Doctor of Philosophy

Ph.D. The primary purpose of the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree program is to prepare students for careers in the professoriate. As compared to the Ed.D., such preparation includes more extensive contact with the university culture in the form of residency requirements and more rigorous expectations for research (i.e., additional courses and dissertation hours).

Admission
Educational Administration admits doctoral students in fall and spring cohorts. You should allow several weeks for the Graduate School to process your application. Questions regarding the application process should be directed to Edward Guy (eguy@bamaed.ua.edu).

Admission Deadlines:
Fall, 2008 – October 31
Spring, 2009 – April 1

Prerequisites
A Master's degree in a relevant field.

Degree Requirements
Ph.D. Program of Study Form (pdf)

Ph.D. Program of Study Form (writable)

A minimum of 75 credit hours beyond the masters degree, comprising of 24 hours in the major; 15 hours of research coursework; The College of Education foundations requirement (up to 12 hours); A comprehensive examination; 24 hours of dissertation credit; and The University residency requirement.

Major
24 hours of classes in the area of educational administration as approved by the student's program of study committee

Research (15 hours)
15 hours of coursework in quantitative and/or qualitative research methods

College Foundations Requirements(12 hours)
Over the course of one’s graduate studies (Masters, EDS, Doctorate), account for 12 hours of graduate coursework comprising (i) any BEF or BEP classes or (ii) any other non-research method courses outside of the student’s department. Although master’s level courses fulfill the 12-hour College of Education foundations requirement, they may not count toward the 75 hours needed to fulfill the requirements for the PHD.

Comprehensive Exams for Ph.D. in Educational Administration

Monday, March 9
9:00-12:00/1:00-4:00
Gadsden and Tuscaloosa
Room TBA

Students are eligible to sit for comprehensive exams in the final semester of their doctoral coursework. Apply to take the comprehensive exams by completing the form found at http://elpts.ua.edu/forms/compappl.pdf. This form should be faxed to Edward Guy at 348-2161. You may check on its arrival by emailing Edward at eguy@bamaed.ua.edu.

Students must have completed all course requirements and removed all grades of "I" from their academic record before sitting for exams. If students are in the last semester of course work, they may write their exams in the same semester.

The Program of Study committee selects questions that reflect the individual needs of the doctoral student. The chair of the Program of Study committee disseminates the questions to the examination proctor, coordinates the evaluation, and reports the results.

The examination will be given once a semester on the same day during the same hours in Tuscaloosa and Gadsden. Typically, the exams are scheduled on a Saturday that falls between the 8th and 10th week of the semester. All examinations will last six hours: 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. The exact date of the examination will be published on our website during the first week of classes.

Comprehensive examinations consist of six questions. Students may either type or handwrite their examination. No laptop computers will be allowed. A room with sufficient computers will be provided.

Students may either type or handwrite their examination. No laptop computers will be allowed. A room with sufficient computers will be provided.

A minimum of three faculty members will independently read and evaluate the examinations. Each member will rate each response as (1) Strong Pass, (2) Average Pass, or (3) Fail. In response to student performance, the committee will recommend (1) Pass - no oral defense needed, (2) Pass - contingent upon successful oral defense, or (3) Fail. However, any single member of the committee may require an oral defense. An additional faculty member (decided upon by the exam committee) must attend this oral defense. Upon completion of the oral defense, Pass/Fail will be determined by a majority vote. In the event of a tie vote, the Department Chair will cast the deciding vote upon review of the student's written exam and faculty comments. If the Department Chair is a member of the original committee, a non-participating faculty member will be asked to cast the deciding vote. In the event that a person does not successfully meet the requirements for passing the exam, the student will be notified within 4 to 6 weeks and will be given the opportunity to re-take the examination the following semester.

Students will be notified of the results of the examination within 4 to 6 weeks of taking the exams.

Dissertation (24 hours)
AEL 699 Dissertation Research. Continuous enrollment is required until the dissertation is complete. The number of hours will vary depending on work load of the student and professor on the document.

Doctoral Residency
The minimum period in which the doctoral degree can be earned is three full academic years of graduate study. The student must spend an academic year in continuous residence on the campus of The University of Alabama as a full-time student in the Graduate School (or, if specifically approved by the faculty concerned, one full summer consisting of two terms, preceded by or followed by one regular semester). This requirement can be satisfied only by enrolling in coursework; dissertation or thesis research cannot be used. Courses delivered via IITS, GOALS, or QUEST formats may not be used to satisfy residency requirements.

Consult The Graduate School Catalog for student policies.