Curriculum and Instruction, PhD

Program Description

(Curriculum Studies, Instructional Design and Educational Technology, Kinesiology, Literacy Studies, and Special Education)

The doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction is a progressive and evidence-based program that offers students the choice of five emphases: Curriculum Studies, Instructional Design and Educational Technology, Kinesiology, Literacy Studies, and Special Education. The 60- semester credit-hour program prepares graduates to teach at colleges and universities as professors, have careers as researchers and scholars, and fill other major educational positions. Required are 18 semester credit hours of core curriculum and instruction courses, 15 semester credit hours in research courses, 18 semester credit hours in chosen emphasis, and 9 semester credit hours allocated for the completion of the dissertation.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will:

• Students will demonstrate mastery of the specific field of education they are specializing in as part of their program (i.e., Curriculum Studies, Information Design and Educational Technology, Kinesiology, Literacy Studies, and Special Education).
• Students will demonstrate mastery to conduct original research.
• Students will demonstrate mastery of Curriculum & Instruction.

• Students will disseminate their original scholarship through appropriate state/national/international conferences and professional publications.

For Additional Information

Website:
https://gradcollege.tamucc.edu/degrees/education/curriculum_and_instruction_phd.html

Campus Address:
Early Childhood Development Center, Room 2225
Phone (361)825-2446
Kathleen.lynch-davis@tamucc.edu

Mailing Address:
Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Learning Sciences
College of Education and Human Development
6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5834
Corpus Christi, Texas 78412-5384

Admission Requirements

Applicants must meet all conditions for graduate admission to the College of Education and Human Development, including a minimum grade point average of 3.00, as specified earlier in this catalog. Additional requirements for admission to the program are described below.

Admission requires approval by a Curriculum and Instruction admission committee. Criteria for admission include the following:

1. a Graduate Record Examination score (GRE) taken within the last five years,
2. a minimum of three years teaching experience or related experience.
3. four professional or educational letters of recommendation submitted in Online Ph.D. Curriculum & Instruction Reference Form, and
4. official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate course work indicating completion of a master's degree in a relevant field from a regionally accredited University.

After an applicant's required materials are received, an applicant will be invited for personal interviews and presentations. An admission committee will consider all qualifications, including professional and personal qualifications, in making admission decisions. The committee may admit persons with lower levels of the above indicators of academic history if professional and personal qualifications are unusually strong. For the Literacy Studies emphasis, individuals who do not have prior graduate work in Reading/Literacy will have course requirements in addition to the 60-hour requirement. If accepted into the program, these students will be required to take up to 12 additional hours besides those already required for the Literacy Studies emphasis in the doctoral program.

Program Requirements

The Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Curriculum and Instruction is awarded in recognition of the attainment of independent and comprehensive scholarship in the field. To qualify for the degree, the student must meet the following specific requirements.

1. Residence:  Three consecutive sessions (summer, fall, spring; fall, spring, summer; etc.) of 6 semester hours enrollment are required, to be completed during the course of the program. The ten-year rule on residency of credit will apply.
2. Coursework: Sixty semester hours of coursework are required, inclusive of dissertation courses. With departmental approval, up to 12 semester hours for the degree plan may be transferred from another regionally accredited University. The transfer credits must be post master's-level graduate coursework, must be less than ten years old at the time of conferral of the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi degree, and may not have been included on degree plans for any other degree.  The student must have been enrolled as a terminal degree student when coursework was completed. Likewise, up to one-fourth of the credits for the degree plan may be transferred from post master's-level work taken at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The program faculty and Graduate Education must approve the transfer credits. The degree requires the following:
   • 18 hours of core curriculum & instruction
   • 15 hours in research tools
   • Choose an emphasis (Minimum of 18 hours to be chosen with faculty advisor)
     • Curriculum Studies 
     • Instructional Design and Educational Technology
     • Kinesiology
     • Literacy Studies 
     • Special Education
   • A minimum of 9 hours of Dissertation in Progress (repeated as necessary)
3. Candidacy/Comprehensive Examinations: Comprehensive examinations will be scheduled at such time as the student's advisor judges that the student is ready, but not before the student has completed all the required core curriculum and instruction emphases, and research tools courses. Admission to candidacy for the degree requires passing written comprehensive examination and when judged appropriate by program faculty, an oral examination.
4. Dissertation and Final Examination: The dissertation is developed under the supervision of a dissertation advisor, who serves as chair of the dissertation committee. The committee is composed of at least four members including the chair. There will be a final oral examination that will focus on, but is not limited to, the dissertation work.

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Upon approval of academic advisor and PhD Program Coordinator and based upon course availability. 

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Blended offering

Courses

Educational Curriculum & Instruction Courses