Curriculum & Instruction: Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy in Education

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements that apply specifically to this program are listed below:

• We recommend that applicants to the Ph.D. in Education – Curriculum & Instruction (C&I Ph.D.) program have an approved master’s degree and three or more years of full-time K-12 teaching experience.
• Applications must include a professional goal statement (1 to 2 pages) and a writing sample (10 to 15 pages) from the applicant’s master's program or equivalent.

Visit our Graduate Admission page for the full admission process.

Coursework

To learn more about specific courses taken as part of the completion of this degree, visit the graduate record website. These webpages represent the official repository for academic program requirements.

The Ph.D. in Education – Curriculum and Instruction requires a minimum of 72 hours. There is a 24 semester-hour core requirement. Students can fulfill this by taking 24 hours of C&I core courses or 12 hours of C&I core courses and 12 hours of courses in a C&I optional area of emphasis (e.g., Diverse Learners and Learning Contexts, Teacher Education/Teacher Quality).

It is imperative that students be knowledgeable about the School of Education and Human Development requirements for the Ph.D. as specified in the Graduate Record of the University of Virginia. The following guidelines are conceived as detailed extensions of the overall School of Education and Human Development Ph.D. requirements. Ultimately, a student’s doctoral program committee and the C&I doctoral studies coordinator are responsible for program approval. Students must maintain the Ph.D. Record of Progress. Up to 24 credits from a current master’s degree may be applied toward the Ph.D. The decision for transfer approval is made in concert with the program committee and doctoral studies coordinator.

Research Methodology Coursework: Students will take a minimum of 24 hours of research coursework, including EDIS 7852 (Reading the Research) and EDLF 7300 (Foundations of Educational Research). Students will also take at least two courses in quantitative methods and one course in qualitative methods.

Student Annual Report: Each Ph.D. student will complete an annual report describing his or her growth and accomplishments. The report will guide students in reflecting on their own learning and progress and also allow faculty to assess student progress toward program goals.

Preliminary Examination: In the second semester of the first year of study, all full-time Ph.D. students will complete a preliminary exam designed to determine the likelihood of the student’s continued success in doctoral studies.  This exam consists of two parts: an in-depth critique of a research report and an oral presentation of the critique and the student’s professional goals statement. In addition, an evaluation of the proposed program will be conducted by the examination committee. The Ph.D. assessment rubric for preliminary examinations will be used to evaluate both the paper and the presentation.

Qualifying Paper: All Ph.D. students will complete a pre-dissertation research project that results in a manuscript submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal or an alternative scholarly publication consistent with the program area's discipline. The manuscript must be submitted before the student undertakes dissertation work. There is no requirement that the paper be accepted for publication, but students are encouraged to make revisions to the manuscript if a resubmission is likely to result in publication. Programs and advisors are encouraged to shape these projects toward eventual publication. Faculty use the qualifying paper to assess the student’s progress in academic writing and scholarship.

Comprehensive Examination: All students will complete a written comprehensive examination to demonstrate understanding of the knowledge base and methodology in an area of curriculum and instruction to demonstrate readiness to undertake doctoral research. The examination will be graded independently by at least two faculty members according to the Ph.D. Assessment Rubric for Comprehensive Examinations.