The Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.). The Ph.D. is the highest degree any university confers. Students who enter the doctoral program in Curriculum & Instruction with a concentration in English Education work with a faculty adviser to develop scholarship in language and literacy and to engage in professional research. Students meet with a faculty adviser and form a doctoral committee to develop a course of study that reflects their interests and professional goals. Students who earn the doctorate must meet all requirements of the UF Graduate School and the College of Education. They must also meet the requirements of the School of Teaching and Learning with a focus on four core areas of knowledge: Theoretical and Historical Foundations of Education, Learning Theories, Research Methods, and Pedagogical Principles.
These areas provide doctoral students with the knowledge, skills and abilities to create and promote new knowledge and understandings about teaching and learning and to use innovative, evidence-based practice and theory to work with diverse learners across varied contexts. Additionally, English Education Ph.D. students develop deep insights into literacy events and practices and the many forms and functions embedded in the multiple sign systems humans use to make sense of their worlds and to express their understandings. Upon completion of course work, students must take and pass a qualifying exam. As doctoral candidates, they embark upon dissertation research to complete a scholarly, theoretical and research-based study that makes an original contribution to the literature in the field and culminates in the Ph.D. degree.
