Doctor of Philosophy in Education (Ph.D.)

Applications received by the February 15th deadline will receive priority, although we will consider exceptional applicants until all fellowships are filled.

Filling a Niche

A significant shortage exists for well-trained educators with degrees in the research-oriented fields of education. SMU has responded to this need with a doctoral program in education in the University's Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development. The doctoral program provides a strong foundation in research design, assessment, and pedagogical innovations. Job positions for educators with these sorts of research and academic credentials are abundant.

Participate in Research

The doctoral program in education prepares students to understand, evaluate and conduct research in education that will contribute to the improvement of student learning, teaching practices, services to special populations, and, ultimately, to the improvement of all levels of education. The program’s distinctive vision is to respond to the need for educational leaders who can provide data-based recommendations for educational policy and innovative new teaching and assessment practices.

Curriculum

The curriculum of the doctoral program prepares students for leadership, research, and innovation in a broad range of educational contexts. Specializations are developed in consultation with an advisor and can include a focus on educational policy and leadership, special populations, research methods and assessment, or content-area specializations. Doctoral students must complete a minimum of 60 credit hours of coursework (including 12-24 transfer credits) during a 2-year full-time program. Doctoral students are part of a cohort model in which they complete both a core set of courses and unique specialization courses during their first two years of the full-time program. The core research curriculum includes professional seminars in research paradigms and design, a quantitative statistics series, advanced assessment methods, and mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative research). Specialty and elective courses span a wide range of instructional design, literacy, bilingualism/biliteracy, diversity, linguistics, special education, giftedness, and other education-related courses.

Admission  

The Ph.D. program is designed to augment an existing Master’s degree or equivalent preparation. Admission is based on an overall evaluation of the candidate’s undergraduate and graduate transcripts, *GRE scores (e.g., ideally 1100+; with TOEFL scores if the student’s native language is not English), written records demonstrating at least three years of full-time teaching or school-related experience, a statement of professional purpose, three letters of recommendation, and faculty interviews. Application reviews will begin February 15th for priority review. Please click here to download an application or click here to apply on-line.

*To ensure that we receive your GRE scores, please use the institution code 7464 for the ACSSEHD.     

Degree Requirements

Students must enroll in a minimum of 9 hours of coursework per semester and be in full-time residence in the Dallas area for the first two academic years of the program. With the assistance of their advisor (and dissertation committees), students develop programs of study tailored to their particular needs. However, all students share the same set of requirements. In addition to coursework, students work 20 hours/week doing research on grants that are held by program faculty. This is time that is compensated back to the student, but it is also a requirement of the program. Requirements for the doctoral degree encompass the 60 credit hours of coursework (including approved transfer credits), qualifying exams, a major area paper (often related to the future dissertation), evidence of teaching competency, dissemination of research (e.g., a conference presentation), a professional portfolio of the student’s best work, advancement to the dissertation phase, formation of a dissertation committee, a dissertation with an oral defense, and submission of a variation of the dissertation for possible publication. Students are expected to participate as assistants in extant research studies as part of the research requirements of the program.

Who can give me additional information?

Additional Forms for the PhD in Education Program may be obtained on the Forms Page.

For additional information, please contact the Ph.D. Program Director by calling 214-768-8623 or e-mailing Dr. Paige Ware at pware@smu.edu.