Curriculum and Instruction, Ph.D.

Admission Requirements

Applicants should submit a current vitae, statement of purpose, a professional writing sample, and a minimum of three reference letters.  A review committee will conduct an initial review of application materials and recommend selected applicants for on-campus or online interviews. The selection committee will then make final recommendations to the Graduate School relative to acceptance into the program based on the merits of the application materials and the interview process.

Prerequisite Requirements

The intended audience for the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction includes education professionals who hold the master’s degree. It is anticipated that most applicants will be experienced teachers or school leaders with the North Carolina “G” or “M” license or equivalent licenses from other states. However, the program will welcome and accommodate non-licensed candidates with appropriate professional experiences who have been involved in teaching or educational program development and evaluation.

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction requires a minimum of 60 credit hours of coursework, including the dissertation.  Students must maintain a cumulative average of 3.0 in all coursework taken.  An accumulation of more than two C grades will result in termination of enrollment in the graduate program.  If students make a grade of U in any course, enrollment in the program will be terminated. 

The program will consider the transfer of a limited number of courses from a college or university accredited by an accepted accrediting body (typically no more than six credit hours), providing the Curriculum and Instruction Committee determines that the course or courses to be transferred are appropriate for the program of study and are graduate-level courses beyond the master’s degree.  Grades for these transfer courses must be an A or B.  All dissertation work must be completed at UNC Charlotte. 

Students must successfully complete requirements for the comprehensive examination and dissertation.  All students must complete a residency requirement of at least 18 credit hours over three successive terms of enrollment.  Students must complete their degree, including dissertation, within nine years.  The Ph.D. website contains additional information, including updated planning sheets for each concentration.

Advanced Standing Option

The Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction offers Charlotte graduate students and alumni of UNC Charlotte the opportunity to apply for Advanced Standing.  Advanced Standing recognizes relevant coursework from approved Charlotte master’s degrees. Doctoral students accepted with Advanced Standing into the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction complete a minimum of 48 credit hours of coursework, including the dissertation.  No transfer credits are allowed for Advanced Standing students. Advanced Standing students select a concentration in the application process for the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction.

Advising

An Advisor is assigned to each student within the first year of study.  The Advisor, Concentration Coordinator, and Program Director provide initial advising until the end of the first year (12 credit hours) when the Advisor assumes responsibility.  By the beginning of the second year, the student is required to submit a Program of Study which is approved by the Advisor, Concentration Coordinator, and Program Director.  The Advisor, Concentration Coordinator, and Program Director also support the student in identifying faculty whose research interests and expertise are congruent with the student’s probable area of dissertation inquiry.  The assistance of the Advisor does not relieve the student of responsibility for completing required work and for following departmental or University procedures.  In the semester in which the student takes the Qualifying Comprehensive Examination, the student reaches agreement with a faculty member to serve as dissertation chair.  The chair must be a member of the Curriculum and Instruction faculty.  Students should complete the Qualifying Comprehensive Examination by the end of the third year in the program. Students who enter the Ph.D. program under Advanced Standing must take the Qualifying Comprehensive Examination before the end of their fourth semester in the doctoral program.

Qualifying Comprehensive Exam

Qualifying Comprehensive Exam

All Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction doctoral students are required to successfully pass a qualifying examination, referred to in this program as the Comprehensive Examination. The comprehensive exam is administered as a written examination, portfolio, and/or an oral presentation comprising three parts: Urban Core Foundations, Research, and Specialization. 

The first part of the examination, the Urban Core Foundations, will cover substantive course content and additional readings, research, and research methodologies from the required urban core foundations courses.

The second part (Specialization) asks individuals to demonstrate knowledge on a specific set of topics in the area of concentration.

The third part (Research) asks individuals to demonstrate a synthesis of existing research on a specific topic, propose research questions, and describe a potential research project aligned to their dissertation interests. The main objective of the comprehensive examination is to ensure that the student is prepared to write a dissertation and complete the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction degree requirements. Being prepared means the following:

1. Examinees must demonstrate sythesis and understanding of urban education research from urban core foundations courses.
2. Examinees must be able to analyze and synthesize information obtained from coursework and research.
3. Examinees must demonstrate advanced, specialized knowledge in their degree concentration.
4. Examinees must demonstrate competencies in research methodology and evaluation.

