home 
departments & programs academic departments curriculum & instruction instructional technology doctorate
Instructional Technology
Doctoral Program
Navigating this Site: To view Web pages for the Instructional Technology program, do NOT click any of the links above or to the left, as they will take you out of the I.T. site. Use only the links in the red and grey box to the right to view other I.T. Web pages, with the exception of the "C&I Home" link which will also take you out of the I.T. site.
Advantages to Earning Your Ph.D. in Instructional Technology at NC State
NC State offers a competitive choice for doctoral study in Instructional Technology. Opportunities abound for collaborative research with faculty through ongoing research and evaluation projects at the college's Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. Further, the university is situated in the state capital, with ample opportunities to network with state-level education staff in the Department of Public Instruction (NC-DPI). Past students have worked or gone on to work in professional positions with the state. The university is also situated in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina, known for its progressive, high-tech business and industry with major employers like SAS, IBM, Cisco, RTI, and Red Hat (located in NC State's own research park named Centennial Campus). Past students have completed internships and projects with numerous companies in the region. Raleigh and the counterpart cities of Durham and Chapel Hill that comprise the Research Triangle, are regularly awarded national honors of interest to doctoral students advancing toward professional careers, including #1 Best U.S. City for Jobs (Forbes, 2007), #1 School District in the Nation for Certified Teachers (National Board of Certified Teachers, 2007), Top 10 Metro Areas for Job Growth (Business 2.0, 2007), Top Ten Tech Town (Wired Magazine, 2007), #7 Business Boomtown (Inc., 2007), and many more.
A large part of the Triangle's economic success is tied to its three Research I universities in NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Duke. Students in a research-intensive doctoral degree at NC State can take considerable advantage of the unique Triangle Research Libraries Network to access materials from any of these universities, plus NC-Central University in Durham.
 cc |
In addition, students at NC State can take advantage of two cooperative registration programs allowing them to take courses at other local universities that aren't offered at their own institution. This expands the course offerings a student may take to 4 additional colleges in Raleigh, and 5 additional universities in North Carolina, including the nearby UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke. |
Curriculum
The Graduate School requires a minimum of 72 hours to earn the Ph.D. Admitted students may count 12 hours of earned graduate credits toward these 72 hours, leaving 60 hours of new credits required at NC State. The 12 earned hours may come from graduate coursework previously taken at NC State or another accredited college or university, and/or graduate coursework a student takes in non-degree studies at NC State before applying to the program to gain a feel for the coursework. Note, taking courses in non-degree studies does not guarantee a student admission. In Curriculum and Instruction, admitted students who have completed a thesis may count an additional 6 hours toward the 72 hour credit requirement at the discretion of the student's committee.
Applicants should have a completed thesis from a Master's program or be willing to complete a thesis equivalent study once admitted into the doctoral concentration. A thesis equivalent study requires additional coursework beyond the 72 hours required for the Ph.D.
Students in the Instructional Technology doctoral program must take 33 credit hours in the Curriculum and Instruction core, 15 credit hours in research and measurement, and 12 hours of dissertation research, totaling 60 new credit hours. Within the C&I core, students must take at least 3 hours in study areas A, B, C, and D, with other courses selected in consultation with the student's advisor. The C&I core is outlined on this page: http://ced.ncsu.edu/ci/doctorate/doc_curdisply.php
Depending upon the course work taken in the Master's degree program, students may be required by their advisory committee to take additional course work as prerequisites for the doctoral program. ECI 695, Master’s Thesis Research, in alignment with Graduate School requirements, is required for students who have not demonstrated Master's level competence in the design and implementation of an empirically based research project (e.g., quantitative or qualitative). This course must be completed before preliminary exams.
Doctoral students must meet the Graduate School residency requirement. The student must acquire two residence credits while continuously enrolled at the university (not including summer terms). These two residence credits can be acquired in different combinations (e.g., 9 hours of credits over two consecutive semesters, 6 hours of credit over three consecutive semesters, or 3 hours of credit over six consecutive semesters).
Curriculum Display, Overview (.pdf) Ph.D. Curriculum Display and Plan of Licensure (.doc) Sixth-year Curriculum Display and Plan of Licensure (.doc) Doctoral Level Plan of Licensure in Instructional Technology (.pdf) |
 |
Online Coursework
Since most Instructional Technology doctoral students work full-time while earning their degree, students often inquire into the number of courses they may take online. The doctoral concentration in Instructional Technology is not an online program, however the student may complete all 12 of their dissertation research hours off campus. Within the 48 hours of coursework that precede the dissertation research, the student may take several courses online. It is unlikely the student will be able to complete all coursework requirements online, however graduate courses at NC State typically meet one day per week and many courses are offered in the evenings to meet the needs of working professionals. Any online courses offered in the C&I core can be identified through the distance education catalog, including ECI 511 (711) and ECI 716 in Study Area A, ECI 601 in Study Area B, EAC 785 in Study Area D, and numerous electives.
