All recent efforts to change precollege science education in the US attend to the need to educate all students in science. This reflects the increasing role science and technology play in modern society. Project 2061, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has developed Benchmarks for Science Literacy, suggesting the knowledge and skills that all should have on completing grade 12. The National Science Teachers Association's Scope, Sequence, and Coordination Project and the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards (1996) have both devised criteria for a science education that is truly intended for all. The work of the AAAS and of the National Research Council represent interest in and commitment to improving science education by organizations representing professional scientists.

Science involves problem solving, both theoretical and practical. Scientific knowledge is produced, disseminated, and validated by communities of scientists. The doctoral program aims to foster the development of scholars in science education who will contribute to science education as school, college, and university faculty or as curriculum developers, supervisors, and instructional leaders. It has two major goals: (1) the development of teacher-researchers who belong to communities of practice in science and in education and are thus able to assume leadership in science education; and (2) the fostering of scholarship that will assist the implementation of the ideal of "science for all."

The doctoral program in science education includes the following areas of study: (1) science education; (2) philosophical and sociological foundations of science; (3) cognitive and instructional psychology; (4) communications technologies; (5) advanced study in a scientific discipline; and (6) research methodology.

When an applicant is accepted into the doctoral program, he/she is assigned an academic advisor who meets with the student to develop a proposed program that uses the outline below as a guide. This Proposed Degree Program indicates the specific courses the student intends to take (including appropriate courses from other units of the University), the credits that are being transferred from other institutions (if any), anticipated dates of residency, etc. (Forms are available in the Department office.)

The Proposed Degree Program must be filed within the first 18 credits of coursework and must be approved by the student's academic advisor, the Department Chairperson, and the Associate Dean. Although the Proposed Degree Program may be modified, it provides a blueprint for study and encourages students to think early about the directions they wish to pursue and the preparation they need in order to carry out their dissertations.

Students may change their academic advisers if and when they identify faculty members whose interests are more consistent with their own. Please note, however, that the Proposed Degree Program should be developed with the academic advisor with whom the student will be continuing to work. It should also be noted that the academic advisor is not necessarily the faculty member who serves as the student's dissertation advisor.