Admissions requirements for a PhD in Education

[Leónes]

Hi all, 

 

I'm currently a sophomore - although I probably won't be graduating till 2017 because I'm not taking classes full-time (need to work).

 

I have a few questions about admissions requirements for a PhD in Education, and was wondering if anyone would be willing to give me advice:

 

[1] I know its often "technically" possible - but is it common for students to get into PhD programs in Education straight out of their undergraduate degree?

 

[2] Is an undergraduate degree/major in Education (usually) necessary?

 

[3] Do you need to have done educational research before applying to a PhD in Education?

 

And finally, [4] Would you have any advice for how I can make my application as competitive as possible over the, erm, next 3 years?

 

Thanks very much for your time!

Leónes

[michigan girl]

You don't need an undergraduate major in education to obtain a PhD in Education. You can major in any field. What counts in the doctoral application process is a good GPA (major GPA > 3.5 out of 4.0), extensive research experience in an education-related field, good GRE scores, and solid letters of recommendations from professors who can write positively about your potential. A senior thesis and/or publication is a plus but not generally required. Depending on your field, you may need to complete a master's degree in education and have professional work experience before you can apply directly to PhD programs. This is definitely true in educational administration and higher education and student affairs.

[ctcpx084]

All due respect to michigan girl, but the necessary qualifications for each program will vary. While GPA, GRE, and the like will of course factor in--again, to different degrees, depending on program and university--your statement of purpose will probably carry as much weight as any of the quantitative factors. Your ability to connect with research and with professors who are at your chosen universities will be big as well, and you can do this through your statement of purpose and through letters of recommendation as well.

 

Research experience is not a firm prerequisite, but it may well set you (far) apart from other candidates. Publications, as michigan girl indicated, are definitely a plus, but they are probably the exception rather than the rule among applicants--particularly peer reviewed publications.

 

As far as experience is concerned, I think it depends what kind of "education" you are looking to get in to. Personally, I find it silly when people apply to curriculum and instruction programs without practical experience in these areas; I also find it silly when universities admit people who lack such experience, but they do. Of my own doctoral cohort in curriculum and teaching, all but one student has considerable K-12 teaching experience, and the only one who doesn't has worked as an adjunct in universities (although her teaching there is in a different field). That said, if you plan to pursue higher education, educational psychology, educational foundations, or some other end of "education", experience may not really be as important.

[michigan girl]

wjdavis, the academic statement of purpose and curriculum vitae are an automatic given in the doctoral application process. But if you want me to be more specific, it is important that the OP mentions their academic background, why a PhD in (blank) field fits their research interests, their tentative research question(s), and identify professors who are familiar with and/or can help with the research question(s). It is also foolhardy for the OP to assume the other factors (GRE scores, letters of recommendations, professional experience) do not matter in doctoral admissions. Remember, a bad GRE score or negative letter of recommendation can lead to an automatic rejection (OP won't even proceed to the second stage of application review) since many competitive and highly-ranked doctoral programs receive more applications than spots available.

 

As for your second part, very few education PhD programs admit students straight from college. This is especially true for higher education/student affairs and educational administration/foundations. On your list, the only program IMHO that doesn't require a master's degree is educational psychology because the curriculum is similar to psychology programs. Education is a professional field where theory informs practice (and vice versa), so of course it is recommended that an applicant have prior experience which can influence and enhance the future direction of the field. For instance, a master's degree in higher education or related field strongly increases your chances of being admitted into a Higher Education PhD program. From my own observations, the majority of doctoral students in the Higher Education program at Michigan had earned master's degrees prior to their enrollment into the doctoral program. For those who did not have a master's degree upon acceptance, they had over five years of work experience in higher education.

Edited January 2, 2014 by michigan girl

[Leónes]

Thanks very much for your replies, michigan girl and wjdavis! I don't know any Education PhDs irl, so this info is extremely helpful - gave me a much more realistic picture of the process and expectations than the one I had imagined, haha. Thanks!

 

I've two more questions:

 

[1] wjdavis mentioned "considerable K-12 teaching experience" for curriculum and teaching programs. What counts as "considerable"?

 

[2] [Can of worms?] And do you think I can/should be looking at programs like Teach for America or the New York Teaching Fellows for K-12 experience after graduating from college? 

 

The reason why I am keen to "skip" the Master's degree step is cost. But of course, your replies so far seem to suggest that that might be unwise - so I think I'll have to reconsider.

 

Thanks again!

