Education and Social Policy: Degree Requirements

Students take 12 credits from the core curriculum in the areas of public policy, social policy, human development and educational foundations. Specifically, students will take:

• HDFS 803: Human Development in Life Span Perspective (3 credits),
• EDUC 805: Proseminar in Education (3 credits)
• UAPP 822: Public Policy Theory (3 credits)
• UAPP 823: Social Policy (3 credits)

Students also take nine credits in methods curriculum in the areas of:

• regression/multivariate analysis
• advanced quantitative methods (e.g., HLM, longitudinal data analysis, data mining)
• qualitative analysis
• mixed methods or evaluation

Students will also take six credits in the area of research design. This two-course sequence will include a general research design course and a causal inference research design course.

Additionally, students take 12 elective credits: three of those will be advanced methods, three will be their chosen discipline (e.g., sociology, psychology, political science), and six will be in their area of interest (e.g., early childhood policy or social policy).

Each semester for four academic years, students will also participate in a pass/fail colloquium series (one credit per semester for the first four semesters, and after that, a zero-credit requirement). This research colloquium introduces students to the foremost thinkers and researchers in the field of education and social policy. Guest scholars are invited to share their research findings with doctoral students and faculty in a setting that encourages collegiality and familiarizes students with a number of scholarly presentation styles and content areas. The colloquium also provides a forum for discussion of topics relevant for developing scholars, such as how to develop a dissertation idea, identifying grant opportunities, choosing journals, etc.

All students will participate in a 20 hour per week academic year research assistantship in each year of the program (except students who may be acting as a teaching assistant for one or two semesters). Summer assistantships are encouraged but are optional based on available funding. During the assistantship, students will engage in hands-on research design, analysis, writing and presentation of results.

After completion of the required coursework, students will complete a qualifying exam created and evaluated by an exam committee comprised of three faculty members. The exam will constitute an authentic task that builds on knowledge we expect students to develop as part of the program: the ability to identify, synthesize and critique policy literature, communicate evidence to policy/practice partners, and design research to inform policy/practice partners’ work in that policy area.

Dissertation credits: Doctoral students who have been admitted to candidacy must enroll in nine credits of EDSP 969 and thereafter maintain their matriculation in the degree program during each fall and spring semester by registering for sustaining (UNIV 999).

Dissertation proposal: Students complete a written proposal for their dissertation and defend it orally before their dissertation committee. The program does not require a formal dissertation preparation course, but students may elect to take SPPA 863, Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Workshop.

Dissertation and defense: Students complete a dissertation, an original work of scholarship, meeting College, University, and professional requirements. They also complete an oral defense of the work before their dissertation committee.

Students are required to participate in the program in person during the academic year.