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Ed.D. Degree Requirements | Program Candidacy | Doctoral Candidacy | Dissertation
Ed.D. Degree Requirements
Course Requirements
- Ed.D. candidates must complete at least 20 course units of approved graduate work beyond the baccalaureate degree, with at least 12 course units of graduate work taken at the
University
of
Pennsylvania
- One course must be a research seminar in the area of specialization
- The program of study may include work completed for the master’s degree
- Up to eight course units may be transferred from another institution upon approval of a student’s advisor
- All degree students must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 for all courses applied toward the degree
Residency Requirement
- Students must complete at least four course units within two successive terms in University courses approved for graduate credit by the Graduate School of Education
- A maximum of two of these four course units may be taken in summer sessions continuous with the academic year term in which the remaining course units are taken (e.g., spring/fall, fall/spring, summer/fall or spring/summer)
- This requirement may be fulfilled at any time after the student has been admitted to GSE for post-baccalaureate coursework
- Some programs require full-time study in every semester; consult the division for more information
Time Limitation
- Ed.D. students are expected to complete all degree requirements within 7 years of the completion of coursework
- After 5 years on dissertation, students are required to meet with their advisors to review their progress and status and to co-write a report outlining the student’s progress and plans for completion of the degree within 7 years
- This report is to be placed in the student’s folder. In very unusual circumstances, Ed.D. students can petition for an additional 2 years
- Official leaves of absence will not automatically change these time limits
- Each student is assigned a faculty advisor upon admission
- The advisor is responsible for helping to plan the program of study, guiding the student’s work until completion of coursework and the preliminary examination, and monitoring the student’s academic progress
- If the advisor judges the quality of an advisee’s work to be inadequate, he or she may recommend to the division chair that the student not be allowed to continue in the program
- Advisors should contact their advisees individually in the first semester of the student’s first year before the drop/request period has concluded
- After this initial meeting, students and advisors are mutually obligated to stay in regular contact, preferably twice a year, but always at the start of the academic year to review progress and consider alterations to the program of study
- The planned program of study should be developed between the advisor and advisee in the first semester of the first year of study, and can be revised over time
- Students on dissertation should also communicate with their advisors twice a year so that progress is closely monitored
- Current policy requires that students hold a successful oral proposal within two years of passing the doctoral preliminary examination
- Students should always consult the their advisor or the Student Records Office for the most current academic policies, procedures and deadlines for completing academic requirements
- To request a change in advisor, a student should see the division coordinator for procedures
- Once a student has formed a dissertation committee, the committee chair automatically becomes the student’s advisor
Program Candidacy (Qualifications Exam)
Process
Specialization faculty reviews the student dossier and votes to recommend student for program candidacy
- Division faculty votes whether to admit student to program candidacy
- The student is given feedback in conference or in writing about the decision, his/her performance and future course of study
- Students who do not pass program candidacy are withdrawn from the degree program
Appeal
- Students may appeal to the division chair if the program faculty does not admit them to program candidacy
- Students may appeal to the Committee on Degrees if the division does not admit them to program candidacy.
Doctoral Candidacy (Preliminary Exam)
Preliminary Examination
- Doctoral candidacy is conferred upon successful completion of the doctoral preliminary examination
- The preliminary examination is a test of knowledge in the candidate’s area of specialization
- The examination requires students to demonstrate knowledge and reasoning in the key content areas in their specialization as specified by the academic division
- The format of the examination varies from program to program, but must include at least six hours of examination, at least three hours of which must be written
- All examinations are administered in accordance with the rules set forth in the Code of Academic Integrity
- Students should consult their advisor about the particular form of the examination they will take
- Students are permitted two opportunities to pass the preliminary examination; if they are unsuccessful after two tries, they will be withdrawn from the doctoral program.
