The PhD in Education is a research-oriented degree appropriate for those who seek positions in the professoriate or in school districts, businesses, industry, educational agencies and other educational settings that require a strong research base. It is the intent of this program to be interdisciplinary, allowing flexibility for students who will work in research clusters and learning communities with faculty on education-related research.
Programs of study can be designed for those who seek faculty positions in a research university or research-oriented education positions in business and industry.
This section describes the elements of the curriculum that are in common for all of the tracks. The internship requirement is common to most of the tracks but not all, and more detail is provided on the internship in each specialization section.
Required CoursesCore: 24 Credit Hours - IDS 7501 - Issues and Research in Education 3 Credit Hours
- IDS 7500 - Seminar in Educational Research 1-3 Credit Hours
- (variable credit, repeated for a total of 6 credit hours)
- EDF 7475 - Qualitative Research in Education 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7403 - Quantitative Foundations of Educational Research 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7463 - Analysis of Survey, Record, and Other Qualitative Data 3 Credit Hours
- IDS 7502 - Case Studies in Research Design 3 Credit Hours or one of the approved research electives from group A:
- EDF 7406 - Multivariate Statistics in Education 3 Credit Hours or one of the approved research electives from group B:
- EDF 7406 - Multivariate Statistics in Education 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7405 - Quantitative Methods II 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7410 - Application of Nonparametric and Categorical Data Analysis in Education 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7415 - Latent Variable Modeling In Education 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7473 - Ethnography in Educational Settings 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7474 - Multilevel Data Analysis In Education 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7488 - Monte Carlo Simulation Research in Education 3 Credit Hours
- IDS 7938 - Research Cluster Seminar 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7405 - Quantitative Methods II 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7410 - Application of Nonparametric and Categorical Data Analysis in Education 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7415 - Latent Variable Modeling In Education 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7473 - Ethnography in Educational Settings 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7474 - Multilevel Data Analysis In Education 3 Credit Hours
- EDF 7488 - Monte Carlo Simulation Research in Education 3 Credit Hours
Specialization and elective hours vary by track.Internship: 3 Credit HoursSpecialization in all tracks may include a professional internship.
Dissertation: 15 Credit HoursDoctoral students must present a prospectus for the dissertation to the doctoral adviser, prepare a proposal and present it to the dissertation committee, and defend the final research submission with the dissertation committee.
CandidacyTo enter candidacy for the PhD, students must have an overall 3.0 GPA on all graduate work included in the planned program and pass all required examinations. Examinations will be scheduled by the student and major adviser. Students must be enrolled in the university during the semester an examination is taken.
The following are required to be admitted to candidacy and enroll in dissertation hours:
- Completion of all course work, except for dissertation hours.
- Successful completion of the candidacy examination.
- Successful defense of the written dissertation proposal.
- The dissertation advisory committee is formed, consisting of approved graduate faculty and graduate faculty scholars.
- Submission of an approved program of study.
Candidacy ExaminationsAll PhD candidates will be required to complete two examinations.
- Research in the Specialization—8-hour written examination.
- Specialization—3-hour oral examination.
Independent LearningThe dissertation fulfills the independent learning requirement.
