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Curriculum and Instruction Doctoral Program

Overview

The School of Teacher Education and Leadership administers an interdepartmental program leading to a doctoral degree (PhD or EdD) in Education with a Specialization in Curriculum and Instruction. These degrees are designed for educators who wish to prepare to become curriculum specialists, coordinators, or supervisors in public or private school systems or state departments of public instruction, and for those preparing to teach at the college or university level generally in a teacher preparation area.

Admissions	PhD or EdD?	EdD Emphasis Areas	Program Faculty	Distance Doctoral Program
11 Steps to Your Doctorate	Internships	Financial Information	Forms and Advice	Contact Information
Meet Some of Our Doctoral Students

Admission Requirements - PhD and EdD Degree Programs

Completed electronic application for admission. To begin the process click HERE
Transcripts of all college/university credits
Three favorable letters of recommendation (two should be from previous professors)
Evidence of two years of teaching experience
Evidence of a 3.0 (B) GPA (last two years of undergraduate and graduate credit)
GRE: Verbal (minimum 40%-tile)

GRE: Quantitative (minimum 40%-tile)
Recommendation by C & I screening committee

The admissions committee for the C & I doctoral program meets several times during the academic year to consider applications. Meetings are generally held in September, October, November, February, March, and April. Doctoral applicants interested in having the best opportunity to be awarded a graduate assistantship for the following year should have their doctoral applications in for the February meeting. Decisions regarding assistantships for full-time doctoral students are generally made in March.

All applications to graduate programs at USU are now completed electronically through the USU School of Graduate Studies. In addition to the materials requested by the School of Graduate Studies please submit an up-to-date vita (resume) to the director of the program (deborah.byrnes@usu.edu). Be sure that your vita documents previous professional experiences involving teaching.

PhD or EdD?

The doctoral specialization in Curriculum and Instruction prepares candidates for careers requiring curriculum, instruction, and research expertise within public, private, college, and university educational settings. Depending on students’ professional goals and their ability or inability to attend graduate school full time during the academic year, students will either be accepted into the Doctor of Education (EdD) program or the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program. Students seeking the PhD must complete a minimum of two consecutive (course work) semesters as full-time, on-campus doctoral students.

Doctoral Students in Curriculum and Instruction take 60 credits of coursework beyond their Masters degree. These courses must be totally completed within an eight-year period. Students in both the PhD and EdD take a set of core courses in theory, foundations, and research (24-27 credits); design an emphasis area with their advisory committee; and complete 12 credits of dissertation research. Available emphasis areas within the EdD are currently: Early Childhood Education; Engineering and Technology Education; Instructional Leadership; Literacy; and Cultural Studies. Students in the EdD must also complete a minimum of 3 credits of internship. EdD emphasis area coursework recommendations are outlined in the next section.

Prospective doctoral students often want to know how long it will take to complete a doctorate. Below are two sample plans to help you visualize what a full-time and part-time doctoral degree program might look like. Once admitted, your supervisory committee will assist you in preparing an individualized Program of Study.

Coursework Recommendations for EdD Emphasis Areas

Program Faculty

Three academic units in three different colleges are involved in offering the Curriculum and Instruction (C & I) Doctoral Program. This is why we are referred to as an “Interdepartmental Doctoral Program.” The academic units involved are the School of Teacher Education and Leadership, the Department of Agricultural Systems and Technology Education, and the Department of Engineering and Technology Education. Click on the department links to go to a listing of faculty for each department. Additional support faculty come from a range of disciplines in a variety of colleges. A brief overview of faculty interests is available HERE.

Distance Doctoral Program

Every two years (on even numbered years), 20 students are admitted to the Curriculum and Instruction Distance Doctoral Program (Instructional Leadership emphasis area). The Distance Doctorate is a cohort program with a highly structured and sequenced program of studies. Currently this cohort program is only available to students who reside in selected non-Wasatch Front areas of Utah. The locations of the cohort sites vary by group. In past years we have had cohort groups in Price, Uintah Basin, Cedar City, St. George, Tooele, Monticello, Blanding, Ephraim, and Richfield. (Orem has also had cohort groups and is an exception to the Non-Wasatch Front policy). Click HERE for additional information on our distance EdD program.

Eleven Steps to Your Doctorate

The document below provides information on steps for completing your doctorate. Students admitted to the program should refer to this document and to information provided on the School of Graduate Studies web site as they proceed through the program.

Eleven Steps to Your Doctorate

Internships

As part of the EdD program students are required to complete internship credits. Please see the links below for more information on how internships work within the C & I doctoral program.

Financial Information

Please refer to the School of Graduate Studies site for information on tuition, fees, assistantships, and financial aid. Assistantships within the academic units comprising the interdepartmental degree (TEAL, ASTE, and ITE) are available to full-time students. For the best chance to be awarded an assistantship, applicants should have their applications completed no later than the end of February. Full-time doctoral students with assistantships are relieved of financial responsibility for tuition, are provided with health insurance at only a small cost to the student and in TEAL, currently receive $17,000 an academic year. If your assistantship would be in a department other than TEAL, please check with the head of that department to find out what their current assistantships pay.