The Doctor of Education
degree is a professional degree designed to meet the needs
of individuals preparing for careers of leadership and applied
research in the schools and community educational programs. Major
foci include leadership, practice, applied studies, and knowledge
related to professional skills.
1. ADMISSION
To be admitted into the
Ed.D. program, students must have a Bachelor's degree or equivalent,
at least two years of successful professional experience in education
or equivalent, and demonstrated evidence of potential for professional
leadership. Students are admitted by a Division or Program.
2. COURSE REQUIREMENTS
A program of study for an Ed.D. student is determined by the student and advisor, and must meet divisional/program requirements.
A minimum of eighteen courses is required as indicated below:
a) Three research methods courses, with no more than two introductory (first tier) courses and at least one intermediate/advanced (second tier) course selected from the departmental list approved for the Ed.D. (See Appendix I).
b) Nine Education courses, of which at least six must be from the Education 400 series; all courses must be approved by the faculty advisor.
c) Three supplemental courses selected from offerings in the School (outside the student's field of emphasis) or in another UCLA professional school or academic department (see Section III C for more information).
d) A sequential three-quarter field practicum (499A,B,C). Divisional/Program course requirements may be waived, under exceptional circumstances, by the Division/Program upon petition by the student and his or her advisor to the Division/Program Head and OSS. Whenever additional academic background is needed, a faculty advisor may require other coursework.
e) Courses must be completed
with a grade of "B-" or better and with a cumulative
GPA of at least 3.0.
3. TRANSFER OF GRADUATE COURSE CREDIT
a) With a GSE&IS Master's Degree:
Each Division/Program will assess the petition of a student who wishes to be granted doctoral course credit from another GSE&IS divisional program. The assessment is based upon the student's prior work and may include the successful completion of the GSE&IS Doctoral Screening Examination in the student's new Division/Program. If the divisional/Program faculty agree, a Division/Program may award a maximum of eight courses, including up to three doctoral level research methods courses, toward the eighteen course doctoral requirement. Any decision to award a student doctoral credit for work done in a Master's program in another Division must be on the basis of a two-thirds majority of all divisional/Program faculty voting on this issue.
A student who wishes to
be granted doctoral course credit within the same Division/Program
may receive up to full credit at the discretion of divisional/Program
faculty. This may also include successful completion of the Doctoral
Screening Examination.
b) With Non-GSE&IS Master's Degree or Graduate Courses with No Advanced Degree:
Each Division/Program will
assess the petition of a student who wishes to be granted doctoral
course credit from another institution. The assessment is based
upon the student's prior work and may include the successful completion
of the GSE&IS Doctoral Screening Examination. There is a
distinction between transferring students who have completed a
Master's degree from another institution, and those who have merely
taken graduate level coursework elsewhere. For the former type
of student, GSE&IS divisional/Program faculty have the option
of requiring a Doctoral Screening Examination for those who wish
to transfer course credit to the GSE&IS doctorate. However,
students of the latter type who wish to transfer course credit
to the doctoral program are required to take the Doctoral
Screening Examination. A Division/Program may award a maximum
of five courses, excluding
research methods courses,
toward the eighteen course doctoral requirement. Any decision
to award a student doctoral credit for work done in graduate studies
elsewhere must be on the basis of a recommendation of a two-thirds
majority of all divisional/Program faculty voting on this issue.
4. WRITTEN AND ORAL EXAMINATIONS
a) Doctoral Screening Examination:
The examination is offered twice yearly; once in the Fall Quarter and once in the Spring Quarter.
A written examination taken after the completion of appropriate coursework determined by the Division. This examination is concerned with central topics in the selected Division and field of emphasis. Questions are comprehensive in nature and are designed to measure the breadth and depth of knowledge, as well as focus that knowledge on specific problems.
Students taking the Doctoral Screening Examination will ordinarily not be allowed to take more than nine courses before taking the exam. This limit is intended to insure that students demonstrate basic competencies as early as possible in their doctoral training.
All students admitted to
a doctoral program without a master's degree are required to take
the Doctoral Screening Examination.
NOTE: A Division/Program may establish policy that would
require all doctoral students to sit for the Doctoral Screening
Examination. Students should check with their respective Division/Program
and the Office of Student Services to determine if this or any
other examination is required.
In a first sitting for this examination, students may be "passed," "passed with honors," "passed at the Master's level" (the "terminal" Master's), or failed. Students "passed at the Master's level" will be given one further opportunity to pass at the doctoral level; students who have failed will be given a second opportunity to take the examination at the Master's level only.
Students who pass at the Master's level or fail the Doctoral Screening Examination but who have been allowed to re-take the examination must do so at the next sitting. They can take up to 12 units per quarter until they have successfully completed the examination. Of these 12 units only 4 may be a doctoral 200- or 400-level course; the remainder must be the Ed. 597 course.
b) Doctoral Written Qualifying Examination:
The Written Qualifying Examination tests the core knowledge of the Division/Program and emphasis the student has selected. The questions on the examination reflect a professional orientation. Students may be "passed," "passed with honors," or "failed" on this examination. Students who fail this examination will be given a second opportunity to take the examination at the discretion of the student's advisor and a third opportunity upon a two-thirds majority of all divisional/Program faculty voting on this issue. No fourth sitting for the examination is permitted.
The examination is offered twice yearly; once in the Fall Quarter and once in the Spring Quarter.
Students who fail the Doctoral Written Qualifying Examination but who have been allowed to retake it should do so at the next scheduled sitting.
c) The University Oral Qualifying Examination:
This examination is conducted by the student's doctoral committee, which selects topics from education that are related to the student's written dissertation proposal. This examination is open only to the committee and the student. Upon majority vote of the Doctoral Committee, the University Oral Qualifying Examination may be repeated once.
d) Final Oral Examination:
The decision as to whether
a final oral examination is required is at the discretion of the
doctoral committee. A final oral examination is open to faculty,
students, and other interested professionals at the discretion
of the dissertation Chair and the student.
5. DOCTORAL COMMITTEE
The doctoral committee is
formed subsequent to successful completion of the written qualifying
examination. For the Ed.D. degree, the committee consists of
three members from the Department of Education and one member
from a department other than Education. This committee, nominated
by the Department of Education and appointed by the Dean of the
Graduate Division, conducts the Oral Qualifying Examination.
6. DISSERTATION
The dissertation, required
of every candidate for the Ed.D. degree, must embody the results
of the student's independent investigation and must contribute
to professional knowledge in education and the improvement of
school practice.
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