Admissions

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE LDT PHD DEGREE

The decision to admit an applicant to Ph.D. program is based on a careful review of the entire application. The application must include:

Goal statements
Vita or resume
Letters of recommendation (3)
Transcripts
GRE scores

Acceptable GPAs and test scores are listed below:

*The analytical section of the GRE is not used in the admissions decision.

All international applicants must also take the TOEFL exam. The minimum score for this exam is 213 for the computer version, or 550 for the printed version.

The Graduate School requires a graduate application for admission, an application fee, and evidence of a bachelor’s degree. Applicants are encouraged to have completed a Master’s Degree in educational media, instructional technology, or a related field prior to applying for the LDT Doctoral program, however, this is not a requirement. Our doctoral students come to us with many different backgrounds including computer science, information management, communications, educational technology, and psychology, and of course, various education degrees.

Applications to enter the LDT Doctoral Program without a Master’s Degree will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Substantial evidence of research and development activities are expected if the applicant does not have a Master’s Degree. The experience and credentials of the individual candidate will be used to guide recommendations for admission. The letters of recommendation and goal statements are particularly important in your application. Please be sure to include the following information in your goal statement: who you are, why you want the Ph.D., what you will do with it, and how do you see this degree contributing to your professional and personal goals? It is also essential to include responses to the following questions:

• What are your current research interests?
• Who do you think among our faculty would be your best advisor and why? (You can nominate 1 – 3 people as possible advisors with a rationale for each.)
• How do the research interests of the selected advisors fit with your own interests?

General Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. degree requires a minimum of 67 graduate level semester hours beyond the baccalaureate degree with at least two consecutive semesters of full-time work in residence. (Most of our students spend 3 – 4 years engaged in full time study and research.) All requirements for the doctoral degree in Learning, Design, Technology, except the dissertation and final oral examination, must be completed within a period of six years. Students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 in all graduate courses in their program of study. Additional requirements of the Graduate School are listed in the UGA Graduate Bulletin.

Ph.D. Advisement Guide
General Information Including Application Deadlines

Application Deadlines

The deadline for the first review for admission to the LDT doctoral program in the Fall of 2013 is November 1, 2012. The deadline for the second review for Fall 2013 is February 1, 2013. Candidates are urged to submit in time for the first review but all complete applications before February 1, 2013 will be considered. Our doctoral program is quite competitive and we tend to get far more applications than we are able to accept.

Financial Support

Although it is difficult to do, the faculty members involved in the LDT Ph.D. program strive to provide a graduate assistantship or fellowship for every doctoral student we accept, and we have been successful in this endeavor over the past 15 years thanks to the efforts of our faculty members and other doctoral students to attract grants. The commitment to providing support for our accepted students is one of the reasons why admission to our program is quite competitive. We use a cohort model for doctoral admissions with all new students starting in the fall semester (August) of any given academic year (August through May). Typically, the cohort size is 8– 10 students. This represents an approximately 20% acceptance rate. Assistantships include a full tuition waiver as well as a living stipend and health insurance.