Curriculum & Instruction
Graduate Programs - Doctorate
 |
The doctoral program in Curriculum and Instruction is primarily designed to prepare students for roles as researchers and educators in higher education, industry, or for instructional leadership at school district and state levels. Students will work closely with faculty members through a sequence of experiences leading to greater independence as their roles change from student to colleague over the course of their graduate programs. In the doctoral program, students are expected to take initiative in their studies to read and to master material beyond the specific readings and activities required in course work.
The program is built on foundations of research and application and is composed of three strands:
- content area specialization,
- research and
- preparation for professional roles.
The doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction must complete specified coursework and experiences in her or his area of concentration and in research. In addition, the doctoral student must participate in specified common courses and seminars that serve as a core for the doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction. These activities enable the doctoral student to develop expertise in college teaching, research, supervision, and other areas of knowledge and skill deemed appropriate by the student and the doctoral advisory committee.
Research and Statistics Requirement
All doctoral students are required to take extensive coursework in research design and statistics. Research coursework includes both quantitative and qualitative study, and students may concentrate their study and research experience in a single approach or may use mixed methods.
Areas of Doctoral Concentration
Applicants must apply to study in one of ten doctoral study "concentrations" (areas of scholarly endeavor) offered by the department. Faculty members in each concentration, and some of their scholarly interests, are listed below by concentration.
Please note that each concentration is the main responsibility of a small number of faculty persons. These faculty members have responsibilities for bachelor's and/or master's level teacher preparation programs as well as other department, college, and university duties. As a result, each concentration can serve only a small number of doctoral students at any particular time. This may require a decision not to admit an applicant who is otherwise qualified for admission.
Potential applicants should contact the faculty members and/or investigate otherwise to obtain current information about doctoral study concentrations and scholarly interests of the faculty. As noted below under the heading “ Complete Curriculum and Instruction PhD Application”, a faculty member in the applicant's desired area of doctoral concentration must declare willingness to serve as the doctoral advisor in order for that applicant to be admitted to the PhD in Curriculum and Instruction.
Ph.D. Admission Procedures
The Department of Curriculum and Instruction encourages persons from all racial/ethnic backgrounds to apply for admission to its various programs. Ph.D. applications are reviewed in spring semester for admission to a summer term or the fall semester. Incomplete applications are not considered for admission. The Department of Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. application deadline is February 1 (or the first business day following this date).
To be considered for admission to the Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. program, the applicant must:
- hold a master's degree from an accredited institution of higher education,
- have achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or greater at the master's level,
- complete an application to the NCSU Graduate School which can be found at: http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/grad
/prospect.htm - complete an Application for Curriculum and Instruction PhD Admission, and
- provide scores for the GRE taken within the last 5 years (GRE Quantitative, Verbal and Writing scores). Preferred scores are at or above the mean for doctoral students in the Department within the curriculum and instruction program areas. (Mean scores for doctoral students in C&I program areas are 537 in Verbal Reasoning and 557 in Quantitative Reasoning). However, GRE scores provide only one piece of information used by the admissions committee in making its recommendation.
It is the applicant's responsibility to make sure that both the NC State Graduate School application and the Departmental Application (see below) to the Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. program are complete by February 1st of each year.
The Graduate Secretary, Ms. Irene Armstrong, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, must receive the complete Application for Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. Admission by the departmental deadline of February 1. The address is as follows:
Ms. Irene Armstrong
Graduate Secretary
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
2310 Stinson Drive
Poe 602, NCSU
Raleigh , NC 27695-7801
Complete the NC State Graduate School Application
All applicants must complete the Graduate School application online. Graduate School application information can be found at: http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/grad/prospect.htm
The Department of Curriculum and Instruction deadline is earlier than that of the Graduate School. Experience suggests that an applicant should begin making the application about October 15 for the February 1 deadline. The student may be contacted by a faculty member for an interview in the course of the application process.
Complete Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. Application
Departmental Application to the Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. program.
NOTE: Review these Required Departmental Guidelines.
To be considered by the Department, the applicant must provide the following materials to the Graduate Secretary, Ms. Irene Armstrong, Department of Curriculum and Instruction (Irene_Armstrong@ncsu.edu, 919-515-1772):
-
Departmental Application to the Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. program. This application includes:
-
A résumé briefly and clearly describing the applicant's education and employment history.
-
The selected Ph.D. study concentration, from among those Curriculum and Instruction offers. In the goals statement (see below) the applicant should state clearly why this concentration addresses her or his goals, issues of graduate study, and career directions. Concentrations: Business and Marketing Education, Curriculum Development and Supervision, Educational Psychology , Elementary Education, English and Language Arts Education, Instructional Technology, Middle Grades Education, Reading (Literacy) Education, Social Studies Education, or Special Education.
-
A concise, clear statement of goals. The applicant should identify research, personal, career, and other goals. The applicant should describe critical research-based issues he or she expects to pursue during graduate studies, and the kind of positions and areas of scholarly research in which the applicant expects to be engaged after graduate studies. The applicant should also identify faculty areas of research that dovetail with her or his interests.
