Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction
Introduction
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Curriculum and Instruction prepares graduates for faculty positions at research or teaching universities and for positions as research scientists and post-doctoral fellows at universities or research centers. The Ph.D. program places an emphasis on preparing graduates whose primary interests are to engage in research and scholarship to advance the field of curriculum and instruction. Graduates are prepared to be leaders in the profession by effectively fulfilling responsibilities in the areas of research and scholarship, teaching, and service. The Ph.D. is a cohort program that starts each fall semester, with required courses to help graduates achieve these goals. Students work with an advisor and committee members to choose electives based on individual career goals.
The Ph.D. may include electives such as Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Curriculum and Instruction, Language Arts/English Education, Literacy Education, Mathematics Education, Science Education, Social Studies Education, or Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Education. Doctoral work includes a majority of credit hours in curriculum and instruction, additional hours in basic and applied research skills, and a dissertation involving original research in the student's specialization.
Graduate Admission to the Department of Curriculum and Teaching
In addition to general requirements for admission to graduate study in the School of Education and Human Sciences, doctoral programs in Curriculum and Instruction require completion of appropriate undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Materials describing all Curriculum and Instruction programs may be obtained from the department.
Please refer to the graduate application for application deadlines.
Admission to the Doctor of Philosophy, Curriculum and Instruction Program (Domestic Applicants)
The following materials must be submitted:
- A completed domestic online graduate application.
- 1 official transcript of all previous undergraduate and graduate credit. Doctoral applicants must have earned a Master's degree or equivalent with at least a 3.5 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test scores. The scores must be no older than 5 years prior to the application term. Official scores are required, sent from the testing institution directly to the Office of Graduate Studies.
- A statement of career goals addressing how this degree will help meet professional aspirations and areas of interest in curriculum and instruction. An appropriate length is 1 to 2 pages.
- 3 letters of recommendation; a letter from the master's advisor is appropriate to include. Each letter should be attached to the online recommendation form when it is submitted by the recommender.
- Writing sample: an article, paper or other scholarly composition originally written by the applicant. An appropriate length is 8 to 10 pages.
- A vitae or resume.
Admission to the Doctor of Philosophy, Curriculum and Instruction Program (International Applicants)
The following materials must be submitted:
- A completed international online graduate application.
- 2 official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate credit including degree conferral (1 in the original language and 1 in English translation). Doctoral applicants must have earned a Master's degree or equivalent with at least a 3.5 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. The transcripts must contain the following information:
- Completion of course work required for degree
- Degree earned and date the degree was conferred; if this is not on the transcript, applicants must also submit a degree certificate and/or diploma
- Official stamp/seal from the school
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test scores. The scores must be no older than 5 years prior to the application term. Official scores are required, sent from the testing institution directly to the Office of Graduate Studies.
- A statement of career goals addressing how this degree will help meet professional aspirations and areas of interest in curriculum and instruction. An appropriate length is 1 to 2 pages.
- 3 letters of recommendation; a letter from the master's advisor is appropriate to include. Each letter should be attached to the online recommendation form when it is submitted by the recommender.
- Writing sample: an article, paper or other scholarly composition originally written by the applicant. An appropriate length is 8 to 10 pages.
- A vitae or resume.
- A statement of account balance from the applicant's sponsor's bank. This statement must be on bank stationery. There must also be a letter of support from his/her sponsor if the bank statement is not in the applicant's name.
- Proof of English Proficiency - Non-native and non-native-like English speakers must demonstrate Full English proficiency to gain admission to a Curriculum and Instruction graduate program.
Applicants who have earned a baccalaureate degree (or higher) in residence from an accredited university or from a foreign university which conducts all instruction in English and which maintains substantially equivalent bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree requirements, will be considered fully proficient and will not be required to complete AEC testing or coursework. Degrees earned online may not be used to verify English proficiency.
Please note: Meeting minimum admission standards does not guarantee admission to the program.