Doctoral Timeline
The standard doctoral timeline is detailed online, including the following key steps:
Doctoral Advisory Committee. Near the completion of two semesters of coursework, students in consultation with their advisor should form a doctoral advisory committee consisting of 4 faculty members (typically three from C&I and one external member). Students who declare a formal minor must have one committee member from the minor department on their committee. If the student does not have a faculty member from outside the department on their committee, the Graduate School may require a representative to attend the preliminary and final oral examinations to ensure fairness of process.
Graduate Plan of Work. After admission and before completion of 12 credits, the student submits a graduate plan of work specifying the courses and research hours they will take and when. The POW should include both a list of the course work to be undertaken (in all programs) and the dissertation topic. The student should schedule their first committee meeting to review the POW and obtain committee signatures. The plan must also be signed by the department's Director of Graduate Programs or Department Head prior to submission to the Graduate School for final approval. See the program's Forms page to access the doctoral Plan of Work template.
Comprehensive Preliminary Written Examination. After at least two years of graduate study and as the student nears completion of course work, a preliminary written examination is taken. The student may schedule a meeting with their committee to negotiate questions prior to the written examination, or may meet with committee members individually and coordinate the examination questions with their committee chair. The written examination addresses information from the Curriculum and Instruction core and from research design and methodologies. Students are commonly given questions that assist them with the partial preparation of the first three chapters of their dissertation (e.g., questions pertaining to the research problem of interest, to the background literature, and/or to relevant methodology). The timing of the examination is negotiated from a few days to several weeks.
Comprehensive Preliminary Oral Examination. Following the completion of their written examination, the student must schedule an preliminary oral examination with their committee, representing the second committee meeting. It is recommended that students schedule their oral examination within two weeks of completing their written examination, and the Graduate School must be notified of the date of the oral examination at least two weeks in advance. The student must notify the department secretary, Irene Armstrong, to schedule the examination with the Graduate School. The oral examination will include a discussion of the student's written exam questions and may also include a 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 examinations without conditions or after fulfilling any conditions specified by the advisory committee. In accordance with Graduate School policy, students must attain candidacy within six years from the date of admission.
Dissertation Proposal Presentation. After informal consultation with their advsior and committee members, the student schedules a third committee meeting to defend their dissertation proposal (this meeting can occur in the hour following the preliminary oral examination if the student is ready, or at a later date). This meeting is scheduled internally in the department, not through the Graduate School. The dissertation proposal typically includes the first three chapters of the dissertation specifying the problem, literature review, and methodology. The committee must have the proposal at least two weeks in advance of the proposal presentation, providing them time to read and prepare comments. 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. Formal approval of the proposal must be obtained before initiation of the dissertation research.
Final Oral Examination and Defense of the Dissertation. After completing their research, analysis, and preparation of the dissertation in frequent consultation with their advisor, the student schedules a final oral examination with their committee, representing the fourth committee meeting. The committee must have the completed dissertation at least two weeks in advance of the final oral examination, providing them time to read and prepare comments. The Graduate School must be notified of the date of the oral examination at least two weeks in advance. The student must notify the department secretary, Irene Armstrong, to schedule the examination with the Graduate School. In accordance with Graduate School policy, students must complete the oral exam and all degree requirements within ten years from the date of admission.
Admissions
Ph.D. applications are reviewed once a year by all faculty in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction with a deadline of February 1st for summer/fall admission. For details on applying, visit http://ced.ncsu.edu/ci/doctorate/index.php
The student's writing sample is a very important part of the application, since the student is applying for a writing-intensive degree. The writing sample should demonstrate considerable potential and mastery of the English language. A writing sample published in a peer-reviewed journal, or a completed Master's thesis, carry more weight than a course paper or literature review.
The number of new students admitted to the Instructional Technology doctoral concentration each year is not fixed, however this number is limited by the number of full-time Instructional Technology faculty available to advise doctoral students (currently three). To ensure high quality mentoring, it is unlikely we would admit more than 2-3 new doctoral students per year, thus the application process is highly competitive.
Assistantship Support for Full-Time Students
A limited number of assistantships are available for students attending school full-time (9 credit hours per semester), renewable on an annual basis. Assistantships typically require 20 hours of work per week, pay $12,000-15,000 per semester depending on duties, and come with tuition remission and health benefits. Several assistantships are based at the Friday Institute on grant-funded projects, providing students with excellent opportunities to engage in research and writing throughout their degree program.
Contact
For further information about the Instructional Technology doctoral program, email:
Kevin Oliver, Assistant Professor and
Instructional Technology Program Coordinator
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
602K Poe Hall, Box 7801
College of Education
Raleigh, NC 27695-7801
kevin_oliver at ncsu dot edu
Graduate Administrative Handbook, http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_publicns/handbook/
Graduate Catalog, http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_catalog/catalog.htm
