Social Studies Education

Ph.D. Degree

(Revised October 2009)

This guide supplements regulations of the Graduate School contained in the current bulletin of The University of Georgia Graduate School. Every effort is made to help students stay informed of requirements and deadlines. However, it is the student’s responsibility to meet deadlines and to seek advice regarding degree requirements.

Todd Dinkelman, Social Studies Program Coordinator

Ronald Butchart, Graduate Coordinator

The Ph.D. Program

The PhD degree in Social Studies Education is for educators who seek to extend their content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and understanding of the social studies field, whether they choose to continue in K–12 schools or pursue careers in higher education, publishing, or policy. The primary emphasis of doctoral studies in the program is a continuing emphasis on the development of theory and research on the teaching and learning of the social studies. The Social Studies Education Program’s PhD degree is designed to develop research competence in social studies education, promote depth and breadth of knowledge in social studies education and related fields, and nurture intellectual leadership in social studies education.

Admission Standards

All individuals wishing to pursue graduate study at the University of Georgia must submit a Graduate School application for admission. The Graduate School application for admission form contains information and forms that are required for admission to Graduate School. The application form will ask for the e–mail addresses of three individuals who will provide recommendations.

The following information represents the current standards for admission into doctoral study in the Social Studies Education Program of the Department of Elementary and Social Studies Education. Students applying for admission the PhD program must submit, in addition to the required Graduate School documents, a completed Social Studies Education Program Supplemental Application (see below) and a writing sample. Applicants must have at least a 3.00 undergraduate GPA, at least a 3.50 graduate GPA, and a Graduate Record Examination (GRE) total score of at least 1100 on the combined verbal and quantitative sections of the exam; the GRE must have been taken within five years of applying.

Where other evidence warrants, the department may recommend acceptance of students who have lower GRE scores and/or lower GPAs. However, such recommendations may be denied by the Graduate School.

Applicants are urged to apply as early as possible. The Social Studies Program suggests the following application target dates to assure full consideration for the desired semester of matriculation and funding opportunities: Fall and Summer Semesters, March 1; Spring Semester, October 1. International applicants are encouraged to apply ten months prior to the desired semester of matriculation.

Information on Graduate School Admissions

Social Studies Education Supplemental Application

Residency Requirements

Residency means completing coursework toward an advanced degree without extensive breaks in study. At the University of Georgia, a student is considered to have maintained residency so long as she or he has been enrolled in two out of every three semesters, including summer term. Courses may be taken at a minimum of three hours a semester to fulfill this requirement. Doctoral students must complete 30 credit hours in residency. A maximum of three hours of dissertation (ESOC 9300) may be included toward the residency requirement. Excessive hours of dissertation research (ESOC 9000) credit do not count toward the residency requirement, but they do not constitute a break in the residence if they are the only hours taken during a given semester.

Assistantships

The Social Studies Education Program offers a limited number of assistantships to qualified doctoral students. Program assistantships are competitive and award decisions are based on demonstrated scholarship, research and teaching potential, and experience. Program graduate assistantships are typically awarded for the nine month academic year. See the Graduate School web site for information on assistantship stipends and benefits. The target date for receipt of assistantship applications is January 15th for fall semester assistantships. The application form for departmental and program assistantships is available HERE.

Graduate assistantships provided by the Social Studies Education Program may be held for up to three years, depending on satisfactory academic progress and satisfactory task performance.

Advising

Advising for doctoral students is performed by the Social Studies Education Program’s Graduate Faculty in coordination with the Graduate Coordinator. All incoming students are initially assigned an interim faculty advisor who will assist the student in developing a preliminary program of study, discuss potential dissertation topics, and help the student select faculty members who will constitute the advisory committee, preferably before the completion of the sixth course after matriculation, and no later than the fourth semester of study, whichever comes first. There is no expectation than the interim advisor will necessarily serve on the advisory committee. The advisory committee will recommend the preliminary program of study and the membership of the student’s advisory committee to the Graduate Coordinator.

Advisory Committee

Doctoral students form an advisory committee consisting of a minimum of three members of the Graduate Faculty, including the student’s major professor, also known as the dissertation advisor, who serves as the chair of the committee. The major professor must be a full member of the Graduate Faculty. At least one member of the Advisory Committee must be a member of the Social Studies Education Program faculty. The committee determines the student’s final program of study, conducts the written and oral comprehensive exams over the program of study, and assists in developing and assessing the dissertation.

