M.A. Requirements

• 18 semester hours of work in Social Foundations, including two courses (6s.h.) in any three areas chosen from: Sociology of Education, History of Education, Comparative/International Education, Philosophy of Education, and Policy Studies.
• All remaining semester hours must be in a related area appropriate to the student's career and academic goals, and can be chosen from outside the College of Education. For example, students interested in philosophy of education usually take these courses in the Department of Philosophy.

Comprehensive Examination: Masters students must satisfactorily complete a six-hour comprehensive exam covering their three areas of study in Social Foundations and their outside area. The examination committee may elect to hold an oral exam after the written portion is completed.

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Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education

Ph.D. Requirements

• Core Courses: 24 semester hours of work in Social Foundations chosen from Sociology of Education, History of Education, Comparative/International Education, Philosophy of Education, and Policy Studies, including:

1. 12 semester hours from a major area of specialization.
2. A minimum of 6 semester hours from each of two additional areas.

• Cognates: Approximately one-third to one-half (30 to 45 semester hours) of each student’s program is devoted to course work in depth from at least one other program at the University such as history, social work, philosophy, political science, sociology, economics, etc. These sequences are planned individually by the student with the aid of his or her adviser and suggestions from the appropriate department or departments. Students with M.A. degrees may apply acceptable previous graduate work.
  
• Related Courses: A minimum of 9 semester hours in a related area which may come from inside or outside the College of Education.
  
• Research Courses: Five research courses are required. They are selected in accordance with the individual candidate’s research interests and program. Students are required to successfully complete 07B:205 Research Process and Design and 07B:155 Critical Thinking. These five courses must include:

1. A course in quantitative methodologies (for example graduate-level statistics, micro-computing, demographic analysis).
2. A course in qualitative analysis (for example, philosophy of science, philosophy of social science, historiography, qualitative or case study methodologies, or foreign language).
3. An additional course in either quantitative or qualitative methodologies.

Every student is expected to participate as fully as possible in the ongoing Social Foundations weekly seminar throughout his or her program. We design the seminar to provide a prolonged introduction and orientation to the field of Social Foundations of Education and to our program.

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Comprehensive Examination:

Doctoral students must satisfactorily complete an extensive comprehensive examination. The first three-hour examination is in the student’s major area of study. The second three-hour examination is in the student’s other two areas of concentration within social foundations (1.5 hours each). The third three-hour examination is in the student’s outside cognate area of study and is prepared by faculty outside the Social Foundations program. The written examinations are followed by an oral examination conducted by a comprehensive examination committee of five faculty members who normally (but not necessarily) comprise the candidate's dissertation committee.

The purpose of the Comprehensive Exam is to provide the Ph.D. student's advisory committee with the information that it needs to determine if the student is prepared to undertake the dissertation research that is required for the Ph.D. degree. A successful Comprehensive Exam will demonstrate a student's mastery of the scholarly literature in an area of study, as evidenced by an ability: to creatively synthesize diverse perspectives and findings in a way that has the potential to extend existing literature; to discuss relevant works at a detail sufficient to demonstrate that they have been read and understood; to think critically about the readings and to provide reasoned judgments about their worth and utility; and to write coherent and organized prose. Unsuccessful exams lack these qualities.

Once a year (probably late Spring), the Social Foundations faculty will schedule a session in which we will provide general information on our comprehensive examination policies. This session will clarify the nature and scope of the exams, and the expectations of both faculty and students. No student will be allowed to take the examination without having attended such a meeting.

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Research Dissertation: Each student must write a formal dissertation prospectus; the student and his or her advisor determine when the prospectus is complete. Once approved by the advisor, the prospectus must be submitted to the members of the student's doctoral committee, to consist of five professors, including one from outside the College of Education. Students must accumulate 12 semester hours of dissertation research credit. The doctoral program culminates with a final oral defense of the dissertation.

Examples of Recent Dissertation Titles:

• "A Religious and Historical Study of Horace Mann"
• "Gender and Education: An Analysis of Factors Influencing the Academic Participation of Chinese Women"
• "American Universities and the U.S. Agency for International Development: An Analysis of the New Directions Period"
• "Improving Teacher Performance: Toward a Sociological Theory of Teacher Motivation"
• "Chicano Cultural Frames and High School Performance in a Rural Iowa Town"

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