Overview

An En-Route Master's degree is one that is earned by doctoral (Ph.D.) students at the same time that they are working on their doctoral degree. Beginning Fall 2014, all EDP doctoral students admitted without a master’s in the field must complete an en-route master’s before receiving the doctoral degree. 

EDP students may choose to earn an en-route master's in their current program area, or another. For en-route master's in the same specialization as the doctoral degree, most course requirements will already be fulfilled as part of the doctoral degree program. Some students choose an en-route master's in an area outside their area of specialization - these en-route degrees involve a varying amount of additional coursework and requirements.

Application

An application is not required for current EDP students to begin an en-route degree in their program specialization, but may be required for en-routes in other specialization. Notify the EDP Graduate Coordinator as soon as you and your adviser have decided on which en-route degree you'd like to pursue, as an en-route Degree Plan and paperwork will need to be started.  

En-Route Master's Options 

The options below, with the exception of the QM En-Route degree, are only available to current doctoral students in the Department of Educational Psychology at UT Austin. The QM En-Route degree is available to current doctoral students at the University of Texas at Austin (application and approval from the EDP QM Area Chair is required).

Master's Report / Thesis / Portfolio

Several en-route degrees include a Master's Report, Thesis or Portfolio. For these, students may have already completed the majority of the Master's Report/Thesis/Portfolio requirements as part of their required preparation for the Qualifying Process. Some advisers will permit students to reformat their Qualifying Process document so that it meets the requirements of the Master's Report/Thesis/Portfolio. Other advisers may require the addition of a section that includes the application of the topic to the master’s degree. 

Finishing the Master's

Before the semester in which you will be completing all of the QM Master's coursework, email EDP@austin.utexas.edu to let us know. We'll then work with you to submit the needed paperwork for you to earn the degree:

• A Change of Major form: this temporarily switches you into the Master's major code for the semester you're graduating, so that the Graduate School can certify and post the degree. We'll submit a second form to switch you back into your usual PhD major code at the start of the following semester.

• Graduation Application: after your Change of Major is processed at the start of the semester, you'll need to apply to graduate online via the Graduate School: https://gradschool.utexas.edu/navigating/graduation/deadlines Note: we recommend doing this at the start of the semester in which you're graduating, to ensure your graduation application is in the system before the Graduate School's submission deadline.

Diploma Info: before the end of the semester in which you're graduating, verify your mailing information with Diploma Services: https://onestop.utexas.edu/student-records/degrees-and-diplomas/

Commencement Info: Once your graduation is confirmed, you should also receive an invitation (usually in March/April) from the College of Education to attend the May commencement ceremony for the Master's degree.

En-Route Degree Checklist