[RedPill]

First off,

 

Props to you for being so proactive. As an undergraduate student on these forums, I can give you my perspective(although I'm PhD in Higher Education)

 

 

[1] I know its often "technically" possible - but is it common for students to get into PhD programs in Education straight out of their undergraduate degree?

 

Very uncommon. I recommend a masters first.

 

[2] Is an undergraduate degree/major in Education (usually) necessary?

 

No, I wouldn't imagine so. 

 

[3] Do you need to have done educational research before applying to a PhD in Education?

 

YES. If you're getting a PhD in Education I assume you either want to pursue policy research, think-tank research, academic positions or government positions involving research. Either way, a PhD is a research degree. If you're interested in administration such as being a school principle, an EDD may be more appropriate. Without research experience, you shouldn't be considering a PhD at all. 

 

And finally, [4] Would you have any advice for how I can make my application as competitive as possible over the, erm, next 3 years?

 

Research and letters of recommendation! GRE and GPA come secondary in this field. Quite frankly, our work isn't rocket science. However, a keen eye and dedication go far from what I've seen. Who you know does count regardless of what anyone says, and reputation matters for something as well. Networking is key in my humble opinion. 

[ctcpx084]

You won't be "skipping" a master's degree either way. Let's assume a PhD is 90 credits. If you have a master's degree, often you'll be able to transfer a certain number of credits in to the PhD, as recognition of prior learning. In my own program, I was able to transfer in 40 credits from my previous graduate work, leaving me with 50 credits to go (minus what I've completed now, that is). Without previous graduate work, you'll be responsible for the full load. In some programs, this means you will effectively earn a master's on the way to a PhD. In other cases, you'll just complete the credits on the way to your dissertation and the degree.

 

The advantage here is not just time of completion, but cost as well. My master's degree, while an excellent learning experience, was not at an Ivy league institution, and therefore much, much, MUCH cheaper. The 40 credits I transferred in were much cheaper than 40 credits at Teachers College, which is above $1300/credit.

 

Most C&I programs seem to want at least three years. We have many people with TFA or NYCTF experiences, although most of them have gone beyond whatever the original commitment is for those respective programs. When you look at faculty advertisements in C&I or teacher education, they often require a minimum of three years teaching experience. Again, I cannot speak specifically to other areas of education, which may require more or less experience. It probably does vary from program to program, but both doctoral programs I've been involved in have asked for at least three years.

[JBums1028]

 

And finally, [4] Would you have any advice for how I can make my application as competitive as possible over the, erm, next 3 years?

 

... letters of recommendation!

 

 

Full disclosure, not planning to do a PhD. Happened to lurk on this thread today (slow day at work), but I felt it necessary to second this advice. I went to a large university where getting to know your professors was difficult. Since you still have time I'd highly recommend beginning to network with them now. The big mistake I made was not having a good relationship with the majority of my professors, which really limited the number of recommenders I had, which limits the number of schools I could reasonably apply to. So definitely begin building those relationships now because it makes things much easier in the future, regardless of what type of graduate program you're applying too!

[hesadork]

I'm in general agreement with the posters above, but will add this as friendly advice:

 

1) You'll need a master's to be competitive for admission to any decent (read: funded) doctoral program in ed.  Exceptions are few and far between.

 

2) Get some work experience (in ed) prior to pursuing a master's.  Even if it's just a year.  You'll get much more out of your master's program if you do.  And yes, you should consider any opportunity to do so that come across your path.

 

Doctorates in ed are professional degrees -- even when they're PhDs (rather than EdDs), even when they're granted at "theory" schools.  You will need practical experience in order to make the degree useful.

[michigan girl]

MAC2809, I am not "tripping out" when I stated that applicants generally need a GPA of 3.5 or higher to increase their chances of getting into a competitive and highly ranked Education PhD program. I am referring to institutions that compete with the Harvards, Michigans, Ohio States, Stanfords, and Vanderbilts. MAC2809, master's programs are relatively easy to get into (minimum GPA of 3.0 is generally recommended). Doctoral programs, however, are a different story altogether (more competitive, higher academic standards, and fewer spots since students are PAID with a stipend to conduct research). It is expected that doctoral students will excel in their coursework. A cumulative GPA less than a B (3.0) in graduate school can put you on academic probation. Furthermore, it is not difficult to obtain a GPA of 3.5 or higher in a master's program if the courses and field truly interest you.

 

Many students graduate from education master's programs with high GPAs. It's a disservice to tell the OP that their GPA does not matter if their goal is a PhD.

