Major Requirements

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph .D.) in Teaching and Curriculum program is designed to prepare experienced educators for research on teaching and learning, curriculum, teachers, and teacher education. It serves students who wish to study teaching-learning processes in several of the disciplines in elementary and secondary education and selected non-school contexts, the theory and practice of curriculum, the lives and careers of teachers, and policies and practices of teacher education. Through their programs of study, students develop scholarly agendas that will support careers as novice scholars, researchers, and teachers in higher education. Emphasis is placed on research design, implementation, and analysis, and forms of scholarly expression. An apprenticeship gives experience to novice researchers. Opportunities are provided for candidates to gain experience in college-level teaching. Graduates of this program are on the faculties at colleges and universities across the nation and abroad.

The Teaching and Curriculum programs are housed in and served by the Teaching & Leadership Programs unit of the School of Education.

The Ph.D. program in Teaching and Curriculum offers students the following advantages and opportunities:

• exposure to cutting edge ideas through courses and one-on-one study with faculty who are at the forefront of their fields;
• flexibility of program requirements, allowing for individualization within the 90 semester hours required to complete the program, building on general program and School of Education requirements;
• many courses offered in the late afternoon and evening to accommodate students completing their degree on a part-time basis;
• study and engagement with other students who bring diverse professional and personal backgrounds, from across the nation and internationally, to their graduate program experiences;
• a specialization which builds an area of particular expertise, such as elementary education, inclusive education, social studies education, art education, music education, teacher education, educational leadership, curriculum studies, or other areas as might be proposed;
• the opportunity to select courses from the wide variety of areas within Teaching & Leadership Programs, the School of Education, and from departments across Syracuse University: sociology, linguistics, nutrition, psychology, management, women’s studies, computer and information science, African-American studies, nursing, and public communication are among the fields that have been integrated into doctoral programs in Teaching and Curriculum;
• a dynamic School of Education that has national and international reputation of excellence and commitment to the field of education.