PhD in Educational Studies: Individually Designed Specialization 45 credits
In this low-residency program, students work closely with their senior advisor to design an individual and interdisciplinary doctoral study plan tailored to their educational goals. Courses in the nature of inquiry, qualitative and quantitative research, and research design, along with interdisciplinary seminars, provide the foundation for translating new knowledge into the writing of a dissertation that represents an intellectual contribution to a participant's field of interest.
During the first phase of the program, the student completes a doctoral study plan--a detailed description of the domain of study and sub-areas that comprise the student’s individual study design. The student then proceeds to complete the major academic requirements of the degree, and must also meet the sociocultural perspective standard requirement and write a qualifying paper. The program culminates in the writing and subsequent oral defense of a dissertation that represents an original contribution to the field of educational studies and the chosen domain of the doctoral study plan.
Students meet as a cohort in three summer residencies and attend online or in-person classes over the duration of the program. Program faculty are committed to promoting a scholarly and collegial community that informs and sustains both the academic work and professional responsibilities of cohort members.
- Program prerequisite: Master's Degree or Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study
- Students must take EAGSR 9151 in fall, spring, and summer semesters of each year they are taking courses and each semester thereafter until they have completed their dissertation defense.
For the university's transfer credit policy for this and other programs, see the Transfer of Credits page.
Program of Study
Year I (18 credits):
| EAGSR 7118 | Nature of Inquiry: Below the Surface of Research | 3 |
| | Doctoral Elective | 3 |
| GINTC 6110 | Values Differences and Moral Judgments in Contemporary Contexts | 3 |
| | Doctoral Elective | 3 |
| EAGSR 8102 | Interdisciplinary Seminar I | 3 |
| EAGSR 8104 | Interdisciplinary Seminar II | 3 |
| EAGSR 9151 | Doctoral Study | N/A |
Doctoral Study Plan and Elective Statement
Students may consider taking EAGSR 8110, Change is a Process, as their first elective.
After successfully completing the doctoral study plan as part of Interdisciplinary Seminar II, a student is advanced to Year II.
Year II: (18 credits)
| EAGSR 7200 | Writing in Doctoral Studies | 3 |
| EAGSR 7101 | Quantitative Research Methods I: Statistics for Research | 3 |
| | Doctoral Elective | 3 |
| EAGSR 7103 | Qualitative Research Methods I | 3 |
| | Doctoral Elective | 3 |
| EAGSR 7104 | Qualitative Research Methods II | 3 |
| EAGSR 9151 | Doctoral Study | N/A |
Qualifying Paper
After successfully completing a qualifying paper, a student is advanced to Year III.
Year III (9 credits):