Doctoral Programs in Education

The College of Education offers the Ph.D. in Education (pending SUS Board of Regents approval for Fall 2000) with tracks in Counselor Education (School Counseling), Elementary Education, Exceptional Education, Instructional Technology, and Mathematics Education. The Ph.D. in Education is a research-oriented degree appropriate for educators from school districts, businesses, industry, educational agencies, and other educational settings who need a strong research base in their careers. It is the intent of this program to be interdisciplinary, allowing flexibility for students who will work in research clusters and learning communities with faculty on education-related research. Programs of study can be designed for those educators who seek teacher education positions in a research university or research-oriented education positions in business and industry. (Please note that the previously offered Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction Program has been discontinued.)

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) programs are offered in two areas. One is Educational Leadership for students who are interested in management and leadership positions in educational organizations. Professional experience and potential are important considerations for admission to the Educational Leadership Program. The second is Curriculum and Instruction, designed for those interested in teaching in a college of education, teaching a content field at the community college level, becoming a school district leader in curriculum and instruction, or performing instructional design tasks in military or business settings.

The Curriculum and Instruction as well as the Educational Leadership doctoral programs (Ed.D) are offered on the main campus and selected off-campus sites. There is a collaborative effort between UCF and Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers to serve the educational community in southwest Florida. Likewise, to serve the Daytona Beach community, the programs are offered through the UCF campus at Daytona Beach Community College.

Admission Policy

Admissions will occur two times a year, fall and spring. Completed files must be on campus by September 20 for spring admission screening and February 20 for fall admission screening. Admitted students may begin course work during the first new semester after admission. There is a special December 20 deadline for applicants to the doctoral program offered for residents of southwest Florida at Florida Gulf Coast University. New admissions for the Daytona program are accepted for specially announced dates only (call 904-259-4460 for more information about this program).

Application

Completed application files must include: a completed UCF graduate application form, including transcripts from all previously attended post-secondary schools, three letters of recommendation (should include those that will provide professional and academic information), a professional resume, and a statement of professional goals. Other information may be requested after the file is started. An interview is normally requested of applicants as part of the review process. Admission decisions are made based on the total of information provided to the admission committee.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must qualify for graduate admission to the university. The requirements include:
  • An undergraduate GPA on the last 60 attempted semesters hours of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale);
  • A master's degree from an accredited institution; and
  • A minimum score of 1000 on the General Graduate Record Examination (verbal/ quantitative scores combined)
  • A score of 220 (computer-based test or equivalent score on the paper-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) if the applicant is an international student

Additionally, applicants for the doctoral degrees in the College of Education must:

  • Have completed at least three years of full-time teaching or comparable experience; and
  • Be recommended for admission by the appropriate doctoral program admission committee. (Recommendations are based on compatibility of the applicant's goal statements and the particular doctoral program, the strength of the recommendation letters, the applicant's past record of professional accomplishments, the applicant's apparent potential for academic success, and the applicant's perceived potential for professional success.)
NOTE: These programs are competitive and meeting minimum university requirements does not guarantee admission. Those applicants who do not meet admission criteria may appeal to the College of Education Graduate Standards and Curriculum Committee for consideration. For those who do not meet the GRE requirement, a second score is required, and one of the two scores must be 940 or higher for consideration for admission. Admittance in one doctoral program does not guarantee admittance in another. Each doctoral program reserves the right to review the applicant's files and interview applicants for admission.

Transfer Credit

The number of transfer credit hours applied to the course requirements for a doctoral degree may not exceed 30 semester hours. Transfer credit may include only graduate hours awarded by an accredited institution toward a master's degree and post-master's degree work. The transfer credit allowed will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the graduate adviser and graduate program coordinator. Post-master's degree credit taken at UCF prior to admission to the program is considered to be transfer credit.

Financial Support

Students interested in financial support through Education fellowship programs must have completed application files by December 20. Fellowships are typically awarded in the previous spring for students enrolling for the first time in the fall semester of the next academic year. Graduate assistantships may be granted for those who apply by February 20 for the following academic year.

