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PhD in Education, Specialization in Educational Foundations

The Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD) is a college-wide degree awarded for distinguished academic preparation for professional practice and research in the field of education. The program is designed to enhance and facilitate educational, social, and economic growth locally, nationally, and internationally with a pool of highly qualified educational scholars and leaders.
 
The specialization in Educational Foundations prepares educational professionals with an understanding of the historical, philosophical, cultural, social, and political contexts of education so that they can make informed and wise decisions about educational problems and policy issues.
 
Graduates with the PhD are expected to exert leadership in the field of education and deal with those aspects and problems in society that need to be taken into account in advancing educational thought, policy development, and practice, especially where these concern the social role of the school and other educational agencies.
 
The program of study varies in the number of credits required, depending upon the candidate's qualifications and includes college and departmental course requirements; course work focused on an area of emphasis in history, philosophy, or comparative or social foundations of education; courses outside the department; a field project/internship or an apprenticeship in teaching; qualifying and comprehensive examinations; and the dissertation.

Admission Requirements

Application for admission to the PhD program will be considered for the fall semester only and is made to the Graduate Division. Students must meet the requirements of both the Graduate Division and the College of Education, including

  • Acceptable scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) verbal, quantitative, and analytical sections and the GRE Writing Assessment.
  • Applicants from foreign countries where English is not the dominant language are required to have a TOEFL score of 600 (regardless of degree completion from other U.S. institutions).
  • A master’s degree from an accredited university or college is required with evidence of a minimum of three years of experience in the field of education.
  • The applicant must demonstrate competence in writing and present a written statement of higher career goals and academic objectives.
  • At least three letters of recommendation are required.
  • An oral interview may be conducted.

Program Requirements

The quality of a candidate’s work is judged by a variety of experiences, which include the College of Education general and specialization area courses, culminating in a field project or internship, a set of comprehensive and final examinations, and a dissertation.
 
The dissertation is based on a selected research problem and is a significant part of the candidate’s experience. Six areas of specialization are currently available: curriculum and instruction, educational administration, educational foundations, exceptionalities, policy studies and peace education.