Contact Info

Contact:	Alyssa McDonald
Phone:	314-935-6791
Email:	alyssa.mcdonald@wustl.edu
Website:	http://education.wustl.edu

Doctoral Candidacy

To earn a PhD at Washington University, a student must complete all courses required by their department; maintain satisfactory academic progress; pass certain examinations; fulfill residence and Mentored Experience Requirements; write, defend, and submit a dissertation; and apply to graduate via Workday Student. For the details of doctoral degree general requirements in Arts & Sciences, including an explanation of Satisfactory Academic Progress, students should review the Doctoral Degree Academic Information page of the Arts & Sciences Bulletin.

Program Requirements

• Total Units Required: 24-30
• Degree Length: 6 years
  • Students are expected to have completed all PhD requirements, except for the dissertation, no later than the end of the fourth year of full-time graduate study
    • By the third year, students should be completing their courses and submitting a qualifying portfolio of written work
    • By the fourth year, students should have a dissertation proposal approved before they continue with the bulk of their research and writing for the dissertation
  • Typically, the dissertation is completed and defended by the end of the fifth or sixth year of study. 
  • Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their coursework, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 units but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop.
• Grade Requirement: Students must achieve a grade of C or better for courses to count toward the degree. Students are expected to maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in courses that count toward their requirements. Thus, among courses of equal weight, each grade of C must be balanced by at least one A.

Required Courses

• General Education Courses (9 credits)
  • Students are required to take 6 credits (3 credits per semester) of EDUC 6960 Doctoral Seminar. This seminar is offered every fall semester, and it is required of all doctoral students in their first two years.
  • EDUC 5450 History of Education in the United States (3 credits) is required in the first or second year of study. Alternate graduate courses in the history of education may be substituted, as approved by the Doctoral Studies Committee.
• Methodology Courses (12-15 credits):
  • EDUC 5600 Foundations of Educational Research (3 credits): Students who enter the program with little to no methodological training relevant to the field of Education are required to take this course, which is an introduction to the various methodologies used in the field of Education. Students who enter the program with prior introductory level methodological training relevant to the field of Education can petition to waive this course requirement with approval of the student's advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
  • Students concentrating in quantitative methodology are required to take a minimum of one core qualitative and three core quantitative courses (12 total credits at minimum).
  • Students concentrating in qualitative methodology are required to take a minimum of one core quantitative and three core qualitative courses (12 total credits at minimum).
• Area of Focus Courses (3-6 credits): In addition to the general education requirements and the appropriate methodology requirements, students select one of two areas of focus for study: Educational Policy Studies or Educational Psychology and complete related coursework. Coursework will be based on the needs of the student and determined by consultation between the student and the advisor.

Qualifying Examinations

Progress toward the PhD is contingent upon the student passing examinations that are variously called preliminary, qualifying, general, comprehensive, or major field exams. The qualifying process varies according to the program. In some programs, it consists of a series of incremental, sequential, and cumulative exams over a considerable time. In others, the exams are held during a relatively short period of time. Exams may be replaced by one or more papers. The program, which determines the structure and schedule of the required examinations, is responsible for notifying the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, of the student’s outcome, whether successful or unsuccessful.

Mentored Experience Requirements

Doctoral students at Washington University must complete a department-defined Mentored Experience. The Mentored Experience Requirement is a doctoral degree requirement that is notated on the student’s transcript when complete. Each department has an established Mentored Experience Implementation Plan in which the number of units that a student must earn through Mentored Teaching Experience(s) and/or Mentored Professional Experience(s) is defined. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plans outline how doctoral students within the discipline will be mentored to achieve competencies in teaching at basic and advanced levels. Some departments may elect to include Mentored Professional Experiences as an avenue for completing some units of the Mentored Experience Requirement. Doctoral students will enroll in ASGS 8005, 8010, or 8015 Mentored Teaching Experience - Assistant in Instruction; ASGS 8020 Mentored Teaching Experience - Mentored Independent Teaching; or ASGS 8120 Mentored Professional Experience to signify their progression toward completing the overall Mentored Experience Requirement for the degree.

The Doctoral Dissertation

A Research Advisory Committee (RAC) must be created no later than the end of the student's third year; departments may set shorter timelines (e.g., by the end of the student's second year) for this requirement. As evidence of the mastery of a specific field of knowledge and of the capacity for original scholarly work, each candidate must complete a dissertation that is approved by their RAC.

A Title, Scope & Procedure Form for the dissertation must be signed by the committee members and by the program chair. It must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, at least six months before the degree is expected to be conferred or before the beginning of the fifth year of full-time enrollment, whichever is earlier.

A Doctoral Dissertation Guide and a Dissertation Template that give instructions regarding the format of the dissertation are available on the website of the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Both should be read carefully at every stage of dissertation preparation.

The Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, requires each student to make the full text of the dissertation available to the committee members for their review at least one week before the defense. Most degree programs require two or more weeks for the review period; students should check with their faculty.

