Kamden Strunk, Ph.D.
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Information for Prospective Graduate Students

If you are interested in potentially pursuing a graduate degree, I would encourage you to review my published research for sense of the kind of work in which my students and I engage. Most of my research work centers around social justice and equity in education, with particular focus on LGBTQ issues and race in higher education. I also conduct research in the areas of motivation theory (specifically achievement goal and expectancy-value theories), measurement (especially meta-analytic confirmatory factor analysis), and time-related academic behavior (i.e., procrastination and timely engagement). I typically only agree to work with students whose interests are in those areas.

I am affiliated with the Auburn University Educational Psychology program. If you wish to pursue graduate study with me, you will need to apply through the program for admission. More about the program's admissions process can be found on the program website. Applications must be completed by the application deadline (January 15th for priority consideration and to be competitive for funding) for consideration. That means all materials (your application, GRE scores, and letters of recommendation) must be received by that date. In many cases, we will subsequently ask applicants to participate in an admissions interview with the program faculty (this can be done in person or via distance). Our admissions process requires both that 1) the applicant receives a majority vote from all program faculty for admissions, and 2) a program faculty member agrees to take the student on as an advisee. I typically take on about one student per year.

Graduate assistantships are available on a limited and competitive basis. I work to find funded positions for all students who I advise, but cannot guarantee funding at the time of admission. Among my current students, all full-time students are in funded assistantships, though not all of those are research assistantships. The details of assistantship pay and tuition waivers are subject to change, and are decided by the University and the Graduate College. However, they typically include a small monthly stipend and a tuition waiver. The tuition waiver only covers tuition, so students in funded positions are still responsible for things like textbooks and fees. Assistantships vary from 10 hours per week to 20 hours per week. Students in funded positions cannot hold any other on- or off-campus employment.

My typical expectation of incoming graduate students with whom I will work is that they will attend full-time (typically three classes per semester), will attend in-person (which requires willingness to relocate to the Auburn/Opelika area), and will engage in ongoing research work outside of class. When I take on a student, my commitment is to help them achieve their professional goals. However, I'm best able to do that when those professional goals are related to research and/or professorial career paths. To that end, I co-author research publications with students, propose and conduct conference presentations with students, help students get experience with peer review processes, and direct students in gaining teaching experience. 

If you are considering graduate study in the area of educational psychology and are interested in working with me, I strongly encourage you to email me to discuss the program and opportunities further. 
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