Doctoral Degrees (Ph.D./Ed.D)
The School of Teaching & Learning offers the Ph.D. and Ed.D. degrees in Curriculum and Instruction with specializations in the following areas:
- Curriculum, Teaching, & Teacher Education
- Early Childhood Education
- Educational Technology
- English Education
- ESOL/Bilingual Education
- Language Arts & Children's Literature
- Reading Education
- Mathematics Education
- Science & Environmental Education
- Social Studies Education
General Degree Information
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is a research degree and is granted on evidence of general proficiency, distinctive attainment in a special field, and particularly on ability for independent investigation as demonstrated in a dissertation presenting original research with a high degree of literary skill.
The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree is offered for students who desire advanced professional training and academic preparation for the highest levels of educational practice.
Transfer of Credit: All courses transferred in to any doctoral program must directly relate to the degree being sought. Acceptance of transfer of credit requires approval of the student's supervisory committee and the Dean of the Graduate School.
Courses and Credits: No courses numbered 1000-2999 may be used as any part of the graduate degree requirements. Courses numbers 3000-4999 MAY be used for MINOR credit when taken as part of an approved graduate program. A minor cannot be in the same department as a student's major. Full-time students not on a graduate assistantship must register for a minimum of 12 credits. The maximum credits is 18 but is not recommended.
Research Requirements: All doctoral students in the College of Education must meet the College Research Requirements. Students admitted after fall 2004 must comply with these College of Education minimal research requirements. Doctoral students admitted before fall 2004 use the prior College of Education minimal research requirements.
Time Limits: All work must be completed within five calendar years after the qualifying examination or that examination must be repeated.
Minimal Requirements for Ph.D./Ed.D. Degrees
All students in Ph.D. and Ed.D. programs in the School of Teaching & Learning must observe the following minimal requirements. Please note these are minimal requirements and doctoral committees can require additional credits/tasks.
- At least 90 hours beyond the bachelor's degree. Note that many program areas require more an 90 hours.
- Successful completion of written and oral qualifying examinations.
- Successful proposal and defense of doctoral dissertation.
- Coursework in the following areas. Please note these are minimums in each area and will NOT total the number of credits needed in the doctoral degree.
- Orientation to Doctoral Study (3 credit hours)
- Curriculum/Instruction Seminars (6 credit hours)
- Specialization Seminars (6 credit hours)
- Area of Specialization (12 credit hours)
- Research Methodology (12 credit hours)
- Optional Minor (12 credit hours)
- Dissertation Research (12 credit hours): You can not count more than 24 credit hours of dissertation research on your doctoral program of study.
