Program Requirements
The Literacy, Language, and Culture (LLC) Ph.D. program is designed to provide an in-depth advanced education for students who have completed a master’s degree in education and desire to pursue careers as scholars, researchers, university faculty, and educational leaders. The program is grounded in the belief that literacy skills, including reading, writing, and oral language, are integral to success in school and in the work place, to enriching social lives, and to active and effective citizenship. Coursework provides a broad background in the relevant theoretical and research literature in the areas of literacy, language, and culture along with opportunities to conduct original studies that explore the nature of both in- and out-of-school literacy practices. Students pursuing an LLC Ph.D. receive research training enables them to use their skills to address educational problems associated with literacy development, particularly for individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds and from areas of high poverty.
Admission Criteria
For admission, individuals must have completed a master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution and have preK-12 teaching experience. An application for admission must include (1) undergraduate and graduate transcripts (cumulative minimum grade-point average of 3.25 on graduate work); (2) three letters of recommendation, including one from an immediate prior supervisor, and one from a former professor in the M.Ed. program; (3) current résumé; (4) competitive GRE scores on verbal, quantitative and writing assessments; (5) an essay that addresses knowledge, accomplishments, and future research and career goals; (6) a sample of professional writing (e.g., a paper from an M.Ed. program, a published paper); and (7) an interview, in person or virtually, with LLC faculty aimed at determining a candidate’s suitability for the program. Applicants whose first language is not English must also submit TOEFL, IELTS or PTE scores.
Brief Curriculum Overview
Core Courses-Nine credits: EDLT 9070, EDLT 9390 , EDLT 9140
Cognate Courses-12 credits
Research Courses-16 credits
Teacher Education Doctoral Seminar-Two credits
Literacy, Language and Culture Doctoral Seminar-Two credits
Teaching Internship-Three credits
Dissertation-18 credits minimum
Brief Overview of Degree Requirements
- Successful completion of a minimum of 62 credits
- Competency in three topic areas: (1) literacy, language and culture (nine crediTs); (2) cognate area (12 credits); (3) research methods (16 credits)
- Ability to pursue research (typically demonstrated by engagement in research prior to the dissertation))
- Successful completion of a 12-hour comprehensive examination
- A dissertation proposal approved by the candidate’s research committee
- Successful defense of dissertation research
