About the C&I Ph.D. Program

The Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction is a journey of profound personal and professional discovery.

Program Structure

The Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction is a 45-credit post-Master’s degree program. Students will complete 39 credits as well as a comprehensive exam prior to the dissertation proposal. Over the course of three years, students are supported in completing extensive data collection, field research, and community engagement. Students will focus their studies in one of the four programmatic strands:


  • Teaching, Learning, and Knowing - build on multiple, multimodal literacies that focus on socio-cultural meaning making

  • Early Childhood - study the influence of family, community, and socio-cultural contexts on human development issues and inequities of young children

  • Global Education - examine issues that affect the world and local communities, such as poverty, famine, racism, and sexism

  • STEM Education - work and play with the intersections of science, technology, engineering, math, and culture


Unique Attributes

  • Levels of ongoing mentorship

  • Ongoing data collection

  • Robust methods courses

  • Community Immersion: working with and for the people and communities studied

  • Individualized Study supported by collaborative efforts


Possible Career Outcomes (Including but not limited to)

  • University Professor

  • Educational Researcher

  • Curriculum Specialist

  • Classroom Teacher

  • Specialized Consultant

  • Informal Educators and Education Specialists

  • District-Level Specialist


Coursework:

Of the required 15 courses, 10 are dedicated to research methods / educational research. These courses are bolded.


EDU 8000 Community Immersion Research Seminar I, 3 credits

EDU 8001 Community Immersion Research Seminar II, 3 credits (Prerequisite: EDU 8000 Community Immersion Research Seminar I)

EDU 8002 Community Immersion Research Seminar III, 3 credits (Prerequisite: EDU 8001 Community Immersion Research Seminar II)

EDU 8003 Visions of Research I, 3 credits

EDU 8004 Visions of Research II, 3 credits

EDU 8005 Visions of Research III, 3 credits (Prerequisite: EDU 8003 Visions of Research I and EDU 8004 Visions of Research II)

EDU 8006 Philosophies of Education, 3 credits

EDU 8007 Families and Communities as Partners in Education, 3 credits

EDU 8008 Global Perspectives within Education and Educational Research, 3 credits

EDU 8009 Critical and Historical Perspectives in Education & Educational Research, 3 credits

EDU 8010 Dissertation Proposal Seminar, 3 credits (Prerequisite: Requires Chair’s Permission)

EDU 8011 Dissertation

EDU 8012 Dissertation

EDU 8013 Advanced Methods in Research

EDU 8014 Special Topics: Literature Review


Students are required to complete six (6) credits of Dissertation/Matriculation (EDU 8011/8012)
(Prerequisite: Requires Chair’s Permission)