All application materials should be submitted online with the graduate application. If there are application materials that cannot be uploaded with the online application, they may be emailed or mailed to the department:
The University of Kansas
Department of Curriculum and Teaching
Joseph R. Pearson Hall
1122 W. Campus Road, Room 321
Lawrence, KS 66045
Contact us: ctdepartment@ku.edu
Although the courses and the research leading to the Ph.D. are necessarily specialized, the attainment of this degree should not be an isolated event in the enterprise of learning. The aspirant for the Ph.D. is expected to be a well-educated person and should have acquired a broad base of general knowledge, both as preparation for more advanced work and as a means of knowing how curriculum and instruction is related to other fields of human thought.
The Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. program is typically completed in 4 to 5 years, but students are allowed 8 years to complete the program. The program may be completed in approximately 66 credit hours, but the total hours may vary, depending on when the dissertation is completed and successfully defended.
Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. students must complete the following mandatory enrollment and additional degree requirements. Additional coursework as described below will be selected in consultation with the faculty advisor to create an individualized program that best suits the student's academic research interests.
Doctoral aspirants should develop a program plan at the first enrollment or promptly thereafter. A copy of this program should be filed with the Curriculum and Teaching department and the Graduate Division of the School of Education
The program plan must include:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| C&T 922 | Introduction to the Curriculum & Instruction Doctor of Philosophy Program (Completed in the initial fall term.) | 1 |
| C&T 800 | Foundations of Curriculum Development (Completed in the initial fall term.) | 3 |
| EDUC 800 | Education as a Field of Scholarship (Typically completed in the initial fall term.) | 3 |
| EPSY 715 | Understanding Research in Education (Mandatory if not completed, or an equivalent was not completed, in the student's master's program. EPSY 715 credits will not count toward fulfillment of the Ph.D. requirements.) | 3 |
| C&T 996 | Teaching and Learning in the College Classroom | 3 |
- A minimum of 36 graduate credit hours taken at the University of Kansas, exclusive of dissertation credits and the research requirement. At least 24 of these hours must be in the area of Curriculum and Instruction. A minimum of 18 of these hours must be at the 800-level or above, and at least six of these hours must be outside of the area of study.
- A minimum of 12 graduate credit hours in Research Skills (basic and applied research skills, including statistics, research design, and related requirements appropriate to the degree).
- Completion of a supervised college teaching experience during the student's doctoral program, and submission of the College Teaching Experience Verification form to the School of Education and Human Sciences Graduate Division office. This experience may or may not be completed concurrently with enrollment in C&T 996 but must be completed prior to obtaining clearance to proceed with the comprehensive exams.
- Completion of the Engagement and Enrollment in Doctoral Programs requirement – 2 semesters, usually consecutive, must be spent in resident study at the University of Kansas.
- Successful completion of written and oral comprehensive exams (additional information below).
- Completion of the Post-comprehensive Enrollment requirement.
- Approval by the Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) of all research projects involving human subjects (if applicable).
- Committee approval of the dissertation proposal, filed with the Graduate Division of the School of Education and Human Sciences..
- Enrollment in dissertation hours. Please refer to the School of Education and Human Sciences Graduate Regulations section of the Graduate Catalog for detailed enrollment requirements and additional information regarding the dissertation process below.
- Successful defense and submission for publication of the doctoral dissertation.
Additional information regarding the comprehensive exams, dissertation proposal and dissertation.
Successful completion of written and oral comprehensive exams
- The comprehensive examination consists of both written and oral parts and covers the major area pursued by the student. The student passes the comprehensive examination if a majority of the official examining committee (including the chair) approves the student’s performance. The grade on this examination is Honors, Satisfactory, or Unsatisfactory. An aspirant who receives a grade of Unsatisfactory may be allowed, upon the recommendation of the department, to repeat it, but it may not be taken more than 3 times. The aspirant may not repeat the oral examination until at least 90 days have elapsed since the last unsuccessful attempt or by petition.