Eligibility
To qualify for the preliminary examination, students must:
-
- Be admitted to program candidacy
- Have the recommendation of their advisor
- Submit evidence satisfactory to the advisor of ability to do research in their area of specialization
- Turn in all incomplete coursework in by the deadline for registration to take the preliminary examination
- Be registered for the term in which the exam is taken
Doctoral Dissertation
GSE Standards for the Proposal
- Proposals must pass the following criteria:
- The topic is stated clearly and relevant background literature is reviewed and evaluated
- The research questions are stated clearly
- The contribution and importance of the research questions with respect to relevant literature, theory, policy, and/or practice are articulated in a convincing manner
- The research plan and methods are appropriate and adequate to study the research questions posed, and are explicitly described
Procedure for Oral Proposal of Dissertation
- All doctoral candidates must present their dissertation proposals orally to the dissertation committee
- To schedule the oral proposal, the student must:
- Decide with the committee members on a day, date, and time to hold the proposal
- Submit the Oral Proposal Notification form, signed by the dissertation chair, and six copies of the proposal abstract, to the Student Records Office at least two weeks in advance of the date the hearing is to take place
- Having passed the oral proposal, the student will be issued a signed ballot verifying that fact, with a second copy of the ballot submitted to the Student Records Office, and a third copy for the dissertation chair’s records
Dissertation Content and Composition
The topic is stated clearly and relevant background literature is reviewed and evaluated
- The research questions are stated clearly
- The contribution and importance of the research questions with respect to relevant literature, theory, policy, and/or practice are articulated in a convincing manner
- The research plan and methods are appropriate and adequate to study the research questions posed, and are explicitly described
- The research plan and methods are implemented effectively
- The research produced trustworthy evidence that bears on the research questions
- The conclusions follow convincingly from the evidence and its interpretation
- The dissertation manuscript is coherent, well structured, clearly written and is in accordance with the specifications of a standard style manual regarding grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.
- With appropriate revisions, the dissertation is of sufficient quality to be publishable in an academic or practice-oriented journal that is peer reviewed.
Formatting
- The Table of Contents is accurate in terms of headings and page numbers
- Citations and the bibliographic/reference section are formatted in accordance with a standard style manual
- The title page, pagination, abstract, notes, bibliography, tables, and figures are formatted in accordance with the University of Pennsylvania Doctoral Dissertation Manual
Procedure for Scheduling the Final Defense of the Dissertation
To schedule the final defense, the student must:
-
- Meet with the committee members to decide on a day, date and time to hold the defense
- Submit the Final Defense Notification form, signed by the dissertation chair, and six copies of the proposal abstract, to the Student Records Office at least two weeks in advance of the date the hearing is to take place
- Having passed the final defense, the student will be issued a signed ballot verifying that fact, with a second copy of the ballot to be submitted to the Student Records Office, and a third copy for the dissertation chair’s records
Required Documents for Ed.D. Dissertations
- Two (2) title pages, printed on 100% acid-free paper, that read: “A Dissertation in (student’s area of specialization)” and will be signed by the student’s dissertation chair and the Dean of GSE
- One additional copy of the abstract and title sheet (unsigned) printed on 100% acid-free paper
- Microfilming contract supplied by the Student Records Office
- Survey of Earned Doctorates supplied by the Student Records Office
- Receipt showing zero balance if balance was recently paid
Ed.D. Dissertation Procedures
- Students must:
- Apply to graduate by the deadline listed on the GSE academic calendar
- Arrange to have their dissertation chair review their dissertation and sign the two title pages on 100% acid-free paper
- Make an appointment to have the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs review the first copy of the dissertation (printed on plain paper)
- Put the dissertation and two signed title pages in a sturdy box with a lid, leaving an e-mail address and phone number where the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs may contact them
- The Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs will arrange for the Dean to sign the title pages; the process takes up to three weeks
- Complete the microfilming contract:
- The cost for microfilming is $80 and the cost for copyrighting (optional) is $45 (all costs are subject to change)
- Students will be billed directly by GSE via their bursar bill, and should follow the instructions included in the microfilming contract if they wish to order additional copies of a dissertation
- Complete the Doctoral Opinion Survey, which is conducted by the National Research Council in
Washington
,
D.C.
and is required of all doctoral candidates nationwide
- Submit all required documentation to the Student Records Office by the deadline listed on the GSE Academic Calendar: both copies of the dissertation (one must be on 100% acid-free paper, with each copy in a separate box with lid), signed title pages, additional abstract with title sheet (unsigned), microfilming contract and Survey of Earned Doctorates
Satisfactory Progress
Lack of significant progress in completing degree requirements for two consecutive years (exclusive of time when on official leave of absence) will automatically terminate candidacy or eligibility to apply for candidacy if not already attained - Students should take the initiative in providing their advisor with evidence of continuous progress; in the absence of such evidence, advisors may apprise themselves of their advisee’s status each term and refer a student to the Committee on Degrees if satisfactory progress is not maintained
Ed.D. Dissertation Committee Requirements
- The chair of an Ed.D. dissertation committee must be a member of GSE standing faculty or be a member of the associated faculty approved to chair dissertation committees
- The student, the chair, and majority of the committee are required to be physically present at the oral proposal and final defense hearings
- Although all members of a student's dissertation committee are expected to be physically present at the oral proposal and final defense hearings, in extenuating circumstances one member, or a minority of the committee, may be physically absent as long as the absent member(s) participate(s) in the oral proposal and final defense hearings
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Course Information
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