All doctoral students are required to submit a written prospectus of their dissertation and obtain approval from their committee prior to undertaking dissertation research. Students must have their dissertation research cleared by the Institutional Review Board if human subjects are used. The Graduate School publishes a guide to dissertation preparation and processing. The Department encourages students to use the APA (5th ed.) style manual for dissertation preparation.

Program of Study

A final program of study, developed by the student and major professor and approved by a majority of the members of the advisory committee, must be submitted for the approval of the graduate coordinator and dean of the Graduate School by the time the notification of the oral comprehensive examination is given. The program of study must carry a minimum of 30 hours of course work, three hours of which must be dissertation (ESOC 9300) hours. Sixteen or more of those hours must in courses numbered 8000 or higher, or the final program of study must be accompanied by a letter of justification as to the necessity of 6000– and 7000–level courses. A minimum of 80 semester credit hours beyond the baccalaureate, excluding dissertation credit hours, is required.

In developing a program of study, the student’s major professor and advisory committee consider the student’s career goals and interests, previous academic and teaching experiences, likely dissertation topic, and the goals of doctoral study in the program–developing abilities for research in social studies education, gaining depth and breadth of knowledge in social studies education and related fields, and preparing for intellectual leadership in social studies education. Courses typically are taken in social studies education, curriculum and instruction, educational foundations and policy studies, and relevant social sciences and history content areas. A minimum of two quantitative research and two qualitative research courses are required. Social Studies Education doctoral students are required to complete the Social Studies Education Core requirement consisting of the following three doctoral seminar courses:

ESOC 8010: History of Social Studies Education. 3 hours.

ESOC 8990: Research Seminar in Social Science Education. 3 hours.

ESOC 9630: Critique of Educational Literature in Social Science Education. 3 hours.

Substitutions within the Social Studies Education Core are permissible with advisory committee approval.

Time Limit

All coursework requirements for the degree and the comprehensive examination must be completed within six years, beginning with the first course listed on the student’s program of study. After successful completion of the comprehensive examinations, the student achieves candidacy. Once admitted to degree candidacy, the student has an additional five years to complete the dissertation. Extension of time will be considered only for conditions beyond the control of the student and will be approved or denied on a case–by–case basis by the Dean of the Graduate School.

As a general guideline, students can expect to spend two years of full–time study, or its equivalent in part–time study, to complete doctoral coursework before taking the comprehensive examination. Dissertation research, writing, and defense typically takes two or more additional years.

Overview: Steps to Completing the Doctoral Degree

The following list summarizes the sequence of steps towards completion of the Ph.D. in Social Studies Education. For more information on doctoral programs in the Department, see the “Doctoral Student Guide”.

Admission to the doctoral program by the Social Studies Education Program, Department of Elementary and Social Studies Education, and Graduate School.
Completion of the Graduate School residence requirement.
Form advisory committee, including major professor.
Complete course requirements of the doctoral degree, as determined by the major professor and committee.
Take written comprehensive examination.
Successfully pass a scheduled oral examination in defense of the comprehensive examination.
Prepare a dissertation proposal for review and approval by advisory committee.
Complete research and prepare dissertation and dissertation abstract for review and approval by the advisory committee.
Successfully pass a scheduled oral examination in defense of the dissertation.

Forms Required for Degree Completion

To help ensure smooth progress through your graduate degree program, a variety of forms need to be filed.

FORM	PURPOSE	WHO NEEDS IT	TARGET AND DEADLINE DATES	WHERE TO GET IT
Application Materials	For entrance into graduate school	Everyone	Target – Fall and Summer Sem. March 1; Spring Sem. Oct.1	Graduate School and Department
Assistantship application	To make sure you are considered for support	Everyone who seeks an assistantship	Target – January 15 of each new academic year	Graduate or Program Coordinator
Employment Forms	Get paid and establish withholding	Anyone receiving a assistantship	One week before the start of classes	Department Financial Manager
Preliminary Program of Study and Advisement Record	To establish a plan for your degree	Everyone	Created at first advising appointment and updated each semester	Interim Advisor
Official Program of Study	To formally establish the plan for your degree	Everyone	Created no later than the end of the next to last semester	Graduate School web site
Advisory Committee for Doctoral Candidates	To formally establish your dissertation committee	Everyone	During the second semester or ASAP after	Graduate School web site
Application for Admission to Candidacy Doctoral Degrees	To establish admission to candidacy requirements	Everyone	At completion of written and oral Comp. Exam & no later than 2 semesters before graduation	Graduate School web site
Approval Form for Doctoral Dissertation and Final Examination	To certify your successful completion	Everyone	As soon as you defend your dissertation	Graduate School web site