- Students in the Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. program must pass both written and oral components of the comprehensive examination. Satisfactory performance on the written component must be attained before the oral component may be attempted. To fail either component is to fail the examination. All 4 members of the student’s comprehensive examination committee are involved in the evaluation process. The written component of the comprehensive examination, like the oral, focuses on advanced knowledge in the major and any appropriate related areas. The focus of the examination is the ability to relate program knowledge to tasks and problems faced by practitioners. To pass, the student must be evaluated as having responded satisfactorily to questions in the major areas. If a student fails any portion of the written comprehensive component, a failure of the examination is recorded. The examining committee determines if the entire written component of the examination, or only the failed portion(s), must be retaken. The entire written component lasts a minimum of 16 hours. If a student passes the written component but fails the oral, the examining committee determines if both components or only the oral must be repeated.
Committee approval of the candidate's dissertation proposal before the candidate is allowed to continue working toward the dissertation defense.
- After successfully passing the comprehensive examination, students will have three semesters (including summer) to present a proposal to the dissertation committee. If the proposal is rejected by the dissertation committee, the student must resubmit a proposal the following semester. If the second attempt at the proposal is rejected, the student is dismissed from the program. Exceptions to the above policy would be given only if the student submits verification of extenuating circumstances preventing progress.
- The dissertation proposal meeting, sometimes referred to as the dissertation proposal defense, is a time for candidates to meet with their dissertation committees to discuss the focus, direction, and methodologies of their dissertations. The proposal typically is comprised of the first three chapters of the dissertation and should follow the dissertation formatting requirements found on the Graduate Studies website. Candidates should submit their proposals to their committees at least two weeks prior to the dissertation proposal meeting. After consultation with the advisor, candidates arrange with their committee members a mutually-agreeable date and time for the proposal meeting.
- Please refer to additional information about dissertation requirements in the KU Policy Library - Doctoral Dissertation.
Completion of the doctoral dissertation following all formatting and style requirements as directed by the candidate's dissertation committee.
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The candidate must present a dissertation that exhibits the application of existing knowledge in the major field of professional study. Ph.D. candidates may satisfy the dissertation requirement by completing a comprehensive, critical assessment of the relevant literature on a major educational issue or problem. This study should demonstrate the application of existing knowledge to the author’s area of professional practice. The format and style of a student’s dissertation is left to the discretion of the student, advisor, and committee, but format and style options may be constrained or dictated by the policy of the department from which the student is to receive the degree and by the Office of Graduate Studies. The dissertation is prepared under the direction of the dissertation committee. The minimum number of dissertation hours in the Ph.D. program is 18 (unless the candidate successfully defends earlier), although students need to maintain enrollment in dissertation hours until the final dissertation defense. Instructions regarding the proper form of the final document may be obtained from the School of Education and Human Sciences Graduate Division office. Any substantial divergences must be approved in advance as prescribed by the instructions, and candidates and faculty members are urged to seek early approval to avoid last-minute disappointments over unacceptable format or reproduction.
Successful dissertation defense and submission for publication to UMI/ProQuest.
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When the dissertation has been tentatively accepted by the dissertation committee, the chair of the dissertation committee may request the School of Education and Human Sciences Graduate Division Office to schedule the final oral examination.
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The examination covers the dissertation and the candidate’s concentration area. The candidate passes the final examination if a majority of the official examining committee members (including the chair) approves the candidate’s performance. When the final oral examination has been passed, the dissertation committee reports a grade of Honors, Satisfactory, or Unsatisfactory. Candidates who fail the final oral examination may be allowed to repeat it upon recommendation of the dissertation committee.
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When the candidate has passed the final oral examination and the members of the dissertation committee have signed the dissertation, a title page and acceptance page with original signatures are to be delivered to the Graduate Affairs office of the school/college in which the student’s program resides so that completion of degree requirements may be officially certified. As a requirement of graduation, the candidate must arrange publication of the dissertation and payment of all applicable fees, through the electronic submission process found on the Graduate Studies website.
Application for degree and completion of required doctoral surveys and release forms as directed by the School of Education and Human Sciences Graduate Division Office.
Note: Contact the home department or program for more information about research skills and responsible scholarship, and current requirements for doctoral students. Current Lawrence and Edwards Campus policies on Doctoral Research Skills and Responsible Scholarship are listed in the KU Policy Library.