The Department of Education, Culture, and Society is composed of a group of professors and students committed to the study and pursuit of social justice in education. Drawing on anthropology, history, philosophy, sociology, social psychology, and cultural studies, the department offers an interdisciplinary framework for addressing questions about class, race, ethnicity, and gender in contemporary policy and practice in primary, secondary, and post secondary educational settings.
Below is an outline of course requirements for Ph.D. students. For more specific information, you should consult the head of graduate programs, your advisor, or the academic program specialist.
A. PROGRAM STRUCTURE
Typically, the specialty includes nine additional hours in one of the two main areas in the Department: History, Philosophy and Sociological Studies or Language, Culture and Curriculum. However, students may design their own specialty in consultation with their advisor.
Preparation for the Preliminary Exam (3-9 hours)
All students must complete this exam after successfully completing 36 hours of coursework and before you have completed 42 hours of coursework. Three hours are required; may be repeated for up to nine hours (though only three will count towards the degree).
Research Methodology (9 hours)
All students must complete a minimum of nine hours of coursework in qualitative and/or quantitative research methodology. Courses should
be planned in consultation with your advisor to equip you with the research skills you will need to completed your dissertation. Students in history and philosophy may make other arrangements to fulfill this requirement.
Allied Hours (9 hours)
All students must complete 9 additional hours outside the Department of Education, Culture & Society. These courses should be decided in consultation with your advisor and should complement your course of study
Dissertation Seminar (3 hours)
Optional but recommended for pre-proposal students.
Thesis Hours (15 hours)
All Ph.D. students must enroll in 15 hours of ECS 7970. No more than 6 hours may be taken before.
Total: 66 required hours.
B. ECS COURSES
1. History, Philosophy and Sociological Studies6610 History of Education in the United States
6611 History of Teaching in the United States
6641 Social Inequality in Higher Education
6642 Impact of College on Students
6643 Affirmative Action & Diversity in Higher Education
7610 Social Movements and the History of Education I
7611 Social Movements and the History of Education in the U.S. II [prereq: 7610]
7612 History of Black Education in the U.S.
7614 Culture Wars in U.S. Educational Policy
7616 History of Women's Education in the United States
7620 Seminar in the Philosophy of Education
7621 Pragmatism and John Dewey
7623 African American Epistemologies & Pedagogies
7626 Whiteness Theory II: New Directions for Research & Pedagogy [prereq: 7624]
7629 The Writing Wars: Scholarship and the Construction of Knowledge.
2. Language, Culture & Curriculum
6631 Minorities, Diversity & Control in Public Schools
6632 Issues & Research in Multicultural Education
6633 Curriculum & Instruction in Multicultural Education
6634 Bilingual/Bicultural Education
6636 Literacy as Cultural Practice
6650 Curriculum Inquiry & Practice
7630 Anthropology & Education
7635 Perspective in Comparative Education
7638 Language Diversity in Education
7639 Language and Community
7655 Critical Pedagogy
7813 Teacher Research
3.Educational Theory
6640 Sociology of Higher Education
6652 Advanced Curriculum Theory
7615 School, Work & the State
7617 Global Knowledge, Text and Performance in Education
7622 Feminist Epistemologies & Pedagogies
7624 Whiteness Theory & Education
7625 Critical Race Theories: A focus on FemCrit and LatCrit
7631 Sociological & Anthropological Theories in Education
7650 Schools and Inequality
7653 Foundational Theories of Language and Education
4. Research Courses7670 Conceptual Issues in Qualitative Research
7671 Qualitative Research Method
7672 Ethnographic Research Methods
7673 Evaluating Qualitative ResearchC. THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
The preliminary exam consists of two essays responding to a question written by the student and one essay responding to a question written by the student's preliminary exam committee. Students are expected to do their preliminary exam after successfully completing 36 hours of course work and before completing 42 hours of credit
The exam has five aims:1) to broaden and deepen the student's knowledge of research in a selected are;
2) to assist the student in synthesizing and analyzing important research in his or her area of expertise;
3) to facilitate the student's grasp of theories relevant to his or her area;
4) to help faculty members identify areas in which the student will need to do further work;
5) to identify students whose scholarly skills will not allow them to successfully complete a dissertation.
D. DISSERTATION PROPOSALAfter completing most of your course work and before your qualifying examination, each student must prepare a detailed statement of the research proposed for the dissertation. This proposal should include a review of the relevant research on the topic proposed for study, a thorough conceptualization of the goals and design of the project, and a rationale outlining its significance and value. Thus, the proposal must follow an intensive preliminary investigation of the topic. It should not simply sketch out an area or topic planned for study. Much of this work may be done in the form of directed independent studies – ECS 7690.
E. QUALIFYING EXAMINATIONThe Qualifying Exam should be taken after the student's's course work and proposal are completed and before the student begins full time work on the dissertation. This exam consists of a formal meeting with the student's supervisory committee. Prior to this meeting, the student should supply committee members with a written proposal that the student defends during the Qualifying Exam. What the student "qualifies" for is to begin work on the dissertation. Hence, the exam looks for the knowledge base, writing ability, and methodological training necessary to carry out a successful research project. The student's previous course work should focus on developing this background.
F. THE DISSERTATIONThe dissertation is an original piece of research on a significant topic of relevance to education. It represents the culmination of a student's doctoral study, and the student will be expected to have mastered the relevant theoretical and research background of the issues involved in study of the topic.
G. FINAL ORAL DEFENSE
This presentation is evaluated by the student's supervisory committee at the conclusion of the program. A positive evaluation constitutes the formal acceptance of the student's studies and scholarship as suitable to a research doctorate. The text of the dissertation must be complete, and each member of the committee must be satisfied that it addresses their major concerns. The oral defense must be public (however, non-committee members may participate in the discussion only at the discretion of the candidate and the supervisory committee). The purpose of the presentation is to judge the overall quality of the dissertation and to assess the scope of the student's knowledge and understanding of the relevant topic.
(Revised 11/12/04)