Master of Education in Developmental Psychology & Education

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Master of Education in Developmental Psychology & Education

Master of Education in Developmental Psychology & Education Overview

In the Masters of Education Developmental Psychology and Education program, Students have an opportunity to construct an overall perspective on developmental psychology and human development and their implications for practice with children in educational and other applied settings.

The Master of Education (MEd) program is designed for the reflective practitioner in developmental psychology education or other fields. This is a degree primarily designed for those working in applied settings and it does not require a research thesis.

Students take foundation courses in human development and research methodology. Elective courses cover a range of areas including cognitive, social, and emotional development; cognition and instruction (language, literacy, and mathematics); special education and adaptive instruction; program evaluation and mental health; advanced research methodology and evaluation; and early childhood policy and programs, including child care.

For detailed information about the program, please consult the School of Graduate Studies Calendar.

At a Glance

Study Options
Full-time (4 sessions)
Part-time (10 sessions)
Coursework

Funding and Tuition
For current information about tuition fees, funding, and financial support, visit Tuition & Financial Support.  

Deadlines
Applications for the 2023-2024 academic year are still open!

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Why I Chose Applied Psychology & Human Development

Chelsi Major
Chelsi Major (Master of Education 2018)

MEd, Developmental Psychology and Education

"My biggest-take away was the importance of building professional connections and establishing mentor relationships. During my time at OISE, I was able to explore different avenues of research with experts in the field."

Master of Education in Developmental Psychology & Education Admission Requirements

General Admission Requirements

Please visit the OISE Admissions website for detailed information about the application process, including general minimum admission requirements and supporting documents. 

Program-Specific Information (Minimum Admission Requirements)

Minimum admission requirements for this program are:

  • An appropriate honours bachelor’s degree (4-year) in psychology or equivalent with standing equivalent to a University of Toronto mid-B or better in the final year or over senior courses.
  • English Language Proficiency (if required)
  • Please see the SGS calendar for more details.

We encourage equity-seeking groups to identify themselves in their application.


Required Supporting Documents

All applicants must submit: 

  • Transcript(s) from each post-secondary institution attended
  • Two letters of reference (one academic and one professional)
  • A résumé that provides clear and complete information about the applicant's work or field experience related to their proposed studies
  • Applicants are asked to answer questions explaining your experiences and how they relate to the program during the application submission process.
  • View FAQ for other important application notes.

Additional Program Information

Coursework

Students must complete 5.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs), or 10 half courses as follows:

  • APD1200H Foundations of Human Development and Education (0.5 FCE).
  • APD2293H Interpretation of Educational Research (0.5 FCE).
  • 2.0 additional FCEs (4 half courses) must be selected from the department electives list located on the Applied Psychology and Human Development program guidelines.
  • The remaining 2.0 elective FCEs (4 half courses) may be taken from within or outside the department. Elective courses must be chosen in consultation with the student's faculty advisor. Students are asked to meet with their faculty advisor in the first session of their program.

Did you know you can choose your electives based on certain areas within DPE?

  • Mental Health & Education 
  • Education & Special Education
  • Mind, Brain, Development and Research in APHD

Collaborative Specializations provide students with the opportunity to explore a novel interdisciplinary area or special development that crosses a number of disciplines. 

Collaborative specializations are available with the MEd in Developmental Psychology & Education with the following programs. All collaborative specializations must be approved by the department:

  • Educational Policy
    • For students interested in the factors associated with educational policy development and implementation, particularly focusing on developing strategies for improving educational processes. Please note: Effective September 2023, admissions to the Collaborative Specialization in Educational Policy (CSEP) have been suspended due to the CSEP closure (approved by OISE Council on April 26, 2023).

Below is a list of the departmental electives available for students in the DPE MEd program.

Please click on the course code to access course descriptions. 

Course Exemptions:
All course exemptions requests must be pre-approved from a DPE MEd Faculty Advisor. Once a course exemption has been approved by a DPE MEd Faculty Advisor and after the replacement course(s) is/are complete, students must fill in a course exemption form. This course exemption form should be forwarded to their DPE MEd Faculty Advisor for review and signature before it is submitted to the ROSE for final approval and processing.
 