The Dissertation Defense

Approval of the written dissertation by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) is strongly recommended before the student can orally defend the dissertation. The Doctoral Dissertation Committee that examines the student during the defense consists of at least five members. Normally, the members of the RAC also serve on the Doctoral Dissertation Committee. The dissertation committee is then additionally augmented to ensure that the following criteria are met:

1. Three of the five members (or a similar proportion of a larger committee) must be full-time Washington University in St. Louis faculty members or, for programs involving Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated partners, full-time members of a Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated partner institution. All members must be authorized to supervise PhD students and have appropriate expertise in the proposed field of study. One of these three members must be the PhD student's primary thesis advisor, and one may be a member of the emeritus faculty.
2. All other committee members must be active in research/scholarship and have appropriate expertise in the proposed field of study whether at Washington University in St. Louis, at another university, in government, or in industry.
3. At least one of the five members must bring expertise outside of the student's field of study to the committee, as judged by the relevant department/program and approved by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.

The approval processes outlined in the RAC section of the Doctoral Council bylaws also apply to the doctoral dissertation committee, including approval of each dissertation committee by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.

The student is responsible for making the full text of the dissertation accessible to their committee members for their review in advance of the defense according to program rules. Washington University in St. Louis community members and guests of the student who are interested in the subject of the dissertation are normally welcome to attend all or part of the defense but may ask questions only at the discretion of the committee chair. Although there is some variation among degree programs, the defense ordinarily focuses on the dissertation itself and its relation to the student's field of expertise.

Attendance by a minimum of four members of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee, including the committee chair and an outside member, is required for the defense to take place. This provision is designed to permit the student's defense to proceed in case of a situation that unexpectedly prevents one of the five members from attending. Students should not plan in advance to only have four members in attendance. If four members cannot attend, the defense must be rescheduled. The absence of all outside members or of the committee chair also requires rescheduling the defense.

Students, with the support of their Doctoral Dissertation Committee chair, may opt to hold their dissertation defense in person or by utilizing a virtual or hybrid format.

Submission of the Dissertation

After the defense, the student must submit an electronic copy of the dissertation online to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. The submission website requires students to choose among publishing and copyrighting services offered by ProQuest’s ETD Administrator. Students are asked to submit the Survey of Earned Doctorates separately. The degree program is responsible for delivering the final approval form, signed by the committee members at the defense and then by the program chair or director, to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Students who defend their dissertations successfully have not yet completed their PhD requirements; they finish earning their degree only when their electronic dissertation submission has been accepted by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.

Optional MA in Education Along the Way (with Thesis)

The MA in Education program provides an optional along-the-way master's program for students enrolled in the Department of Education's PhD program. The program requirements consist of coursework and the completion of a master's thesis. The coursework has substantial overlap with the requirements for the doctoral degree to avoid adding time to degree. The MA in Education is optional for PhD students but strongly recommended for those students with no master's degree or a master's degree in a field outside of education. This program also offers an alternative degree path for students who decide to leave or are asked to leave the PhD program before completing it. Doctoral students in the Department of Education will be able to opt into the master's degree along the way program at any point up until they complete or exit the doctoral program. However, students are encouraged to complete the requirements before the end of their second year in the PhD program.

Program Requirements

The program requirements include coursework and a master's thesis:

• Coursework: The required coursework for the master's degree will be based on the requirements for the doctoral degree. Students are required to complete the following courses:
  • EDUC 6960 Doctoral Seminar (6 credits total; 3 per semester for two semesters)
  • EDUC 5450 History of Education in the United States (3 credits)
  • Four methodology courses (12 credits total; 3 credits per course): Students concentrating in quantitative methodology are required to take a minimum of one qualitative and three quantitative courses whereas students concentrating in qualitative methodology are required to take a minimum of one quantitative and three qualitative courses.
  • Two elective courses (6 credits total; 3 credits per course): Students can choose two other courses within the Department of Education, including courses in supervised research.
  • EDUC 5800 Master's Project (3 credits): This course will be taken during the semester in which the student conducts and/or defends their master's thesis.
• Master's Thesis: The thesis will consist of a research project in the student's area of focus. Before starting the project, the student will form a master's degree committee, consisting of at least three members with an appointment in the Department of Education. The membership of the master's degree committee must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. Once the committee is approved, the student will submit a proposal for the research project to the committee. After the committee approves the project, the student will conduct the project and then write it up. Finally, the student will submit the written thesis document to the committee and then engage in a public defense of their thesis. Upon successful defense of the thesis and approval by the committee, the thesis will be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies and the MA in Education (with thesis) will be awarded.

As part of their degree requirements, PhD students must complete a program-defined Mentored Experience Requirement (MER) as per these guidelines. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plan (MEIP) is the written articulation of a program-defined degree requirement for PhD students to engage in mentored teaching activities and/or mentored professional activities, collectively referred to as MERs.