Edited January 2, 2014 by michigan girl

[AdjunctOverload]

MAC2809, I am not "tripping out" when I stated that applicants generally need a GPA of 3.5 or higher to increase their chances of getting into a competitive and highly ranked Education PhD program.

 

Many students graduate from education master's programs with high GPAs. It's a disservice to tell the OP that their GPA does not matter if their goal is a PhD.

 

This.  A high ranking program in any field has their choice of Ph.D. students from across the U.S. and internationally--some, like Fulbright scholars, even bring their own funding (which is huge).

 

A B+ undergraduate GPA is not too much for those schools to ask, and some will even have 3.50 undergrad GPA as their cutoff. (Mine did and it's no where near a high ranked program for higher ed).

 

You can major in just about anything--but don't choose an "easy major" (if such a thing actually exists) just to get a higher GPA.  I'd recommend you major/minor in something in the social sciences (learn APA style!) or business or math or something.

[ctcpx084]

Full disclosure, not planning to do a PhD. Happened to lurk on this thread today (slow day at work), but I felt it necessary to second this advice. I went to a large university where getting to know your professors was difficult. Since you still have time I'd highly recommend beginning to network with them now. The big mistake I made was not having a good relationship with the majority of my professors, which really limited the number of recommenders I had, which limits the number of schools I could reasonably apply to. So definitely begin building those relationships now because it makes things much easier in the future, regardless of what type of graduate program you're applying too!

 

Looking at this a second time, I do think I underplayed recommendations in my previous posts. As an undergraduate, I had -zero- professors who I was close with, so applying to any type of graduate school from this point was difficult. Things were much different after my M.Ed when I was looking at going on for a doctorate, when I had a number of professors who I had a decent rapport with, and one or two who still write recommendations for me if I need them. It made a huge difference in the quality of my application.

[ZeChocMoose]

You won't be "skipping" a master's degree either way. Let's assume a PhD is 90 credits. If you have a master's degree, often you'll be able to transfer a certain number of credits in to the PhD, as recognition of prior learning. In my own program, I was able to transfer in 40 credits from my previous graduate work, leaving me with 50 credits to go (minus what I've completed now, that is). Without previous graduate work, you'll be responsible for the full load. In some programs, this means you will effectively earn a master's on the way to a PhD. In other cases, you'll just complete the credits on the way to your dissertation and the degree.

 

I do have to say that not all Education PhD programs are going to allow you to transfer in that many credits from your master's degree.  I know my Education PhD program only allows at maximum 9 credits to "transfer" in from a previous master's degree so you can't really assume that your master's degree even in the field is going to reduce your time to degree for the doctorate.  Different schools have widely different academic policies on this.

[ctcpx084]

I do have to say that not all Education PhD programs are going to allow you to transfer in that many credits from your master's degree.  I know my Education PhD program only allows at maximum 9 credits to "transfer" in from a previous master's degree so you can't really assume that your master's degree even in the field is going to reduce your time to degree for the doctorate.  Different schools have widely different academic policies on this.

 

Well, yes--an idea I tried to stress several posts up as well. The point of writing this was that there isn't a shortcut to a doctorate. In nearly all cases, you don't save time by "skipping" a master's degree.

[AdjunctOverload]

Your an idiot if your going to major in math if you want to work in education. Maybe statistics. I doubt your an engineering major or a bio chem major so save the fascade for someone else. You still submit your under grad GPA, everyone does good in Masters program. 

 

Um, no.  In my Ed.D. cohort we have two mathematics undergrads (one went business masters and the other higher ed masters).  One of them is a fulltime student with teaching experience, and the other is a dean (of student success after teaching fulltime for 4 years).

 

Since the recent trend in higher education is toward accountability, measurable outcomes, and performance-based funding (see Obama's higher ed mandate), taking advantage of mathematics/research majors/minors is a great way to easily break into the field.  Frankly, there aren't enough administrators that can conduct "good" research.  As doctoral students, we're also being pressured to produce quantitative dissertations for the aforementioned reason.

 

I wouldn't cut someone down unless you know 100% what you're talking about.  Also, it's "you're" not "your".

[ferd]

Another way to help your app - get involved in the higher ed community. Try to get your school/department to fund a conference or two - AIR (association for institutional research) has a really cheap student rate, AERA does too I think. Basically collect evidence of your interest and commitment. Also take quantitative methods courses - at a minimum statistics class or two, econometrics would be ideal. Much of the research in higher ed is fairly sophisticated in terms of methods.