About
The dual Doctor of Philosophy - Educational Psychology and Juris Doctor (Ph.D. and J.D.) program prepares participants to meaningfully combine legal and psychological approaches to education and advocacy. Prospective students must apply for and be accepted to each program individually. To graduate, students must earn between 134-143 credit hours and complete a doctoral dissertation.
Available Options
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Foundations Track
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School Psychology Track
Accreditation
For information regarding accreditation at UNLV, please head over to Academic Program Accreditations.
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete a program at BSL will be able to demonstrate:
- Legal and Law-Related Knowledge
- Knowledge of specific areas or aspects of substantive law, legal theory, or legal procedure
- Example: Acquiring knowledge of domestic / comparative / international / transnational legal doctrine and processes, jurisprudence, knowledge of legal theory, and statutory / regulatory law and processes.
- Analysis and Decision-Making
- Understand and develop solutions to legal problems
- Example: Analyzing, being creative or innovative, exercising practical judgment, problem solving, and reasoning.
- Policy Evaluation
- Draw connections between specific legal issues and policy contexts or values
- Example: Understanding or evaluating specific situations in light of fundamental principles and values such as equality, fairness, liberty, justice, or analytical orientations such as economics, public safety, or public policy.
- Professional Identity
- Responsibilities of lawyers to their profession and society
- Example: Demonstrating awareness of professional commitments to continued learning, community involvement and service, diligence, engagement, ethics, honesty, integrity, and dedication.
- Writing
- Written professional communication for a variety of professional purposes
- Example: Creating written texts for different audiences and purposes, advocating, negotiating, analyzing, memorializing transactions, or disseminating knowledge.
- Oral Communication
- Using oral communication for a variety of professional purposes
- Example: Advising, advocating, counseling clients, influencing, listening, presenting information, speaking for professional purposes.
- Information Gathering and Processing
- Obtaining and assessing information about facts, law, procedure, and people
- Example: Fact finding, interviewing, researching, and sorting known information so as to identify what is important for particular purposes.
- Interpersonal Perspectives
- Emotionally intelligent engagement, team building, collaboration, cooperation, and leadership
- Example: Seeing the world through the eyes of others, resolving conflicts, empathizing, evaluating, mentoring, organizing and managing others.
- Client and Practice Management
- Skills required to ethically and effectively manage ethical, professional and business aspects of the legal profession
- Example: Building relationships with clients, members of the legal profession, and others, handling stress, identifying client or community needs, organizing one's own work, using technology and electronic media.
Ph.D. Program in Educational Psychology
- Learning Theory
- Understand and be able to analyze key theories related to learning, cognition, and development.
- Literature Critique
- Be able to critically evaluate research studies based on each study’s (a) methodology, (b) literature support, & (c) significance.
- Research Design & Methods: Quantitative
- (a) Understand and use advanced statistical research methods (including computertechnology for the analysis of data); (b) understand the role of causation in science and the threats to causal inference posed by invalid research design and methodology.
- Research Design & Methods: Qualitative
- Understand (a) qualitative approaches to exploring phenomena related to educational and other social contexts, (b) the theoretical and practical considerations of conducting and interpreting case studies, ethnographies, participant observations, narrative reports, and design-based research, and (c) criteria for establishing goodness of qualitative studies.
- Psychometrics
- Be able to develop plans for assessment, item and test specification, item writing and selection, assessment preparation and administration, test and item analysis, item and test revision to enhance reliability and validity, and various methods for validating assessments and surveys, such as factor analysis, item response theory, and current issues in psychometrics.
- Professional Research Skills
- Be able to serve as independent scholars who (a) can design, (b) implement, (c) and prepare reports of research studies, and (b) make significant contributions to the discipline of educational psychology.
- Professional Identity and Community
- (a) Develop a professional identity consistent with the specialization strand, (b) actively contribute to the profession, and (c) understand aspects of ethical and professional functioning in the chosen domain.
- Specialization Strand Theory
- Understand and be able to analyze key theories related to the selected specialization strand.
- Specialization Strand Application
- Understand how to implement evidence-based intervention strategies and/or design and modify learning environments to promote more effective learning.
Career Possibilities
Graduates of the law school typically work as attorneys. A law degree is a prerequisite for admission to the bar in most states, and bar admission is required to engage in the practice of law. Law school graduates work in private law firms, business, government, nonprofit, and academic settings.
Requirements
Documents/Downloads
Doctor of Philosophy - Educational Psychology and Juris Doctor
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Additional Downloads
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Related Links
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Contacts
Graduate Coordinator
E. Michael Nussbaum, Ph.D.
Department of Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education
The Department of Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education delivers and provides instruction in innovative research that informs the educational process from early childhood through higher education. Our curriculum prepares graduates for leadership positions in diverse settings and roles, provides foundational support for programs across the university, and investigates educational policy to inform practice in P-12 through higher education.
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College of Education
The College of Education creates an intellectual environment that promotes quality instruction, significant research, and professional service. With four unique departments, graduates receive the necessary tools and experiences to make an impact on local, national, and global scales.
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William S. Boyd School of Law
The William S. Boyd School of Law prepares students for the competent and ethical practice of law, offering three- and four-year programs for the Juris Doctor degree.