Continuous Attendance

Graduation policy allows students to fulfill degree requirements as listed in the UCF graduate catalog in force during the student's most recent period of continuous attendance. Because students must occasionally interrupt their attendance for a brief period, they will be considered to have interrupted their attendance only if the interruption is for more than two major consecutive terms (fall and spring or spring and fall), including summer unless working on the dissertation. Doctoral students working on the dissertation must be continuously enrolled in dissertation research every semester until successfully defended. Under these circumstances, students will lose the option of fulfilling degree requirements under earlier catalogs. To avoid problems associated with maintaining graduate status, doctoral students are encouraged to enroll each semester, including summers.

Residency Requirement

Each student shall complete at least two contiguous resident semesters in full-time graduate student status. "Full-time" for doctoral programs in Education is defined as being enrolled for a minimum of nine hours per semester.

Admission to Candidacy

Before students can enroll in dissertation hours, they must apply for admission to candidacy. To be eligible for candidacy, students must have completed all degree course requirements, passed all candidacy examinations, and successfully presented a dissertation prospectus to their committee.

Status as Candidate

Students must continue to enroll for at least four semester hours of dissertation credit each semester after attaining candidacy status until the oral defense of the dissertation has been successful. Post-candidacy enrollment is allowed for a maximum of four years, subject to the seven-year time limitation.

Time Limitation

A student has seven years from the date of admission to the doctoral program to complete the dissertation. If the seven-year limit is exceeded, the candidacy examinations as well as course work may need to be repeated.

Dissertation

Dissertations are required in all doctoral programs. College of Education candidates will follow the APA (American Psychological Association) guidelines.

Doctor of Philosophy in Education

This program is planned to be offered in Fall 2000, pending SUS Board of Regents approval.

Ph.D. Graduate Program Coordinator: M. C. Hynes
ED 146, (407) UCF-0036
E-mail: hynes@mail.ucf.edu

Application Deadlines

Fall admission December 20*
Fall admission February 20


* Students applying for fellowships or assistantships should apply for admission by this date.

Degree Requirements

Prerequisites
Master's degree in education with an emphasis related to one of the five tracks in the Ph.D. program: Counselor Education (School Counseling), Elementary Education, Exceptional Education, Instructional Technology, and Mathematics Education, including master's level competency in educational research and statistics.

Core Courses—24 Semester Hours
IDS 7XXX Issues and Research in Education (3 hours)
IDS 7XXX Research Cluster Seminar (3 hours)
IDS 7XXX Research Seminar (variable credit and repeatable, 6 hours)
EDF 7475 Qualitative Research Methods in Education (3 hours)
EDF 7403 Quantitative Research Methods in Education (3 hours)
EDF 7463 Analysis of Survey, Record and other Qualitative Data (3 hours)
IDS 7XXX Capstone Symposium (3 hours)

Specialization—51 Semester Hours (minimum)
Courses in the respective tracks and cognate courses allied to the tracks from other colleges and departments in the university. An internship (3 hours, minimum) is required as part of the tracks.

Dissertation—24 Semester Hours (minimum)
Doctoral students must present a prospectus for the dissertation to the doctoral adviser, prepare a proposal and present to the dissertation committee, and defend the final research submission with the dissertation committee.

Candidacy

To enter candidacy for the Ph.D., students must have an overall 3.0 GPA on all graduate work included in the planned program and pass all required examinations.

Candidacy Examinations

  • Examinations must be completed prior to admission to candidacy.
  • Examinations will be scheduled by the student and major adviser. The Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research must be notified of the date and location of the exam 30 days in advance.
  • All Ph.D. candidates will be required to complete two examinations:
    • Research in the Specialization—8-hour written examination
    • Specialization—3-hour oral examination
    Students must be enrolled in the university during the semester an examination is taken.

Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction

Ed.D. Graduate Program Coordinator: M. L. Kysilka
ED 355, (407) UCF-2011
E-mail: kysilka@mail.ucf.edu

This program provides doctoral education for the education practitioner who desires a more in-depth understanding of curricular theory.

