Ph.D Policies and Procedures

IV. Degree Requirements

Program of Study Requirement

After careful consideration of Graduate School requirements, COEHS requirements, specific program requirements, and research interests, each student (with his/her doctoral committee) will develop a Program of Study to guide successful completion of coursework.

The required coursework is as follows:

• COEHS doctoral seminars—two three-hour semester hour doctoral seminars in education sequence: EDUC 510 – Introduction to Doctoral Studies in Education and EDUC 511 - Doctoral Seminar in Philosophical & Cultural Foundations of Education or EDUC 512 - Doctoral Seminar in Behavioral & learning Foundations of Education - must be taken after acceptance into the COEHS doctoral program.

• Research methods courses —See below for more information.

• Core coursework in the concentration area—number of hours varies by department; departmental core coursework must be completed before preliminary examinations (see specific departments for core requirements).

• Elective courses—number of hours varies by department; the student’s doctoral committee must approve elective courses.

• Dissertation hours—a minimum of 24 semester hours should be devoted to dissertation work. No doctoral student is allowed to register for more the six dissertation hours until candidacy has been achieved.

Transfer credit hours are subject to approval by each student's doctoral committee. All graduate credit hours earned at an accredited university that have not been applied toward fulfillment of requirements for another degree are eligible for consideration.

The dissertation committee must approve all transfer credits and no credit will be given for transfer courses in which a student has earned less than a B grade. Prerequisite courses required as a condition of admission may not be included in the minimum credit hour requirement.

Research Methods Requirement

The Ph.D. in Education is a research-oriented degree. The research methods requirement is an integral part of the student’s program and intended to facilitate acquisition of knowledge and skills necessary to conduct systematic intellectual inquiry, including the doctoral dissertation.

Specific technical and methodological competencies are developed through completion of research methods classes. Some classes are required of all students; others are chosen for their relevancy to the area of concentration and individual student’s research interests. They must be successfully completed before preliminary examinations. Such research knowledge should help to develop skills and competencies necessary to:

•Pose a research problem or question grounded in the current research literature.

• Identify a data collection system or strategy appropriate to the identified problem or question.

• Analyze and interpret data presented in a variety of formats.

• Craft meaningful conclusions relative to collected data, theoretical frameworks, conceptual models, or current practice.

• Communicate research results in a professional and competent manner.

All students must complete at least nine (9) credit hours in approved courses to fulfill the Research Methods Requirement. All students are required to take EAHE 587 (Introduction to Qualitative Research), EPSY 505 (Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods), and one additional cross-departmental graduate-level course in research methodology. Students with previous coursework in introductory research methods can petition to replace these introductory courses with higher-level research methodology coursework. (See Appendix A of the PhD in Education Handbook for a listing of suggested courses in Quantitative, Qualitative, Historiographic, and Philosophic methods.) Some academic concentrations may require additional research methods courses. In addition, in consultation with their doctoral committees, students may be encouraged or required to use some of their elective hours to pursue more than the program’s and concentration’s minimum research requirements.

Residency Requirement

The residency requirement for the doctoral degree must be fulfilled after admission to the program and prior to advancement to candidacy (i.e., by the time students have successfully passed the preliminary examination). Residency is met by completing 24 graduate credit hours on campus as a doctoral student within a period not to exceed four calendar years.

No more than six semester hours of deferred dissertation credit may be applied toward the fulfillment of the 24-semester hour residency requirement.

Credit hours earned in concentrated courses and workshops may apply toward fulfillment of the residency requirements if the student is concurrently registered for a course spanning the full term.
No more than six semester hours of short course or workshop credit may be applied to the 24 semester hour residency requirement.

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