are non-licensure. That is a feature, not a flaw: it means no practicum placement, no state exam and no residency requirement, which makes a 100 percent online format realistic.
Two exceptions to watch for:
- Some universities house school psychology, school counseling or psychometrist tracks inside an educational psychology department. These tracks do lead to credentials and do require field hours. The University of Alabama, for example, lists a separate hybrid M.A. in Educational Psychology with a School Psychometry concentration alongside its online Learning and Assessment track.
- Teachers who hold a license may be able to use an educational psychology master's for a salary step or an advanced certificate renewal, depending on their state and district. Check with your district's human resources office before you assume it counts.
Accreditation and why it matters
Because there is no license at the end, there is no specialized accreditor for educational psychology master's programs in the way CACREP covers counseling or NASP approves school psychology. What matters is the university's regional (institutional) accreditation, which determines whether your credits transfer, whether federal financial aid applies, and whether a doctoral program will recognize the degree. The University of Georgia and the University of Alabama are accredited by SACSCOC; the University of Northern Colorado has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1916.
If a university's college of education also holds CAEP or AAQEP accreditation, that covers its educator preparation programs, not its research master's degrees. It is a sign of a well-run college, not a requirement for this degree.
Admissions basics
The four programs reviewed for this guide share a similar profile:
- A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. UGA sets a 2.6 minimum GPA; Texas A&M recommends 3.0; UNC and Alabama require 3.0 (Alabama also accepts a 3.0 over the last 60 hours or in a completed graduate program).
- No GRE requirement. UGA accepts GRE or MAT scores but does not require them; Texas A&M, UNC and Alabama state the GRE is not required or do not list it.
- A statement of purpose, a resume or CV, and three letters of recommendation.
- Application fees in the $75 range at UGA; Alabama's and UNC's pages direct you to the graduate school.
Cohort programs admit once a year and are small. UGA's Applied Cognition and Development emphasis admits a cohort of about 10 students; its measurement emphasis admits 5 to 15.
Curriculum, credits and duration
- Credits: 30 (UNC, Alabama) to 36 (Texas A&M), with UGA at 34.
- Duration: about two years part-time is the norm. UNC says online students typically finish in five consecutive terms, roughly 19 months. Alabama says most students finish in under two years. UGA's cohorts run on a two-year, year-round sequence.
- Capstone: expect a thesis, applied project or portfolio rather than an internship.
Try this: Before applying, read one syllabus from the measurement course and one from the development course at each program. The balance between statistics-heavy and theory-heavy coursework varies a lot, and it should match the job you want.
What it costs
These figures are approximate and come from the cited program pages and NCES.
- National context: NCES reports average graduate tuition and required fees of about $12,600 per year at public institutions and about $29,900 at private non-profits for 2021-22 (Digest Table 330.50).
- University of Alabama: $480 per credit hour for 2026-27, about $14,400 in tuition for 30 credits, plus a $10 per-credit college fee and $300 in college fees.
- University of Northern Colorado: $695 per credit for 2026-27, the same in and out of state, about $20,850 for 30 credits.
- University of Georgia: an estimated $22,576 in tuition for the 34-credit program, plus a $431 per-semester fee for online students.
A whole-program range of roughly $14,000 to $23,000 in tuition is a fair expectation for public online programs, before books, proctoring and technology costs.
Online format realities
Non-licensure educational psychology programs are among the few education master's degrees that can be truly 100 percent online. Alabama and UNC say so explicitly; UGA runs its emphases online with no campus visits mentioned; Texas A&M offers the same degree online or on campus. Expect asynchronous coursework with occasional synchronous meetings, group projects and a capstone with a faculty advisor.
The practical constraint is pace, not place. Cohort models move everyone through the same sequence, so a missed semester can mean waiting a year.
State reciprocity caveat
Because the degree does not lead to a license, reciprocity is usually irrelevant. The exception is if you enter a program with a school psychology, psychometrist or counseling track and hope to use it for a credential in another state. In that case the same rules apply as for any licensure degree: confirm your state's requirements before enrolling, and confirm the university is authorized to deliver online education and place interns in your state.
