Philosophy of Education
Doctoral Degree Program Guide

Incoming Doctoral students

If the student has not completed a Master's degree, see Master's Degree Program Guide ; if the student has completed a Master's degree, see below. All requirements are in addition to completed Master's work .

The Doctoral degree requires at least 80 hours, including at least 32 hours of coursework and the completion of the Research Specialization (16 hours), plus a maximum of 32 hours of Thesis Research (599). A Doctoral student must also complete a residency requirement of at least two consecutive semesters of full time (12 hours or more) coursework, not to include dissertation research. A Doctoral student who began Master's coursework at UIUC has a maximum of seven years of continuous study from the beginning of Master's work in which to complete the program; a Doctoral student beginning the program at UIUC with a completed Master's degree from elsewhere has a maximum of six years in which to complete the program. In general, the Doctoral portion of the program can be completed in about four or five years.

Program requirements

1. Core courses. These can be taken in any sequence, except the Proseminar, which should be taken in the student's first year (unless the student has already taken it as part of a Master's program).

Required:

• EPS 500 (Proseminar) 4 hours
• EPS 512 (Seminar in Educational Classics) 4 hours

Strongly recommended:

• EPS 510 (Traditions in Philosophy of Education) 4 hours
• EPS 511 (Contemporary Perspectives in Philosophy of Education) 4 hours
• EPS 514 (John Dewey's Philosophy of Education) 4 hours

2. Early research requirement: In the first year of Doctoral study, a student must form a review committee, in consultation with his or her advisor. This committee will review and approve an early research project that can include a completed Master's thesis, a portfolio of course papers, or an original research project or thesis equivalency paper. This project should be presented in writing and orally to the committee:
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/saao/grad/phdresearchspec.html

3. Electives: At least 20 additional hours of graduate course work (not to include thesis research). This is a minimum and particular student courses of study may exceed this number. The most appropriate course of study for each student should be arranged in consultation with a faculty advisor.

4. Research Specialization: Students in the Philosophy division are generally expected to complete the requirements for the Interpretive Research Specialization. (Any request to substitute another Research Specialization must be approved by the student's advisor.) A plan for completion of this requirement should be completed early in the student's program, and must be approved by the Interpretive Research Specialization committee. This plan must include EPS 513, EPS 515, and two additional courses from the approved Interpretive Research Specialization list. These four courses are in addition to the required and elective courses listed above:
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/saao/grad/coegradhandbooks.html

5. Residency requirement. A Doctoral student must complete a residency requirement of at least two consecutive semesters of full time (12 hours or more) coursework, not to include dissertation research:
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/saao/grad/coegradhandbooks.html

6. Qualifying examination: This examination should be completed after a Doctoral student has completed his or her coursework, and before the student embarks upon dissertation work: this is what the student is "qualifying" for. The qualifying examination has two components. A general field component is administered to students once per semester, and written and evaluated by a faculty committee appointed by the Philosophy of Education division; the question is intended to assess a candidate's general knowledge and competence in philosophy of education. It includes a choice of questions for the student to answer. The special field component is written and evaluated by an ad hoc committee, formed in consultation with the student's advisor (and normally anticipating the student's eventual dissertation committee); the question should be developed collaboratively with the student, focusing on the area in which the student plans to conduct dissertation research. Both the general field and special field components of the qualifying examination are to be written in a take-home essay format, and both should be completed within a twelve-month period:
Qualifying Examination Procedures

7. Doctoral thesis (dissertation): Upon the completion of all coursework and the qualifying examination, the student should be ready to embark upon dissertation research. First, the student should develop a rough idea of the topic to be investigated, in consultation with his or her advisor, and appoint an appropriate supervisory committee. Working with that committee, the student must develop a detailed dissertation proposal, to be evaluated and approved by the committee in a formal preliminary oral exam. The preliminary exam should be an oral examination of the proposal and the student's competence to undertake a Doctoral dissertation on that topic. (Most students are encouraged to complete a proposal, and take the preliminary exam on that.) When the preliminary exam is competed, the student then undertakes the dissertation work itself, continuing to consult with the members of the supervisory committee as the project is completed. When the dissertation is completed, the student should schedule a final oral examination with the full committee, at which the dissertation project is evaluated and approved as a whole. The committee may require final changes to the dissertation as a result of this discussion.

In order to organize your course of study, print out the Doctoral Program Checklist , and maintain a copy with your advisor.

For more information, see the College Graduate Programs Office .