Mentored Experience Requirements (MERs)

Philosophy of Teaching

Teaching is of paramount importance in the field of education. Regardless of a PhD student's career path after graduating, acquiring the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to be an effective teacher will facilitate their future success. Since the field is multidisciplinary in nature, our students are trained both within the department and the various programmatic units with which the department is associated (e.g., African & African-American Studies, Sociology, American Culture Studies, Psychological & Brain Sciences, Romance Languages & Literatures, East Asian Languages & Cultures, and Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies). As part of their degree requirements, students are expected to complete mentored teaching experiences (MTEs), which can consist of assisting with the instruction of a course or serving as an independent instructor. Prior to their first MTE, students are required to attend the Graduate Student Mentored Teaching Orientation and at least one workshop through the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) as preparatory engagement. During their MTEs, students are mentored in the arts and sciences of teaching by faculty members in the Department of Education. They are also encouraged to continue their professional development by attending additional workshops and engaging in other activities designed to broaden and deepen their pedagogical expertise. 

An MTE represents a collaborative engagement between a PhD student and a faculty mentor wherein the student reflects on and interprets disciplinary knowledge; identifies multiple ways to represent disciplinary content; adapts content to students' abilities and prior knowledge; and develops methods to assess and improve the teaching and learning process in a discipline. A student pursuing an MTE will enroll in a course of a similar title. Students enrolled in an MTE will have an assigned faculty mentor supporting the students' development to become educators able to communicate or evaluate disciplinary knowledge. This intellectual development is especially important for those seeking careers as academics or citizen scholars. 

Preparatory Engagement

Preparatory Engagement activities are those that represent an introduction to the foundational skills associated with teaching or communication. Pedagogical preparation engagement activities are normally completed before students are permitted to engage in assisting or teaching in a classroom.

Preparatory Engagement represents an important, foundational component to training in pedagogy that occurs before the first MTE. At a minimum, all PhD students will complete the following two activities via the Center for Teaching and Learning:

1. Graduate Student Mentored Teaching Orientation
2. One 90-minute teaching workshop

PhD students may be required to complete additional Preparatory Engagement activities, if necessary (e.g., targeted English language coursework for second-language teaching).

Mentored Teaching Experiences (MTEs)

Assistant in Instruction (AI)

An Assistant in Instruction (AI) is a PhD student who is directly engaged in the organization, instruction, and/or support of a semester-long course primarily taught by a faculty member. An AI receives mentorship from a faculty member related to best practices in classroom engagement, instruction in the field, interpersonal engagement, and other relevant skills. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each AI experience. To complete each AI assignment and to ensure that it applies toward their degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number for each semester of engagement. Refer to the "Required Pathways for Completion" section below for course numbers and details.

Education AI roles are weighted at 10 MER units. The PhD student performing the AI duties is formally listed as instructional support in the course listings and receives mentorship from the faculty member in best practices in classroom engagement, instruction in the field, interpersonal engagement, as well as other relevant skills. The PhD student should receive regular feedback or evaluation from the mentor throughout the semester and should be evaluated by the students in the course at the end of the term as part of the course evaluation.

The activities associated with the role of an AI may encompass some or all of the following:

• Preparing and assigning course materials
• Managing Canvas
• Developing quizzes or exams
• Supervising projects
• Guest lecturing in class
• Leading discussions
• Holding office hours
• Grading and evaluating assignments
• Leading a recitation section
• Leading a group project
• Providing logistical support
• Administering quizzes or exams
• Answering questions about the course or assignments
• Conducting review sessions for groups of students

Mentored Independent Teaching (MIT)

MIT is a semester-long experience for PhD students who engage as the primary instructor or co-instructor of a course under the mentorship of a faculty member as part of the MER. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each MIT experience. To complete each MIT assignment and to ensure that it applies toward their degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number (ASGS 8020) for each semester of engagement. Refer to the "Required Pathways for Completion" section below for more details.

Students who have successfully completed at least 20 MTE units as an AI and who have also completed their Doctoral Qualifying Portfolio may apply for MIT in the department on a topic related to the student's area of expertise. Given that some of our PhD students enter the program with considerable experience teaching undergraduates, they may request a waiver for these requirements and apply for MIT without first serving as an AI. However, the granting of such waivers is expected to be a rare occurrence reserved for exceptional cases.

As a Mentored Independent Instructor, students may take a principal role in the development of the course topic, the syllabus, the course's organization, office hours, and grading for a 1000- or 2000-level course in which the PhD student is the instructor of record. Evidence of success as an AI during multiple MTEs should accompany the student's application for MIT, which could include performance assessments from a previous teaching mentor, student feedback on course evaluations, and a statement of support from the student's advisor. Students may also use relevant teaching experiences that occurred in other departments or prior to the start of their degree program as evidence for their MIT application. Applications for MIT should be completed via the Mentored Independent Teaching Application Form submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies for consideration by the Department of Eduction’s Curriculum Committee.

Required Pathways for Completion

Students work with their faculty mentor and their Director of Graduate Studies to plan how and when they will complete their MERs. Students register during the normal registration period for courses in accordance with one of these approved pathways.

PhD students are required to complete a minimum of 40 total MTE units during their time in the program, with a maximum of 50 total MTE units completed and no more than 20 MTE units completed during any single semester.

Pathway #1

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8010	Take four times

Pathway #2

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8010	Take three times
ASGS 8020	Take one time