Career outlook and pay
Educational psychology does not map to a single BLS occupation. The Occupational Outlook Handbook pages most relevant to graduates, all using May 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections, are:
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Projected growth | Typical entry education |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional coordinators | $77,440 | 2 percent, slower than average | Master's degree |
| Training and development specialists | $69,280 | 11 percent, much faster than average | Bachelor's degree |
| Psychologists (all) | $99,110 | 6 percent, faster than average | Master's or doctoral degree |
| School psychologists (within psychologists) | $95,990 | 1 percent (64,000 to 64,500 jobs) | Specialist-level program |
| Postsecondary teachers | $85,330 | 7 percent, much faster than average | Doctorate typical; master's may suffice at community colleges |
For comparison, BLS puts the median wage for all occupations at $50,980 in May 2025 and projected growth for all occupations at 3 percent.
Two cautions. The psychologist figures apply to licensed practitioners, which an educational psychology master's alone does not make you. And the instructional coordinator role, the closest match for many graduates, is projected to grow slowly, with about 23,100 openings a year coming mostly from turnover.
Programs to consider
The programs below are online educational psychology master's degrees at regionally accredited public universities, verified on each program's own page. None leads to a license, which is the norm for this degree. We did not find a private non-profit university with a verifiable fully online educational psychology master's at the time of writing; several private universities offer related psychology or school psychology degrees instead. The list is in no particular order and is not a ranking.
Frequently asked questions
What can you do with an educational psychology degree?
Graduates work as instructional coordinators and curriculum designers, assessment and testing specialists in districts and testing companies, learning designers and corporate trainers, research analysts in education agencies, academic advisors, and program evaluators. The master's is also a common step toward a Ph.D. Program pages reviewed for this guide name roles such as district testing coordinator, data analyst, academic advisor and research and development specialist.
Is educational psychology the same as school psychology?
No. Educational psychology is the academic study of learning, motivation, development and measurement, and most master's programs are non-licensure. School psychology is a licensed practitioner role in schools that assesses students, consults on special education eligibility and provides interventions. It requires a specialist-level program of at least 60 graduate semester hours and a 1,200-hour internship under NASP standards.
Can you get an educational psychology master's fully online?
Yes. Several public universities, including the University of Georgia, Texas A&M, the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Alabama, offer educational psychology master's degrees online with no required campus visits. Because these are non-licensure degrees, there is no practicum or internship to arrange, which is why they can be completed entirely at a distance.
Do you need a psychology bachelor's degree to apply?
Usually not. The programs reviewed for this guide ask for a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, typically with a GPA between 2.6 and 3.0, plus a statement of purpose, recommendations and a resume. Most do not require the GRE. Teachers, counselors, trainers and recent graduates in psychology, education and the social sciences are all common applicants.
How much does an online educational psychology master's cost?
Approximate figures from program pages: the University of Alabama lists $480 per credit hour for 2026-27 (about $14,400 for 30 credits), the University of Northern Colorado lists $695 per credit (about $20,850 for 30 credits), and the University of Georgia estimates $22,576 in tuition for its 34-credit program. Fees, books and proctoring are extra.
Sources
- Standards for Graduate Preparation of School Psychologists (2020) National Association of School Psychologists (accessed November 7, 2026)
- Psychologists, Occupational Outlook Handbook U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (accessed November 7, 2026)
- Instructional Coordinators, Occupational Outlook Handbook U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (accessed November 7, 2026)
- Training and Development Specialists, Occupational Outlook Handbook U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (accessed November 7, 2026)
- Postsecondary Teachers, Occupational Outlook Handbook U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (accessed November 7, 2026)
- Table 330.50: Average graduate tuition and required fees, 2021-22 National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2022 (accessed November 7, 2026)
- M.Ed. in Educational Psychology, Applied Cognition and Development University of Georgia Online (accessed November 7, 2026)
- M.Ed. in Educational Psychology, Measurement, Data Science, and Statistics University of Georgia Online (accessed November 7, 2026)
- M.Ed. in Educational Psychology: Emphasis in Developmental Sciences Texas A&M University, Department of Educational Psychology (accessed November 7, 2026)
- Educational Psychology M.A., Teaching Applications University of Northern Colorado Extended Campus (accessed November 7, 2026)
- MA in Educational Psychology, Learning and Assessment University of Alabama Online (accessed November 7, 2026)
- School Psychology EdS Drexel University Graduate Catalog (accessed November 7, 2026)
- School Psychology Program Fort Hays State University (accessed November 7, 2026)
- Accreditation University of Northern Colorado (accessed November 7, 2026)