ismeress Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 As has been hinted on a few of these forums, the creation of a Ph.D program jointly offered by HGSE and FAS was approved... http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news-impact/2012/03/ph-d-in-education-approved/ According to this article, there seems to be 1 more year of Ed.D admits ("HGSE’s Ed.D. Program, which will enroll its final cohort in the fall of 2013") which means that those applying fall of THIS year (not yet applied) will still be applying for the Ed.D. Does anyone know of any plans for how those in the Ed.D program would be allowed to transfer into the Ph.D program? I was considering applying this fall, but am very hesitant to be part of a last cohort of a certain degree.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michigan girl Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I wonder will the HGSE doctoral concentrations remain the same under the new PhD program or will it evolve into something similar to the Social Policy PhD program (Government or Sociology track). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzi Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Hi folks - found this site while looking for admit rates (trying to avoid a U.S. News subscription) and thought I'd register and contribute. I'm a current first-year doctoral student at HGSE. To answer your questions re: the approved Ph.D. program: Does anyone know of any plans for how those in the Ed.D program would be allowed to transfer into the Ph.D program? I was considering applying this fall, but am very hesitant to be part of a last cohort of a certain degree.. This is a big issue, and one that is causing some consternation here. The short story is that "we don't know." The dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, who recently vacated his post (health issues), apparently was of the opinion that current Ed.D. students would need to re-apply with the general applicant pool. The current dean is in an interim post, but I haven't heard him express an opinion either way. The proposal to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (the one they just approved) didn't mention anything about possible transitions to the new program. Having been around Harvard for a long time (I did my undergrad and master's here, and also worked for the university for a few years), my sense is that if current students make enough noise (and we certainly are making plenty), they will at least consider allowing current Ed.D. students to transfer in, but there will definitely be some kind of hurdle involved. My sense is also that there are two years to work out the specifics of the new Ph.D., and that even though FAS has approved it, lots and lots of things are still up in the air. In short, there's probably a chance, but it's far from a sure bet. I wonder will the HGSE doctoral concentrations remain the same under the new PhD program or will it evolve into something similar to the Social Policy PhD program (Government or Sociology track). The concentrations will definitely change - the current proposal only has three concentrations, each intended to be broadly linked to a specific discipline. Again, this is apparently still up in the air: Human Development, Learning, and Teaching (Psychology) Culture, Society, and Institutions (Sociology) Education Policy and Program Evaluation (Economics) More here: http://harvardmagazine.com/2012/03/new-harvard-education-doctoral-program FreedomInEducation, WITapp and Jimmy McNulty 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismeress Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 Thanks Dizzi, your information is very helpful. I will definitely be keeping an eye out on any public releases of information, and may shout out again closer to the fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michigan girl Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Thanks Dizzi, I have another question about the tentative concentrations: what if someone wants to focus on higher education? My only concern with this approach is it may shut out those whose interests are more higher education-oriented (K-12 is already a huge and popular discipline). Will the PhD program also require someone who has an education master's degree to earn credits towards an MA in psychology/sociology/economics (like the Social Policy program)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzi Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 (edited) No problem - I'll check in from time to time if there's anything more to share. I think some other Harvard Ed.D.s are also on this board. Thanks Dizzi, I have another question about the tentative concentrations: what if someone wants to focus on higher education? My only concern with this approach is it may shut out those whose interests are more higher education-oriented (K-12 is already a huge and popular discipline). Again, as I understand it, the specifics really haven't been nailed down yet at all. I think that's a good question. For example, we have current students who study education history, and at least one who specifically studies higher ed history - I'm not sure where that would fit in the new scheme. I think - and this is just my personal view - that they want the new Ph.D. to be more discipline-focused. The current Ed.D. in QPAE is a bit like that, but the other programs have very wide-open requirements, so even if you're in Higher Ed, you could end up taking very few courses that have anything to do with higher ed. I think they want to tighten up those requirements at the disciplinary level and let folks choose their subject area after acquiring some basic disciplinary expertise. Will the PhD program also require someone who has an education master's degree to earn credits towards an MA in psychology/sociology/economics (like the Social Policy program)? Hmm...interesting question. If I had to guess, I'd think that they would just create a Master's-in-passing in whatever Education-related program you're in - that's how it works with most FAS departments, and it's also how it works at HGSE. It would really surprise me if they made everyone get an MA in the program's related discipline. Some departments (like Economics) don't actually offer a terminal MA [Edit: I'm sorry, I totally miscounted - a full "regular" AM would only use up half of your normal doctoral courses. Also, I'm not sure I'm answering your question - are you asking if the new concentrations will require X courses that are "purely" in the Psych/Sociol/Econ departments? If so, then I'm certain the answer is Yes.] Edited March 30, 2012 by Dizzi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzi Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I should clarify that last part - the Economics department doesn't offer a terminal MA, but Econ PhDs can get an MA in Economics in passing. EdD students can get an EdM-in-passing, too, but I think we have to take additional EdD courses to make up for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michigan girl Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I re-read this thread again and was surprised that HGSE isn't offering a History of Education concentration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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