COURSE CODE

COURSE TITLE

APD1205H*

Ethical Issues in Applied Psychology

APD1206H
(formerly APD5012H)

Mind, Brain, and Instruction

APD1207H

Counselling Topics in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Diversity

APD1210HY

Research Practicum (RM)

APD1211H

Psychological Foundations of Early Development and Education

APD1212H
(formerly APD5021H)

Basics to Program Evaluation in Social Sciences

APD1213H
(formerly APD5001H)

Psychology and Education of Children and Adolescents with ADHD

APD1217H

Foundations of Proactive Behavioural and Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention in Children

APD1222H

Approaches to Psychotherapy-Lifespan

APD1231H
(formerly APD5018H)

Mindful Self-Compassion for Educators

APD1233H

Cognitive Development and Applications

APD1235H (formerly APD5017H up to and including Summer 2021)

Technology, Play, and Social Media in Adolescence

APD1236H

Developmental Psychopathology

APD1249H

Social-Emotional Development and Applications

APD1251H

Reading in a Second Language

APD1256H

Child Abuse: Intervention and Prevention

APD1260H*

Family Therapy

APD1271H

Perspectives of Executive Functions in Education: From Theory to Practice

APD1272H

Play and Education

APD1279H

Preventative Interventions for Children at Risk

APD1280H

Symbolic Development and Learning

APD1281H
(APD2280H if completed prior to 2019)

Education Exceptionalities, Special Education, and Adaptive Instruction

APD1285H

Psychology and Education of Children and Adolescents with Learning Disabilities

APD1286H

Foundations of Literacy Development for School Age Children

APD1290H

Indigenous Healing in Counselling & Psychoeducation

APD1291H*

Addictive Behaviors: Approaches to Assessment and Intervention

APD1292H

Instrument Design and Analysis

APD1294H

Technology, Psychology, and Play

APD1295H

Adolescent Mental Health: An Examination of Risk and Resilience

APD1296H

Assessing School-Aged Language Learners

APD1297H

Mental Health in the Classroom: How to Help Our Most Vulnerable

APD1298H

Imagination, Reasoning and Learning

APD1299H

Language Acquisition and Development in Early Childhood

APD2252

Individual Reading and Research in Human Development and Applied Psychology - Master's Level

APD2275H

Technology for Adaptive Instruction and Special Education

APD2296H

Reading and Writing Difficulties

APD3202H

A Foundation of Program Evaluation in Social Sciences (Research Methods)

APD3221H

Cross-cultural Perspectives on Children's Problems

APD3286H

Developmental Neuropsychology

JOI1287H

Introduction to Applied Statistics (RM)

JOI1288H

Intermediate Statistics and Research Design (RM)

JOI3228H

Mixed Methods Research Design in Social Sciences (RM)

Special Topics Courses. These courses count as DPE MEd Department Electives but may not be offered frequently. Please check course schedules for offerings.

APD5008H

Special Topics: Master’s Level Well-Being and Internalizing Disorders

APD5010H

Special Topics: Master’s Level Child Development and Personal History

APD5013H

Special Topics: Master’s Level Teaching English Language Learners

APD5020H

Special Topics in Applied Psychology and Human Development: Master's Level Learning to Learn: Bridging Theory and Practice

APD5022H

Special Topics: Masters Level Math Learning and Teaching in the Early School Years

APD5023H

Special Topics: Masters Level Teaching in the 21st Century: Diversity, Technology, and Professional Identity

APD5024H

Special Topics: Masters Level Psychology and Education of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

APD5026H

Special Topics: Masters Level Motivation and Its Role in Learning

APD5027H*

Special Topics: Masters Level All My Relations: Indigenous Social and Relational Theories in Education and Applied Psychology

APD5029H

Special Topics: Masters Level Response to Intervention

APD5034H

Special Topics: Masters Level Maximizing Learning: Understanding How Individuals and Groups Learn Best

APD5035H

Special Topics: Masters Level Spatial Thinking and Steam Education

APD5036H

Special Topics: Masters Level Online Pedagogy in Practice

APD5038H

Personality Development and Education

APD5039H

Privilege, Power, and Oppression: Implications for Psychology and Education

APD6006H*

Special Topics: Doctoral Level Influencing Organizational and System Change

For course descriptions and schedules, please see the OISE Bulletin and the OISE Registrar's Office Course Information and Schedules.

*These courses require permission of instructor for enrolment by DPE MEd students.

Learn about the Research Practicum Course 

Learn about the Academic & Language Foundations Course APD1274H (formally APD5020H).

