Degree Requirements

Requirements for completing the Ph.D. program in Education with a concentration in Educational Policy include requirements that are common to all areas of concentration and those that are specific to Educational Policy (see below).

Requirements Common to All Concentrations

The following courses are required. Specific requirements of the area of concentration in Educational Policy are described later.

Proseminars(6 credits)

• 16:300:501 Proseminar in Educational Theories and Practice
• 16:300:503 Proseminar in Educational Research

*These courses are typically taken in the first year.

• 16:300:509 Qualitative Research Methods in Education I
• 16:300:511 Quantitative Research Methods in Education I, and Either
• 16:300:515 Quantitative Research Methods in Education II
• 16:300:519 Quantitative Research Methods in Education III, Or
• 16:300:513 Qualitative Research Methods in Education II
• 16:300:517 Qualitative Research Methods in Education III

• 16:300:600 Prethesis Research
• 16:300:601 Prethesis Research

Cognate Courses (6 Credits)

Students take 6 credits outside of Education (i.e., outside of courses offered in School 15 and in 16:300). The courses should be in an area related to the students’ primary area of concentration and should be selected in consultation with the student’s advisor.

Specialization (18 credits)

Six graduate courses in the area of concentration must be taken. Specific requirements in the educational policy concentration are included in the next section.

The Qualifying Examination Committee is composed of four members of the Ph.D. faculty in Education who work in the specific area of the concentration. Each area of concentration in the Ph.D. in Education program has different requirements for the qualifying examination.

Students complete an original piece of research as their dissertation project (24 credits of 300:701, 702). The research is expected to contribute to the knowledge base in the student’s particular area of interest. Students cannot enroll in Research in Education until they have been admitted as a candidate for the Ph.D. program after passing their qualifying examinations.

Specific Requirements of the concentration in Educational Policy 

Cognate Courses 

Students will complete 2 courses, or 6 credits, outside of courses offered in School 15 and in 16:300. At least one of the courses must be in the policy program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.

Specializations

Students will complete 6 courses, or 18 credits, in the education policy concentration.  Students must take one policy relevant course with both Professors Firestone and Bulkley.  The remaining courses will be selected in close consultation with each student’s advisor.

Qualifying Examinations

The Qualifying Examination consists of three distinct elements.

Part I:   Two-three questions based on the concentration classes in a student’s program.  Faculty members from two or three courses taken by each student will write questions based on the issues and materials covered in their courses.  All question responses should combine to no more than 3000 words.

Part II:   The second section will address a given student’s methodological competency (quantitative, qualitative, case study, legal, historical, and/or ethnographic).  Students will be asked to write a 1500 word methodological critique of an article provided by the qualifying examination committee.

Part III:   The final section requires an essay regarding a key issue in the student’s chosen area of specialty.  Students will submit a statement of their area of research interest, and the committee will write a question based on this statement that requires them to discuss the literature in their chosen area and connect it to readings and concepts raised in concentration classes.  They should be able to address the issues involved, the extant research (to the degree that is feasible), the weaknesses and strengths in the research base, and short term and long term policy implications.  The essay will be no more than 6,000 words.

The Exam itself will be administered in two sessions. The first will be an examination covering the first two elements (core & methodology). This will be in the form of a “take-home” examination, covering the period of one weekend. Students will pick up their questions and article for critique on Friday, no later than 4 PM and return their responses by no later than 4 pm the following Monday.

Following completion of the first part of the exam, students will have two weeks to write their essays for Part III. These will be due NO LATER than 2 weeks after they submit their take-home examination.

Students will receive either a grade of pass or fail on each part of the examination, and must pass all three parts in order to progress in the program.   If a failing grade is received on any part, the student will have the opportunity to retake that part of the exam one time.  After failing any section two times, students will be removed from the Ph.D. program.