Application Deadlines

Fall admission February 20
Spring admission September 20
FGCU admission (summer) December 1
Daytona admission Announced dates

Please contact the Coordinator of the Daytona doctoral program for information about the admission deadlines for new students: W. Bozeman, RP 215, (407) 384-2189,
e-mail: bozeman@mail.ucf.edu

Degree Requirements

Prerequisites—9 Semester Hours
EDG 6223 Curriculum Theory and Organization (3 hours)
EDF 6401 Statistics for Educational Data (3 hours) (or equivalent)
EDF 6481 Fundamentals of Graduate Research in Education (3 hours)

Curriculum/Instruction Core—12 Semester Hours
EDF 7232 Analysis of Learning Theories in Instruction (3 hours)
EDG 7221 Advanced Curriculum Theory (3 hours)
EDG 7356 Models of Teaching and Instructional Theory (3 hours)
EDG 7692 Issues in Curriculum (3 hours)

All core courses and the core examination must be completed in the first six semesters of enrollment in the doctoral program.

Specialization Area—45 Semester Hours (minimum)
Includes selected courses in Curriculum, Instruction, Foundations, Educational Leadership, and Community College

Research and Data Analysis—6 Semester Hours
EDF 7403 Quantitative Foundations of Educational Research (3 hours)
EDF 7463 Analysis of Survey, Record, and Other Qualitative Data (3 hours)

Dissertation—21 Semester Hours (minimum)
Doctoral students must present a prospectus for the dissertation to the doctoral adviser, prepare a proposal and present to the dissertation committee, and defend the final research submission with the dissertation committee. h3>Candidacy To enter candidacy for the Ed.D., students must have an overall 3.0 GPA on all graduate work included in the planned program and pass all required examinations.

Candidacy Examinations

  • Examinations must be completed prior to admission to candidacy.
  • Examinations will be scheduled near the tenth week of the fall and spring semesters. Summer examinations will be scheduled for the sixth week of the term.
  • All Curriculum and Instruction Ed.D. (Doctor of Education) candidates will be required to write examinations:
    • Specialization/Teaching Field—5-hour examination
    • Curriculum/Instruction Core—3-hour examination
    • Research/Data Analysis—3-hour examination
    Students must be enrolled in the university during the semester an examination is taken.

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership

Graduate Program Coordinator: W. Bozeman
RP 215, (407) 384-2189
E-mail: bozeman@mail.ucf.edu

The purpose of this program is to provide further education for those aspiring to leadership positions in education. The general program of study leading to the Ed.D. degree in Educational Leadership permits students to concentrate their doctoral study in either K-12 or higher education administration. Specific program information may be found on the Educational Leadership web page at http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~educlead/content.html.

Application Deadlines

Fall admission February 20
Spring admission September 20
FGCU admission (summer) December 1
Daytona admission Announced dates

Please contact the Coordinator of the Daytona doctoral program for information about the admission deadlines for new students: W. Bozeman, RP 215, (407) 384-2189, E-mail: bozeman@mail.ucf.edu.

Degree Requirements

Prerequisite Courses
  • (as necessary)

Educational Leadership Core Courses—16 Semester Hours
EDA 7192 Educational Leadership (4 hours)
EDA 7195 Politics, Governance, and Financing of Educational Organizations (3 hours)
EDA 7205 Planning, Research, and Evaluation Systems in Educational Administration (3 hours)
EDA 7225 Educational Personnel, Contracts, and Negotiations (3 hours)

Cognate Courses—6 Semester Hours (minimum)

Area of Specialization—15 Semester Hours (minimum)

Research and Data Analysis—12 Semester Hours (minimum)
EDF 7403 Quantitative Foundations of Educational Research (3 hours)
EDF 7463 Analysis of Survey, Record, and Other Qualitative Data (3 hours)

Dissertation—21 Semester Hours (minimum)
Doctoral students must present a prospectus for the dissertation to the doctoral adviser, prepare a proposal and present to the dissertation committee, and defend the final research submission with the dissertation committee.

Candidacy

To enter candidacy for the Ed.D., students must have an overall 3.0 GPA on all graduate work included in the planned program and pass all required examinations.

Candidacy Examinations

  • Examinations must be completed prior to admission to candidacy.
  • Examinations will be scheduled near the tenth week of the fall and spring semesters. Summer examinations will be scheduled for the sixth week of the term.
  • All Educational Leadership Ed.D. candidates will be required to write examinations:
    • General Educational Leadership—5-hour examination
    • Area of Specialization—3-hour examination
    • Research/Data Analysis—3-hour examination
    Students must be enrolled in the university during the semester an examination is taken.




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