DPE MEd students will be able to choose the Program Evaluation Emphasis. The Program Evaluation (PE) emphasis will encourage an exploration of program evaluation used in education, psychology, and social sciences. PE is a systematic analysis of the process, effectiveness, and outcomes of programs. 

Learn more about the Program Evaluation Emphasis.

Is there a date to start this program for the winter term? 
No, the DPE MEd program only starts in the Fall term, there’s no winter start date. 

Is there a part-time option for this program?
Yes, students can choose part-time or full-time registration status and choose maximum course load based on your registration status. See OISE Office of the Registrar and Student Services for maximum course load.

How do students gain supervisors?
The DPE MEd program is a non-thesis degree so you do not have a supervisor that you work one on one with. Instead you have a Faculty Advisor that you can speak with if you have questions regarding program requirements, course selection etc.

Do you need to have a degree in Psychology?
No, the minimum admission requirements for this program is an appropriate honours bachelor’s degree (4-year) in psychology or equivalent with standing equivalent to a University of Toronto mid-B or better in the final year or over senior courses.

If unable to provide an academic reference, would two professional ones work instead? 
While a minimum of two letters of reference – one academic and one professional – should be included in your application, sometimes applicants experience difficulty obtaining a letter of reference. For example, if you graduated many years ago and have since not been active in an academic setting you may be unable to call upon a university instructor with whom you studied. You're strongly encouraged to obtain one academic and one professional letter of reference, but you may submit an alternative combination such as two reference letters from a professional source. Tip: for two professional letters direct the most suitable referee to include comments pertaining to your intellectual abilities and potential. 

Is the MEd for teachers only?
No, you do not need be a certified teacher to apply. We have many of our students who do not have a teaching degree applying to the DPE MEd program.

How does the funding work for the MEd program?
The DPE MEd program is a non-funded degree. You pay your registration based on the registration status you choose; either full-time or part-time registration. 

Can you switch to PT or FT half way?
Yes, you can request to change your registration status from PT to FT or FT to PT. You must contact your Registration Specialist in the OISE Office of the Registrar and Student Services and make the request to change your registration status. Please keep in mind that changing your registration status will affect your registration fees; contact your Registration Specialist of details: oise.registration@utoronto.ca.

What is considered PT course load and what is the approximate length of time it would take to take this program part-time, if full-time is 1.5 years. DPE MEd Program Length 4 sessions full-time (typical registration sequence: F/W/S/F); 10 sessions part-time.

How does the collaborative specialization work? 
The Collaborative Specialization in Educational Policy serves students interested in developing an understanding of the factors associated with educational policy development and implementation, with particular emphasis on developing theoretical and practical strategies for improving educational processes. The collaborative specialization's intellectual objectives include providing students with exposure to cross-field and cross disciplinary approaches to educational problem framing and problem solving in order to broaden the possibilities for innovative and effective policy analysis; helping students understand how to apply theoretical concepts to particular social and educational problems in particular settings; and understanding the broader social, institutional, and policy contexts within which educational policy processes occur.

There are two required courses and an annual lecture series. Upon successful completion of the degree requirements of the participating home graduate unit and the collaborative specialization, students will receive the notation "Completed Collaborative Specialization in Educational Policy" on their transcript.

Program Chair: Dr. Anne-Claude Bedard & Dr. Michel Ferrari

Program Faculty: Dr. Esther Geva; Dr. Angela Pyle; Dr. Chloe Hamza; Dr. Eunice Jang; Dr. Kaja Jasinska; Dr. Lisa Dack; Dr. Michel Ferrari; Dr. Patricia Ganea; Dr. Zachary Hawes; Dr. Alexandra Makos; Dr. Rhonda Martinussen; Dr. Michal Perlman; Dr. Tracy Solomon; Dr. Richard Volpe; Dr. Mahshid Azimi-Bolourian; Dr. Kang Lee; Dr. Anne-Claude Bedard; Dr. Linda Iwenofu; Dr. Earl Woodruff; Dr. Cynthia Waugh; Dr. Becky Chen; Dr. Mark Wade; Dr. Jennifer Jenkins, Dr. Todd Cunningham; Dr. J Garrett-Walker; Dr. Steven Katz; Dr. Yiola Cleovoulou

Ready to join one of the world’s top universities?

Take the next step in your academic journey and start your application to graduate studies at OISE.