Achieve one of the ultimate degrees available in the education field when you earn your Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education at the Golden State Colloege Attain the expertise to advance your position, further improve your credentials, or seek a career in an educational institution. If you value the importance of learning and improving our education system, then you understand why pursuing an PhD in education is necessary to enact meaningful change in schools and classrooms across the country. 

 

This Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education provides the broad knowledge to help you be a leader in the education field and this credential is typically aimed at students who plan to pursue education careers in academia. The PhD program explores educational theories, practices, policies, strategies, and issues. You will also develop your research and scholarship skills as you work toward the preparation of your doctoral dissertation. Additionally, submitted GRE test scores are not a requirement when pursuing a PhD in education from the Golden State College. Graduates of the PhD in Education program will be able to:

 

Evaluate theories, practices, issues, and trends in designing and implementing educational strategies 

Develop strategies for leveraging social and cultural diversity in offering education in organizations

Design policies and initiatives that adhere to ethical and legal practices in educational settings and learning communities

Propose solutions to societal problems through evidence-based application of educational research

Apply diverse methods and principles of inquiry, discovery, evaluation, and original scholarship to educational research questions and practices

 

Program Requirements

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Total number of credits: 59 credits

Core Course Requirements: 45 credits

Research Course Requirement: 3 credits

Capstone and Dissertation Course Requirements: 11 credits

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To be awarded the PhD in Education, you must complete the program coursework of 59 credits with a 3.00 minimum cumulative grade point average. You will need to complete three (3) non-credit In-Residence Workshops.* You will also need to complete all Dissertation requirements.** 

*For the PhD in Education, you are required to attend three In-Residence weekend workshops. 

**As a requirement for graduation from the Golden State College with a degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), each student must complete and successfully defend a Dissertation. The purpose of the Dissertation is to ensure that the student has mastered the ability to pursue a systematic investigation, which examines significant issues or problems. The Dissertation requirement is also designed to contribute to the student's knowledge, skills, and research expertise. Students choose a topic that addresses carefully chosen research questions that the student then investigates with quantitative or qualitative research, with a meta-analysis, or with a program design or program evaluation. Prerequisites, timelines for completion, and attendance requirements for Dissertation, as well as a detailed explanation of each step in the process, are described in the Dissertation Handbook.

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The doctorate in education includes 15 core courses in education and research, plus one (1) elective research course, and a capstone seminar. The coursework leads up to your doctoral dissertation, which includes two (2) dissertation planning courses as well as five (5) units of the dissertation course. This doctorate in education is designed to be a flexible alternative to a traditional college education. 

 

Core, Research, Capstone, and Dissertation Course Requirements: (59 credits)

 

Note: you must select either RES 7415 or RES 7440 to fulfill the Research Course Requirement.

 

Doctoral Capstone

DOC 8770 Doctoral Capstone Seminar

 

Education

EDU 7000 Learning & Cognition

EDU 7100 History of Education & Social Change

EDU 7120 Transformative Issues & Trends in Education

EDU 7130 Educational Leadership Theories & Strategies

EDU 7220 Educational Leadership: Challenges & Opportunities

EDU 7240 Diversity in Education

EDU 8225 Culture, Curriculum & Learning

EDU 8250 Curriculum, Assessment, Design, & Evaluation

EDU 8260 Integrating Technology

EDU 8300 Governance & Politics of Education

EDU 8320 Change in People, Society, Bureaucracies & Institutions

 

Research

RES 7105 Scholarly Argument I

RES 7110 Scholarly Argument II

RES 7400 Research Design & Methods - Quantitative

RES 7410 Research Design & Methods - Qualitative

RES 7415 Advanced Statistics

RES 7440 Advanced Study in Qualitative Research

RES 8910 Dissertation Planning I

RES 8912 Dissertation Planning II

RES 8990 Dissertation

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