In order to sit for this examination, doctoral students must have at least a 3.0 GPA and completed 30 credit hours including four urban core foundations courses, nine credit hours in research, and nine credit hours in specialization coursework. Students may be enrolled in courses which satisfy these requirements in the semester in which they complete the comprehensive examination. Students should complete the comprehensive examination after the second or third year in the program when they have met the credit hour requirement. The comprehensive exam will be administered by the Concentration Coordinator. An evaluation committee will score the comprehensive exam using the program rubrics for each part. If a grade of fail is reported, students may only retake of the comprehensive examination one time. No student is permitted to do official dissertation work, including defending a dissertation proposal, until all sections of the comprehensive examination are passed.

Dissertation Committee

A Dissertation Committee, comprised of at least four faculty members, will be formally appointed for each student by the Graduate School. The dissertation committee members should include a dissertation chair, methodologist, a Graduate Faculty Representative, and one additional faculty member. Dissertation committee members must hold Graduate Faculty appointment. The Graduate Faculty Representative (GFR) must be from a department different from the dissertation chair and must hold the rank of Associate or Full Professor. A person outside the University may serve as a full member of the Dissertation Committee in situations where knowledge or expertise of a particular nature is desired.

With the mutual consent of the student and the faculty member, a faculty member will be designated to serve as the Chair of the Doctoral Committee. Chairs of Doctoral Committees are specifically responsible for seeing that the student progresses in an expeditious manner towards completion of the degree. Chairs will assist students in organizing committee meetings, conducting original research, presenting the proposal, and organizing the dissertation defense. Eligible faculty are all tenured curriculum and instruction faculty (Professor/Associate Professor) and have completed Graduate School mentor and dissertation chair training. Special permission from the Graduate School must be granted for Assistant Professors to serve in this role as a co-chair. 

Each appointed Committee Member will have both voice and vote on all relevant matters pertaining to a doctoral student’s progress towards the degree. All committee members must be present for the oral defense of the dissertation proposal and final dissertation defense.

The oral defense is considered satisfactory upon the positive vote of at least three committee members. A committee decision of pass or fail is rendered at the proposal and final dissertation defenses. Prior to and following the appointment of this committee, students are encouraged to work with faculty on dissertation ideas.

The Curriculum and Instruction doctoral student must seek input from the Concentration Coordinator and Program Director prior to forming a dissertation committee. The dissertation committee should be invited and finalized during the semester in which the student completes the qualifying comprehensive examination and prior to registering for EDCI 8699 Dissertation Proposal Seminar . If it would benefit the student, the dissertation chair may be selected prior to this time, but not before the student has completed a minimum of 39 credit hours. 

The student should communicate the chair and committee selection to the Program Director and Concentration Coordinator. The appointment of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee by the Graduate School must occur prior to the dissertation proposal defense.

Dissertation

All students will demonstrate their competence in the field by writing and successfully defending a doctoral dissertation. Each candidate for the doctoral degree is required to prepare and present a dissertation that shows independent investigation and is acceptable in form and content to the Dissertation Committee. A doctoral dissertation must demonstrate the candidate’s ability to conceive, design, conduct, and interpret independent, original, and creative research and must make a unique contribution to knowledge in the field of expertise in the candidate’s degree concentration.

Under the direct supervision of the Doctoral Committee Chair, candidates are encouraged to consult regularly with their Dissertation Committee members during the planning, conducting and writing of the dissertation. Following the approval of the dissertation proposal, candidates are required to maintain continuous enrollment (Fall and Spring semesters) for dissertation study until work is completed. Continuous enrollment begins on the date the Graduate School approves the student’s dissertation topic.

Candidates who exceed the required number of dissertation hours for degree completion will register for additional dissertation research hours (including EDCI 8999 , GRAD 9800 , or GRAD 9999 ) each semester until the final dissertation and all degree requirements have been completed.

Admission to Candidacy

Students are considered candidates for the doctoral degree upon: (a) successful completion of the Qualifying Comprehensive Examination and (b) approval of the Dissertation Proposal.  Candidacy must be achieved the semester before the degree is conferred. Once a doctoral student is admitted to candidacy, they must maintain continuous enrollment until all degree requirements are met.

Application for Degree

Students must submit an Application for Degree in the semester in which they successfully defend their dissertation proposal.  Adherence to Graduate School deadlines and requirements is expected.  Degree requirements are completed with the successful defense of the dissertation and when the final copy of the dissertation has been filed in the Graduate School.