The Ph.D. in Education is offered in various program plans:

(1) an individualized plan of study that allows students to select courses and research topics to maximize the opportunity for individualized and interdisciplinary studies.

(2) a cohort-based programwith an emphasis in urban leadership and the option to earn the Professional Administrative Services Credential (Tier II).

(3) a special education program that integrates requirements for the Level II Education Specialist Credential and offers the option to earn the Professional Administrative Services Credential (Tier II).

(4) a joint program with San Diego State University.

Individualized Ph.D. The Education faculty believes that it may best assist students pursue their goals by helping them design their own Ph.D. programs. In consultation with faculty, students develop custom programs tailored to the individual student’s background, interests, and future goals. Students are allowed to combine education courses with disciplines outside education. Students may also emphasize one or more of the following areas:

• Educational policy
• Higher education/student affairs
• Human development
• P-12 administration
• Quantitative evaluation
• Special education
• Teaching and learning
• Urban leadership

Degree requirements. The following are components of the Ph.D. program in education:

(1) 72 semester units (minimum) of coursework (up to 24 semester units from prior graduate work, including work done at CGU, may be transferred via the Program Outline with approval of the student’s faculty program committee).

(2) A transdisciplinary course (not required for students in the Joint Doctoral Program with SDSU).

(3) A residency requirement of completing 24 units within 24 months.

(4) Four written, approved qualifying examinations.

(5) Two research tools.

(6) A qualifying oral examination.

(7) An approved dissertation proposal.

(8) A written dissertation.

(9) A final dissertation oral defense.

Transdisciplinary Course Requirement. All students who enter the doctoral program after the fall 2004 semester are required to complete the transdisciplinary course requirement within the first two years of their program. For details and exemptions on the requirement, see the “Doctor of Philosophy Degree” section in this Bulletin.

Faculty Advisor. When students are admitted, they are assigned a faculty advisor based on interests expressed in their application. The advisor assists the student in selecting courses and planning her/his program of study. As student interests change and develop during coursework, the student may identify a different faculty member as advisor with whom they wish to work. Upon the willingness of the new faculty member to serve as the advisor, an advisor change may be made. The faculty advisor who guides the student in developing a program of study serves as chair of the Supervisory Committee and may also serve as the dissertation chair, or a different faculty member may be selected by the student, based on the agreement of the faculty member.

Program Supervisory Committee. During the first three terms, or upon completion of approximately 16 units of coursework, the student identifies their program supervisory committee. At least three faculty members agree to serve on the program supervisory committee. These faculty members supervise the four qualifying examinations. One faculty member may supervise two qualifying areas. The chair must be a member of the education faculty. One member of the committee may be drawn from the wider CGU graduate faculty, which includes professors from the other CGU fields and elected members from the other Claremont Colleges. The program supervisory committee works with the student on the following:

Program Outline. During the first three terms, or after completion of approximately 16 units of coursework, a program outline is developed in consultation with the chair of the program supervisory committee. The program outline includes a list of coursework taken and proposed, four qualifying examination areas and qualifying committee faculty, transfer of credit, and research tools. The program outline is submitted to the program supervisory committee for signature and filing in the education office. Students who wish to change elements in their doctoral program must obtain the consent of their advisor. Faculty members of the committee may be changed with approval of the new faculty member and the dean via signature on the Change of Advisor form.

Research Tools. Proficiency in two research tools is required. Their purpose is to assure proficiency in research methodologies most likely to be used in the dissertation and in the graduate’s career. Both research tools are to be completed and an approved Research Tool Form () must be submitted to the Office of Admission and Records for posting to the student’s academic record prior to the qualifying oral examination.

Residence. Students must complete 24 units within 24 months or six terms of study to meet the residency requirement. For additional information, see the section on “Degree Regulations ” in this Bulletin.

Written Qualifying Examinations. Written material is required, which, in the judgment of faculty, demonstrates proficiency in the four areas selected in the program outline. Such material can take a variety of forms: examinations, published articles, essays, research studies, films, copies of public lectures planned in cooperation with members of the committee, etc. The written qualifying examinations may be submitted over the course of study, once the program outline has been approved. The written qualifying material and any other evaluation evidence approved by faculty is filed in the education office.

Oral Qualifying Examination. The student takes the oral examination after (1) satisfaction of the residence requirement, (2) all written qualifying examinations have been passed, (3) all coursework is completed or the last course is in progress, and (4) completion of two research tools.

Dissertation Committee. The committee is selected by the student to supervise the dissertation and is frequently identical to the program supervisory committee. Each dissertation committee consists of at least three members drawn from the core CGU faculty or The Claremont Colleges extended faculty. At least one committee member must be a core CGU faculty member in Education. CGU encourages the inclusion on each dissertation committee of an expert in the student’s field from outside The Claremont Colleges. There may be an outside examiner on a four-person committee, but not on a three-person committee. The outside examine rmay be a faculty member from another institution, or a qualified practitioner. The outside examiner has a vote in the committee’s proceedings only with the consent of the dean of the school. The chair of the candidate’s committee must be a member of the core CGU faculty or The Claremont Colleges extended faculty. Each dissertation committee must be approved by the dean.

Advancement to Candidacy. Formal advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. is obtained after approval of the dissertation proposal by the dissertation committee, which signs the Advancement to Candidacy Form. ()

Institutional Review Board. Students work closely with the dissertation committee chair during dissertation proposal development to ensure that they follow correct procedures for review of research methodology by the CGU Institutional Review Board (I.R.B.). In the interests of protecting the rights and welfare of individuals recruited for, or participating in, research conducted by faculty or students under the auspices of CGU, the University maintains the I.R.B. CGU policy requires that research with human subjects, regardless of funding support, be reviewed by the I.R.B. for the protection of human subjects in compliance with federal guidelines. Further details can be found in the CGU handbook www.cgu.edu/handbook.

Dissertation and Final Oral Dissertation Defense. Submission guidelines for dissertation drafts are specified in the Education Ph.D. Handbook (on-line at www.cgu.edu/pages/1226.asp) so that dissertation committee members have adequate time to review the draft and provide constructive feedback to the student. Missing submission deadlines will delay the final oral defense to the next semester unless all committee members decide otherwise.

When the members of the dissertation committee have approved the dissertation for oral defense, a 350-word abstract is prepared; the final oral defense is then scheduled. Upon successful completion of the final oral examination and dissertation committee approval of the final draft, the dissertation and one copy is submitted to the Office of Admission and Records. Requirements for the manuscript preparation may be found on the Student Records website (www.cgu.edu/degree_completion).

Master’s Degree Along the Way to the Ph.D.

The Master of Arts in Education is an individually designed program with concentrations of study in the following areas:

• Educational policy
• Higher education/student affairs
• Human development
• Quantitative evaluation
• Special education
• Teaching and learning

It requires 30 semester units of coursework (maximum of 6 semester units transferred from prior graduate work within the last five years). The program follows general institutional rules for the degree. After obtaining the approval of their advisor, candidates choose to write a thesis (involves two faculty readers) or critique (one faculty reader). Candidates for a master’s may take up to 2 units of thesis or critique research (EDUC 399) for this purpose. See the Education M.A. Handbook (www.cgu.edu/pages/1111.asp) for more related information.