Ed.D. dissertation guidelines

From WikEd

Excerpts from "A PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A PROGRAM OF GRADUATE STUDY LEADING TO THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION (Ed.D.) AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO", Teacher Education Program, University of California, San Diego, October 10, 2002.

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The proposed Ed.D. is being designed to be a professional degree in which a carefully selected regional cohort of professional educators gains content knowledge as well as specific skills related to instructional leadership within the K-12 and post-secondary educational community. Advanced Ed.D. students will conduct research on professional practice within their own institution addressing specific local problems that have national implications for teaching and learning.

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The program has a key feature of assisting K-12 and community college leaders in becoming researchers on practice. The Ed.D. students will gain knowledge that allows them to both build on and contribute to educational research. As well, the Ed.D. program is designed to enhance leadership in educational practice. Students will take courses which will address the topics of school reform and educational equity; learning and educational technology; curriculum research and theory; qualitative and quantitative research methods; cognition and learning theory; the social organization of schooling; language and culture; and research on teaching and learning. The courses within the Ed.D. program will assist students in planning a dissertation study which addresses a critical issue associated with their work. The study will be designed in the initial years of the program as part of the coursework of the ongoing cohort seminar and will be conducted and evaluated during the final years.

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Candidates in the program will typically select a practice-based research topic for their dissertation. In the conduct of the dissertation, in planning data collection and analysis, and in preparing the final thesis, candidates will be expected to integrate theoretical and conceptual frameworks with significant questions of school practice. This approach to integrating theory, research, and practice is intended to be a distinctive one in which practicum experience is articulated with each phase of graduate study.

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UCSD has established a reputation of excellence in doctoral research within its varied Ph.D. programs. By situating a research-on-practice degree within UCSD, we will join other major research universities in providing a practice-oriented Ed.D. program distinguished by its strong research orientation.

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Program Organization and Length: This Ed.D. program is designed to enhance leadership in educational practice. Students will take courses which will address the topics of school reform and educational equity; learning and educational technology; curriculum research and theory; qualitative and quantitative research methods; cognition and learning theory; the social organization of schooling; language and culture; and research on teaching and learning. The courses within the Ed.D. will assist students in planning a dissertation study which addresses a critical issue associated with their work. The study will be designed in the initial years of the program as part of the coursework of the ongoing cohort seminar, and will be conducted and evaluated in the dissertation during the final two years.

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A dissertation committee of four or more members shall be appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies under the authority of the Graduate Council. At least four of the committee members shall be officers of instruction and no fewer than three shall hold professorial titles (of any rank). Each committee must include one tenured or emeritus UCSD faculty member from outside the Teacher Education Program, and at least two other members of the committee shall be UCSD faculty.

Because a broad range of fields provide conceptual and methodological frameworks relevant to scholarly work in teaching and learning, Ed.D. candidates will have the option of drawing upon faculty from a number of disciplines to serve on their Dissertation Committee. The Dissertation Committee will work with the candidate and will be responsible for approving the proposal and the final dissertation, assuring its conformance with guidelines developed by the program, UCSD Ed.D. dissertation requirements, and University of California graduate degree requirements.

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2.6 Presentation of Dissertation Proposal
Students will select and develop a research proposal for the dissertation during the third year of study. The student will be expected to submit the dissertation proposal to the Dissertation Committee and defend it by the end of the third year. The proposal will include the background, specific objectives, rationale, research protocol and methodology, and significance of the dissertation project. The student will defend the proposal in front of the Dissertation Committee.

2.7 Final Examination: Defense of the Dissertation
The dissertation will present original research on a significant issue in educational practice affecting K-12 or post-secondary institutions. The dissertation will demand the application of the candidate's skills in a variety of academic disciplines and one or more research methodologies. Each dissertation will be expected to include complete reporting of theoretical and conceptual background, relevant literature, data collection techniques, data analysis strategies, and a presentation of results and implications. The dissertation will meet the University's normal requirements for style, format, and appearance. The candidate will submit a copy of the dissertation to each member of the Dissertation Committee and two additional copies to the University. The Dissertation Committee will conduct a final oral examination during which the candidate defends the dissertation. The absolute registered time to degree will be six years.

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