-
A sample of professional writing. This may be a copy of the master's thesis, an exemplary paper from previous graduate work, a published journal article for which the applicant had major responsibility, or other sample of the applicant's professional writing. For an exemplary paper from previous graduate work, specify the course, professor, and semester during which the paper was written.
To check on the status of your application, send an email to Irene_Armstrong@ncsu.edu with “C&I Ph.D. Application” in the subject line. In the body of the text indicate what specific part of your application you are checking on.
General Points about the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction
Faculty members in Curriculum and Instruction expect doctoral students to enter the program with strong writing and quantitative skills, as reflected in the GRE scores and other application materials. Mean GRE score total (Verbal Reasoning plus Quantitative Reasoning) for present doctoral students is about 1100. GRE scores are one consideration among several.
Prospective applicants whose writing or quantitative skills are weak should take appropriate steps to remediate these skills through individual study or coursework. This should occur before application to the Ph.D. program in Curriculum and Instruction.
Doctoral students in Curriculum and Instruction should be conversant with contemporary educational issues and approaches to scholarship. They must have already taken coursework in testing and measurement, educational or psychological inquiry, and diversity, or must include such coursework in the Plan of Graduate Work.
Doctoral students who have not completed a master's thesis are required to complete and present a thesis equivalent project prior to taking the Preliminary Written Examination.
Goals and Objectives of the Ph.D.
The goal of the Ph.D. program is to prepare scholars who have the advanced knowledge and abilities to be educational leaders and researchers. They assume professional roles in education agencies at the district and state levels, colleges and universities, and private industry. Students work closely with faculty members to obtain experience in research and scholarship, professional writing, university-level teaching, educational associations, and educational consultation. The specific goals for the Ph.D. program in the curricular specialty area of Instructional Technology are to provide students with knowledge of: (1) curriculum and instruction, including philosophical, social and cultural perspectives; (2) the nature of the learner; (3) instructional technology including its history, theories of content and pedagogy, and related research; and (4) research designs and methodologies in order to conduct investigative studies.
Ph.D. Program Requirements
See the curriculum display as well as counting hours, research deficiencies and thesis equivalent requirements.
Plan of Graduate Work (POW) Doctoral students are required to complete a POW in consultation with their advisors. The POW should include both a list of the coursework to be undertaken (in all programs) and the dissertation topic; be developed by the student and his/her advisory committee; be approved by the committee and the Director of Graduate Programs or Department Head prior to submission to the Graduate School for final approval; be submitted prior to completion of 12 hours of a doctoral program. (see NCSU Graduate Catalog http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_catalog/catalog.htm )
Residency . All students must meet the residence requirement as described by the Graduate School in the NCSU Graduate Catalog http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_catalog/catalog.htm and the Graduate Administrative Handbook. http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_publicns/handbook/
Comprehensive Preliminary Written Examination . The written examination will be designed by the student's advisory committee and address information from the curriculum and instruction core and from research design and methodologies. The examination will be scheduled in accordance with Graduate School policy not earlier than the end of the second year of graduate study and not later than one semester (four months) before the final oral examination.
Comprehensive Preliminary Oral Examination . Following successful completion of the preliminary written examination an oral examination will be conducted by the advisory committee and monitored by a Graduate School representative. The oral examination may also include discussion of the theoretical rationale and research design for the dissertation.
Candidacy . A doctoral student is admitted to candidacy by the Graduate School upon passing the preliminary written and oral examinations without conditions, or after fulfilling any conditions specified by the advisory committee.
Advisory Committee. The advisory committee must include at least one representative out of the Curriculum and Instruction department, or a representative appointed by the Graduate School.
Dissertation Proposal Presentation . The dissertation proposal is orally presented by the student to the advisory committee and evaluated by the committee. A successful presentation of the proposal indicates that the advisory committee approves the topic, the theoretical rationale, and the research methodology of the proposed study.
Final Oral Examination and Defense of the Dissertation . The dissertation presentation is conducted and evaluated by the advisory committee and a Graduate School representative. The purpose of the dissertation is for the doctoral student to demonstrate ability to conduct original research that is theoretically oriented and that will make a significant scholarly contribution to the field of education.
Time Limitation . In accordance with Graduate School policy, graduate students are allowed a maximum of six years from the date of admission to attain candidacy and a maximum of ten calendar years to complete all degree requirements.
Please Note: The applicant, and if admitted, the doctoral student, must be familiar with NCSU, Graduate School, and Department of Curriculum and Instruction regulations and other requirements.
General Information
Department Leadership and Staff
Dr. Ellen S. Vasu, Department Head, ellen_vasu@ncsu.edu
Dr. Raymond Ting, Assistant Department Head, raymond_ting@ncsu.edu
Ms. Irene M. Armstrong , Graduate Secretary, 515-1772, Poe 602
Ms. Chris Terwilliger , Accounting Technician, 515-1774, Poe 602
Ms. Krisztina Hovanyi , Accounting Clerk, 513-7518, Poe 602
Ms. Pauline Ellefson , Program Assistant in Counselor Education, 515-6299, Poe 520
last updated
12/18/07
