EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, PHD
Early Childhood Education
Doctor of Philosophy in Early Childhood Education
As candidates may enter the Ph.D. program from a variety of early childhood related fields, there are a number of basic prerequisites required for all applicants. If a Ph.D. applicant has completed most / all of the following coursework, they may enter the program and start their Ph.D. coursework the first semester. If Ph.D. applicants have not taken courses similar to the ones listed below, then the applicant can be accepted into the program and is expected to complete the majority of the prerequisite coursework prior to taking doctoral level classes.
| Requirements | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Prerequisites | ||
| EPR 692 | Introduction to Educational Research Design | 3 |
| EPR 596 | Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Educational Research | 3 |
| EPR 608 | Statistical Methods and Action Research | 3 |
| EPR 609 | Statistical Methods and Research in Education: Intermediate | 3 |
| EEC 610 | Curriculum Development in ELEM and ECE | 3 |
| EEC 300 | Child Development/Family Relationships | 3-4 |
| EEC 672 | Piaget and Perspectives in Learning | 3 |
| EEC 660 | Reading in Teaching and Learning | 3 |
PhD Coursework - Minimum of 54 hours
If all prerequisites are met, the Ph.D. is a minimum of 54 hours made up of core, specialty, research, and dissertation hours. Students may apply for candidacy after 36 hours, with up to 6 hours being non-dissertation research credits.
| Requirements | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| ECE 730 | Doctoral Seminar I: Issues in Development Theory | 3 |
| ECE 731 | Doctoral Seminar II: Children and Society | 3 |
| ECE 749 | Advanced Early Childhood Curriculum | 3 |
| Select one course from the following: | 3 | |
| Dr III: History of Early Childhood Education | ||
| Meaning and Development of Play | ||
| Parent Child and School Interface | ||
| Research in Infancy | ||
| Directed Readings in Research | ||
| Specialty Area | ||
| 12+ credit hours at the doctoral level. All coursework must be approved by the ECE doctoral committee. | 12 | |
| Research Methodology | 12 | |
| Qualitative Research: Inquiry and Analysis | ||
| Computer Applications and Advanced Statistical Methods | ||
|
Qualitative, Quantitative, Mixed Method Track |
||
| Research Internship | 6 | |
| Non-Dissertation Research | ||
| Dissertation | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 54 | |
