DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Application and Admission

Students are admitted to one of two strands in the doctoral program: the Social Contexts of Education strand and the Science and Mathematics Education strand.  Decisions regarding admission to the doctoral program are made once a year by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in consultation with the faculty of the Department of Education.  All students are admitted for the fall semester.  In order to be considered for admission to the program, an applicant must submit a complete dossier to the Doctoral Studies Committee no later than January 1.

The completed file must include the following information.

Application form.  Please attend to all details.  The application also calls for a personal statement.  This statement should include what your purposes and goals are for pursuing a Ph.D. in Education at Washington University in St. Louis.  The statement gives the reader a sense of who you are, what it is you hope to accomplish in the course of your program and beyond, and why you think the Department of Education can help you accomplish those goals.  Readers of this statement will be looking for a commitment to education as a field of study and a serious interest in research and inquiry.  The personal statement should be one (1) to two (2) pages in length.

• Three letters of recommendation. Letters should be solicited from carefully chosen individuals who are in a position to comment knowledgeably on the applicant's academic ability, scholarly potential, and, if relevant, past performance as an educator.
• Transcripts. Please include transcripts of all previous work at colleges or universities.
• Graduate Record Examination Scores. Scores may be from a test taken up to five years prior to the application date.
• Writing sample. A paper written by the applicant that reflects his or her best ability to work with and develop one or more important ideas.  The paper may be written especially for the admissions dossier, or it may have been prepared earlier for another purpose.  Applicants should give careful consideration to the paper they submit.  This sample of the student's thinking and writing ability is among the most important items considered by the Doctoral Studies Committee.
• Interview. An interview (in person or by telephone) with one or more members of the faculty involved with doctoral studies. This is an important step as it helps the serious candidate to develop some familiarity with the work of specific faculty members and to get a sense of how s/he might fit into the department.  It also allows faculty members to become further acquainted with the candidate.

Application Process Checklist

• Submit all materials by January 1
• Application form
• 1 – 2 page personal statement
• 3 letters of recommendation
• Transcripts from all previous work at colleges or universities
• GRE scores
• Writing sample
• Interview by phone or in person

Advising

Each graduate student is advised by a full-time faculty member of the department, chosen by the student with faculty consultation.  Together, student and advisor determine the course of studies the student will pursue.  The department offers two basic research program strands: Social Contexts of Educational Research and Science and Mathematics Education.   Areas of concentration include Urban Education and American Culture Studies, Literacy, Mathematics and Science Education, Learning Sciences, and Educational Policy.

Areas of concentration a student pursues are chosen by the student and his/her advisor in the context of departmental offerings and other departmental experiences.  The area of concentration is linked to faculty expertise in the department, as well as to the student's developing interests in a problem that will shape the dissertation research and writing.

The Doctoral Studies Committee and any department faculty members working closely with the student assess each student's progress once a year, typically in early spring.  This group provides the student with an analysis of strengths and weaknesses in the student's performance to date.  This group also advises the department chair of any recommendations regarding teaching and research assistantships and fellowships.

The Pattern of Study

Graduate training in education at Washington University proceeds from a closely supervised program to the independence of the dissertation writing.  The student takes courses for at least two years, preparing for the qualifying examination, which is offered after the student completes her or his course work.  Following successful completion of the examination, the student moves on to the dissertation phase, which includes submission of a proposal, a proposal hearing, independent research and writing, and a dissertation defense.  The student can expect the whole process to take from three to six years, depending on prior graduate work and the nature of the dissertation.

Students admitted to the doctoral program are expected to be in residence during the period of their study for the degree.  Residence is defined as enrollment for at least nine hours of course work each semester of the academic year.  The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences stipulates that the doctoral student must earn a minimum of seventy-two (72) semester hours beyond the Bachelors degree.  For a student entering with a Masters degree, at least forty-eight (48) hours are required.  The Department of Education views these as minimum requirements; additional course work may be necessary to meet special subject area or methodological needs.  The Department recommends that the student not hold outside employment during the period of residency.  The Graduate School minimum requirement for doctoral students at Washington University is two years of residence, but students should plan to be in residence until all degree requirements are met.

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