Program Overview
The Master of Arts to Doctor of Philosophy in Education program is designed for students seeking both a master's and PhD degree in the Dreeben School of Education in a shared focus area. Students who already have a master's degree are accommodated by receiving a second master's degree upon completion of the full master's to PhD Program. The courses in the master's phase total 30 credit hours, and the courses in the PhD phase total 49. Altogether, the Master's to PhD Program requires 79 credits to complete.
This program offers an innovative pathway from the master's to PhD in Education in one of the following subject areas:
Adult Education, Social Innovation, and Entrepreneurship
Organizational Leadership and Program Evaluation
Student Services and Higher Education Administration
Students will benefit from a clearer grounding in their chosen concentration, which will balance the educational component of the degree. This will better prepare students to draw from and apply critical theory, transformative learning, experiential learning, and self-directed learning in their research. This will complement and provide a better basis for the degree plan's focus on research and methodological innovation.
Admissions
Applicants for admission to the Master of Arts to Doctor of Philosophy in Education Program must fulfill the graduate admission requirements listed in this catalog. Applicants must hold a conferred bachelor's or master's degree with a minimum GPA of 3.0 from a regionally accredited university within the United States, or equivalent degree officially recognized by a country's Ministry of Education abroad.
Other requirements include:
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A writing sample to be submitted to the Graduate Studies Department administrative office in the Dreeben School of Education
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Assessment interview with a faculty member within the Graduate Studies Department in the Dreeben School of Education
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Quantitative and Qualitative assessment
Master of Arts Phase
Master of Arts Core Courses
Students are required to take 9 credits within their master's core courses.
Adult Education, Social Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Concentration
This Master of Arts in Adult Education, Social Innovation, and Entrepreneurship degree draws from entrepreneurial ideas, values, world-views, and practices and applies them in education, business, and other fields. It does so by providing students with a clear grounding in action research and adult education principles, practices, and methods which underpin social innovation and entrepreneurial strategies. This will better prepare students to draw from and apply critical theory, transformative learning, experiential learning, self-directed learning, and andragogy in their applied and/or participatory, action-oriented research.
Students are required to take 21 credit hours from within this concentration and may choose either ADED 7390 or INEE 8387 for their practicum course. Also, students may select either ADED 7384 or INEE 8360 for their Contemporary Issues course.
Organizational Leadership and Program Evaluation Concentration
The Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership and Program Evaluation offers students a clear grounding in leadership theories, practices, and methods. It does so by preparing students to apply program evaluation and leadership theories in their research and practice. This master’s degree expands beyond traditional research and evaluation practices to include developmental and action-oriented forms of evaluation and assessment, learning about effective leadership in organizations, measuring the efficacy of existing and new programs, and expanding methodological competencies for innovative evaluation and leadership practices. This degree is limited to students enrolled in the Master's to PhD program.
Students are required to take 21 credit hours from this concentration and may choose their practicum courses from EVAL 8390 or ORGL 8371.
Student Services and Higher Education Administration Concentration
This Master of Arts in Student Services and Higher Education Administration degree provides students with a clear grounding in higher education and student services principles, practices, and methods. This prepares students to draw from and apply critical theory, transformative learning, experiential learning, self-directed learning, and andragogy in their research. This complements and provides a strong basis for Student Services and Higher Education’s focus on action research and methodological innovation. With an emphasis on collaborative learning, this concentration incorporates collegiality among and between students and faculty. Opportunities are available for learning through teaching, a practicum, and directed consultation and research. This degree is limited to students enrolled in the Master's to PhD program.
Students are required to take 21 credit-hours from this concentration.
Doctoral Phase
Students in the Master's to PhD Program will complete the master's phase of the program before they are eligible to take courses in the PhD phase of this degree plan. Students in the PhD phase of the degree plan may take courses from the PhD research course options concurrently.
Common Core Courses
| INDR 8330 | Belief Systems: A Cross-Cultural Perspective | 3 |
| INDR 8370 | Ethics for the Professions | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 6 |
Research Courses
| INDR 8352 | Applied Community Based Participatory Research | 3 |
| INDR 8361 | Applied Ethnography in Fieldwork: Cultural Aspects of Community Engaged Research | 3 |
| INDR 8355 | Qualitative Research Methods and Analysis | 3 |
| INDR 8358 | Generating New Knowledge in Qualitative Research Processes | 3 |
| INDR 8359 | Mixed Methods | 3 |
| INDR 8360 | Applied Survey Methods and Questionnaire Design | 3 |
| INDR 8351 | Quantitative Research Methods and Statistical Analysis | 3 |
| INDR 8353 | Advanced Quantitative Design and Analysis | 3 |
| INDR 8390 | Advanced Research Methods and Instrumentation | 3 |
Dissertation Phase
Students who successfully complete all coursework, pass the qualifying exam, and satisfy all requirements for candidacy are eligible to take the INDR 9300 dissertation writing course. INDR 9300 must be taken a minimum of three (3) times (9 credit hours) before their public defense. If students do not defend after nine (9) credit hours, they may repeat the INDR 9300 dissertation writing course until they have successfully completed their public defense.
| INDR 9300 | Dissertation Writing | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 9 |
Students must enroll in a minimum of 9 dissertation hours to meet program requirements. If the dissertation is not completed after 9 credit hours, additional enrollments in INDR 9300 are required.
Dissertation Candidacy Requirements
To qualify for candidacy and enrollment in dissertation writing courses, students must:
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Complete the residency requirement of 45 hours of PhD coursework at UIW;
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Successfully complete all required coursework as verified by the degree audit;
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Successfully pass the qualifying exam;
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Comply with the UIW continuous enrollment policy;
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Complete any additional requirements as stipulated in the Doctoral Student Handbook in place at the time of candidacy.
NOTE: As stated in the PhD in Education degree plan, candidates are required to complete a minimum of nine dissertation writing hours, enrolling in INDR 9300 for three aggregate semesters. Continuous enrollment policy requires registration for fall and spring semesters, unless candidates have applied and been approved for a leave of absence. Summer enrollment in INDR 9300 is optional and requires approval from the dissertation chair.