Language Education in Multilingual Contexts: Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy in Education

Admission Requirements

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

• We recommend – though do not require – that applicants have completed a master’s degree and have three years of preK-12 teaching experience with multilingual students in public or private schools (or other informal schooling contexts).
• Prospective students often ask what aspects of the application are given the most weight when being considered for acceptance into the program. Each application is looked at as a whole. One factor that is consistently important is the statement of professional goals. This reflection is the best way to communicate who you are and how you would fit into the program.
• Applications must include a professional goal statement (four double-spaced pages suggested) and a writing sample (10 to 15 double-spaced pages suggested) 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 – language education in multilingual contexts program requires a minimum of 72 hours, including at least 54 credits of coursework. The 54 credits include content courses and research methodology courses. In addition, students must complete 6 research apprenticeship credits and 12 dissertation credits. At least 36 course and apprenticeship credits must be completed after admission to the program. (Students entering the doctoral program with a master’s degree can apply up to 24 hours of credit to their doctoral studies, provided that the faculty advisor and program committee members agree that the courses are comparable to specific courses required in the doctoral program.)

Additional courses will be determined according to the student's area of specialization in coordination with the program committee and faculty advisor.

Required core courses include:

• EDIS 7842: Teaching ELLs: Theory, Policy and Practice  
• EDIS 7840: Discourse Analysis in Educational Settings
• EDIS 8855: Education & Diversity
• At least one 3-credit course taken outside the School of Education to draw upon the interdisciplinary nature of Language Education and expertise across UVA grounds.

Strongly recommended core courses include:

• EDIS 7886: Comprehension of Texts
• EDIS 7845: Writing: Research, Teaching & Learning
• EDIS 8810: Policy Perspectives on Teaching and Teacher Education
• Research Requirements: A minimum of 24 semester hours of core coursework is required.

Required research courses include:

• EDIS 7852: Reading the Research
• EDLF 7300: Foundations of Educational Research  
• EDLF 5330: Educational Statistics I
• EDLF 7420: Experimental Design or EDLF 8310: Correlation and Regression Analysis
• EDLF 7404: Qualitative Analysis  
• At least 9 hours of additional courses in research design, methods, measurement, and/or statistics. These will be determined in consultation with the faculty advisor and program committee.