On-Campus Ph.D. Program
Qualitative Methods Specialization
The specialization in qualitative methods is designed to prepare exceptional and highly qualified researchers and teachers for academic positions and other educational settings, methodology consultants for state and private organizations, and evaluators for various grant organizations.
Individuals with qualitative research specialty area are in high demand, for example, in education, nursing, psychology, information management, and human studies to name a few. Nationally only a handful of programs train students in a qualitative methodology program.
The On-Campus Ph.D. program with a qualitative methods specialization consists of:
- Core courses
- Two graduate College of Education graduate-level courses
- Desired Electives
- Minor (optional)
- Qualifying Exams
- Dissertation
Core Courses
The doctoral candidate in Research and Evaluation Methodology is expected to complete a minimum of 90 hours of classes, including a minimum of 20 hours of EDF7980 – Doctoral Research.
Each student must complete the following requirements:
EDF 6403 – Quantitative Foundations of Educational Research
or
EDF 6400 – Quantitative Foundations of Educational Research: Overview
AND
EDF 6402 – Quantitative Found in Educational Research: Inferential Statistics
or
EDF 6400 – Quantitative Found of Educational Research: Overview
AND
EDF 6481 – Quantitative Research Methods in Education
AND
EDF 6436 – Theory of Measurement
EDF 6471 – Survey Design and Analysis in Educational Research
EDF 6475 – Qualitative Foundations of Educational Research
EDF 7405 – Advanced Quantitative Foundations of Educational Research
EDF 7412 – Structural Equation Modeling
EDF 7439 – Item Response Theory
EDF 7474 – Multilevel Models
EDF 7932 – Multivariate Analysis in Educational Research
EDF 7941 – Evaluation of Educational Products and Systems
Graduate School Rules for Credits that Will Count Toward Final Degree:
EDF 6905 – Maximum of 12 credits throughout degree (only 1 to 3 credits can count per semester)
EDF 6910 – Maximum of 5 credits throughout degree (only 1 to 5 credits can count per semester)
EDF 6940 – Maximum of 5 credits throughout degree (only 1 to 5 can count per semester)
EDF 6941 – Maximum of 9 credits throughout the degree (only 2 to 9 can count per semester)
Graduate-Level Courses
Each student must complete six hours in two of the following courses:
EDF 6905 – Independent Study
EDF 6910 – Supervised Research
EDF 6941 – Practicum in Educational Research
Electives
Elective courses may be taken in Research and Evaluation Methodology, other departments in the College of Education and/or areas outside the College of Education. In addition, all students are encouraged to develop a working knowledge of at least one computer language through formal course work or independent study. Some courses students may want to consider as electives include:
EDF7412 – Advanced Topics in Structural Equation Modeling
EDF7435 – Rating Scale Design and Analysis in Educational Research
EDF7482 – Quasi-Experimental Design and Analysis in Educational Research
EDF7483 – Qualitative data collection
EDF7979 – Qualitative data analysis
EDF6938 – Theories and qualitative research
STA5503 – Categorical Data Methods
STA5507 – Applied Nonparametric Methods
STA5325 – Fundamentals of Probability
STA5328 – Fundamentals of Statistical Theory
STA6207 – Regression Analysis
STA6208 – Basic Design and Analysis of Experiments
STA6176 – Survey of Biostatistics
STA6177 – Applied Survival Analysis
GEO6938 – Spatial Networks
GEO6938 – Applied Geostatistics
PHC6055 – Biostatistical Computing Using R
PHC6080 – SAS for Public Health – Data
PHC6081 – SAS for Public Health – Analysis
PHC6050 – Statistical Methods for Health Sciences 1
PHC6011 – Epidemiology Methods II
PHC6937 – Bias in Observational Research
PHC6937 – Spatial Epidemiology
PHC6051 – Biostat Methods II
POS6933 – Maximum Likelihood
CPO6096 – Qualitative and Mixed Methods
ANG6930 – Social Network Analysis
ANG6801 – Ethnographic Field Methods
SYA7933 – Research Design
SYA6513 – Advanced Qualitative Methods
AEB7571 – Econometric Methods I
AEB7572 – Econometric Methods II
AEB 6933 – Advanced Econometrics
ECO7408 – Math Methods of Applied Economics
FOR6934 – Introduction to Bayesian Statistics in Life Sciences
Minor
With committee approval, the REM doctoral student may complete a minor outside of the Program in Research and Evaluation Methodology. Requirements for minors vary according to the program offering the minor. Suggested areas include Statistics, Psychology, Sociology, Mathematics, Computer Science and Business Administration.
Qualifying Exams
All REM Ph.D. students must pass comprehensive qualifying exams. The student is allowed to take the qualifying exams after all required classes have been completed. At the request of the student, the advisor is responsible for scheduling and coordinating the qualifying exams. The comprehensive qualifying exams has written and oral parts. The written exam lasts 12 hours over two days (6 hours each day in two blocks of 3 hours).
The student is expected to answer questions about all the domain areas of the Research and Evaluation Methodology program. After the student has completed the written exams, the doctoral committee will review the student’s responses. If the committee judges the responses satisfactory, they will authorize the student to schedule an oral exam. The oral exam is expected to last two hours. Passing the qualifying exams is required for the student to advance to candidacy, at which point the student can register for dissertation hours and star work on the dissertation proposal.