Doctoral Degrees

The Combined Program in Education and Psychology doctoral program is supported through a collaboration of the Marsal Family School of Education and the Department of Psychology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. You will have the opportunity to work with faculty from both schools to research processes in development, learning, and motivation in the context of schools, families, and communities.

The Educational Studies program focuses on the improvement of K-12 education. We do this through research and scholarship on educational practice and through the preparation of knowledgeable, skillful, and thoughtful teachers and education administrators. We offer a number of PhD specializations. But if your research interests include more than one of these areas, the Cross-Specialization Concentration will allow you to pursue the specific set of knowledge and skills you need to make your unique contribution to our common goal.

The Educational Foundations and Policy concentration offers the opportunity to engage a diverse community of doctoral students and faculty members in reimagining education as a central component of the transformation needed to create more inclusive and just societies.

The doctoral program in Educational Policy, Leadership, and Innovation prepares aspiring educational researchers, policy makers, leaders, and reformers to take on the most formidable challenges currently facing U.S. public education.

Technology is ever evolving and continually changing the way we create and consume information. As much as any field or industry, the influence of digital innovation is creating challenges and opportunities in education. The Doctor of Philosophy in Education Studies: Learning Technologies provides a forum in which to examine critical questions about the ways technology is changing education, the ways should it change education, and how it might be used to improve teaching and learning.

How do students make sense of the texts they encounter in and outside of school? How do cultural systems of meaning and community practices influence these interactions? How can teachers best foster students' communication of their ideas? What happens when these processes do not work smoothly? How can we bridge gaps between literacy research and practice to foster the development and educational success of children and adolescents?

Mathematics education is an area where the educational community is both creating exciting opportunities and facing intense challenges. On one hand, scholars, designers, and practitioners have produced marvelous new developments in research, curriculum, and assessment; developed new standards for instruction and curriculum; and expanded international discourse. On the other hand, mathematics education has been the target of rigorous criticism and debate among different stakeholders and communities.

This concentration is housed within the Educational Studies program, which fosters collaboration among students and faculty in a number of specializations sharing a commitment to the integration of theory and research on teaching, learning, equity, educational access, opportunity, and justice in preK-12 and outside of school settings.

This doctoral specialization is a program in which you can focus on the work of teaching, learning to teach, the ongoing development of teachers, and the variety of contexts for teacher development, which range from formal teacher education and professional development programs to the organization of schools and teacher networks and groups.

The Joint Program in English and Education (JPEE) is interdisciplinary in nature, offering top-flight resources and a supportive and engaging community of scholars. You have the flexibility to craft a program centered on your individual interests, whether that’s rhetoric, composition, literacy studies, or English education.

The Higher Education Academic Affairs and Student Development Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education program focuses on the teaching and learning missions of colleges and universities, and on the communities in which these central functions occur. Graduates may consider an academic or research career, so there are opportunities to develop research skills, studying students, faculty, diversity, teaching and learning, curriculum, history, philosophy, international and comparative higher education, and institutional policy.

The Organizational Behavior and Management Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education program explores the topics of administration, governance, management, leadership, organizational strategy, planning and budgeting, and institutional research and assessment of postsecondary educational organizations. The doctoral program develops scholars and practitioners who will make significant contributions to postsecondary education institutions as administrators and leaders, members of the professoriate, training and development professionals, or expert consultants.

The Public Policy in Postsecondary Education Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education program examines the social, economic, and political factors that affect postsecondary institutions, particularly the impact of local, state, and federal policies on students, faculty, and other constituencies. The doctoral program prepares students for careers in academics or in organizations such as state or federal government agencies, professional associations, or specialized offices within colleges and universities.

Students in the Research, Evaluation, and Assessment concentration develop the conceptual and technical skills necessary to produce the highest quality research on higher and postsecondary education, including applied research related to institutional research, educational and administrative evaluation, program review, and assessment of teaching and learning.