Learning Sciences and Policy, PhD

Degree Requirements

Doctoral students in the Learning Sciences and Policy program who enter the program without a master’s degree in a relevant field are required to take six core courses, a minimum of six research methods courses, and eight advanced seminars in an area of specialization. Students also participate as part of a faculty member’s research team throughout their time in the program. As part of that research team, students engage in every phase of the research process, apprenticing under the active mentoring of the faculty member. Additionally, doctoral students are expected complete at least two independent research projects under the supervision of the faculty. Students are required to take two one-semester practica/internships, the purposes of which are to expose students to a range of kinds and forms of research and build students’ professional skills. Students with a Masters degree in a related field can transfer credits toward the PhD with approval by the LSAP faculty.

¹ First Year Seminar meets every other week, with 1 credit in fall and 2 credits in spring, taken over and above the typical 9-credits course load. These credits are above and beyond the 90 credits required for graduation.

² Writing Seminar taken over and above the typical 9-credit course load beginning in the second year of study. These credits are above and beyond the 90 credits required for graduation.

³ This includes courses taken outside the School of Education.

• LSAP 3095 - ORGANIZATINAL PERSPECTIVES ON EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT
• LSAP 3096 - CURRICULUM ISSUES IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
• LSAP 3097 - SUPERVISED RESEARCH
• LSAP 3098 - DIRECTED STUDIES - LSAP
• LSAP 3099 - DOCTORAL DISSERTATION RESEARCH IN LSAP
• LSAP 3540 - DESIGN OF EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS
• LSAP 3595 - SPECIAL TOPICS

PhD Core Curriculum

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  Methods Courses Credits / Units: 15

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  Preparing students to tackle problems of practice and policy, and create innovative research agendas, requires intentionality in the mentods coursework that supports students’ development of independent projects, meaningful contributions to advisors’ research, and critical analysis of past research. To help ensure that students develop the necessary analytic competencies, students across the areas of concentration (ARCOs) for the PhD in the School of Education are required to complete a minimum of 5 methods courses: Quantitative 1 (EDUC 2100) and 2 (EDUC 3100); Qualitative 1 (EDUC 3104); and 2 seminars in advanced quantitative or qualitative methods, determined by the student and their advisor.

   

• EDUC 3100 - INTRODUCTION TO QUAN METHODS: DESCRIPTIVE AND INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
• EDUC 3103 - QUANTITATIVE METHODS 2
• EDUC 3104 - INTRODUCTION TO QUALITATIVE METHODS

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  First Year Seminar Credits / Units: 3

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  To further support students’ research competencies, PhD students also participate in a school wide first year seminar (EDUC 3102) and EDUC 3105). This seminar meets every other week (1 credit in fall and 2 credits in spring, taken over and above the typical 9 credit course load) and focuses on familiarizing students with practical and ethical issues in research (e.g., necessary clearances for working in schools, resolving questions of authorship and authorship order, human subjects guidelines), and supporting students work on their pre-dissertation proposal (e.g., developing innovative research questions, conducting a literaature review).

   

• EDUC 3102 - FIRST YEAR SEMINAR 1
• EDUC 3105 - FIRST YEAR SEMINAR 2

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  Additionally, PhD students enroll in writing seminar courses taken over and above the typical 9-credit course load beginning in the second year of study. These credits are above and beyond the 90 credits required for graduation.