Ph.D. Program

Purpose and Basic Requirements

The Instructional Systems Technology Doctor of Philosophy in Education degree program is designed for individuals seeking to be researchers in the field of instructional technology. The IST program prepares Ph.D. students to discover new knowledge through basic research and answer specific questions about practical problems through applied research. Ph.D. program graduates typically conduct research and teach in university settings or work as researchers within private or public research and development centers involved in instructional technology.

The IST Ph.D. program is a 90-credit-hour (minimum) graduate program. In order to begin the Ph.D. program, an individual must have completed a bachelor's degree program from an accredited institution. Work completed towards a master's degree may apply toward meeting the 90-credit-hour requirement. Post-master's degree work may also apply. Decisions regarding the transfer of courses taken as part of master's and post- master's work depends upon the applicability and age of each course. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

Doctoral applicants are expected to have a master’s degree in our field, but can be admitted without one. Students admitted without a master’s degree in IST are required to complete the IST masters core (R511, R521, R541, R561) early in their program of studies. All doctoral students are expected to study full time and to be active members of the academic community.

Program Overview

Prerequisite: Computer Competencies

Macintosh and DOS/Windows word processing, graphics, operating systems, general understanding of how computers work, electronic mail, file transfer, information retrieval, scanning and Web publishing.

Course work (90 hours)

Bringing in a masters in the field…	NOT bringing in a masters in the field…
IST (42 hours total)… limit of 18 transferred credits Doctoral Core (18) IST Doctoral Readings: R711 (3) IST Early Research Experience: R690 (3) IST Doctoral Seminar: R695 (12) IST Major (24)	IST (42 hours total) IST Core Courses and Colloquia (12 hours) Doctoral Core (18) IST Doctoral Readings: R711 (3) IST Early Research Experience: R690 (3) IST Doctoral Seminar: R695 (12) IST Major (12)
Non-IST Coursework (27 hours total)* Inquiry (9 hours) Education Foundations (6 hours) Minor (12 hours)	Non-IST Coursework (27 hours total)* Inquiry (9 hours) Education Foundations (6 hours) Minor (12 hours)
IST or Non-IST Electives (6 hours total)*	IST or Non-IST Electives (6 hours total)*
IST Dissertation (15 hours total) Dissertation Proposal Preparation (3 hours) Dissertation (12 hours)	IST Dissertation (15 hours total) Dissertation Proposal Preparation (3 hours) Dissertation (12 hours)
Total: 42 + 27 + 6 + 15 = 90 hours	Total: 42 + 27 + 6 + 15 = 90 hours

* limit of 12 transferred credits total for these two categories

Steps in the Doctoral Process

Doctoral Program of Studies	with consultation and approval from the Program Advisory Committee; should be submitted by end of the second semester
Residency	two consecutive 9-hour semesters, excluding summers
1st Review of Dossier	conducted by IST program committee; results in pass or probation
2nd Review of Dossier (written qualifying examination)	conducted by department qualifying panel; results in pass/fail
3rd Review of Dossier (oral qualifying examination)	taken after completion of course work— excluding dissertation; conducted by research committee; results in pass/fail
Nomination to Candidacy and Dissertation Research Committee Approval	after completion of all course work—excluding dissertation—and after passing written and oral qualifying exams
Dissertation Prospectus	after Nomination to Candidacy and with consultation and approval from Dissertation Research Committee
Dissertation Proposal Defense	prior to data collection; includes literature review, research questions and complete methodology description and plan
Dissertation Final Defense Announcement	with approval from dissertation chairperson, and at least 30 days prior to final defense
Dissertation Final Defense	followed by any necessary edits and then final submission to the University Graduate School

The planning and approval of a student's doctoral program of study is accomplished with the help of a Program Advisory Committee. The chairperson must be an IST faculty member. There also must be at least one other IST faculty member and a faculty member from the student's minor. Regular meetings with the chairperson are recommended. The Program Advisory Committee and the IST Chairperson must approve the program of studies.

The student's dissertation research is accomplished with the help of a Dissertation Research Committee, which consists of a minimum of four faculty members. At least two of these faculty members, including the chair, must be members of the Graduate School. The chairperson and at least one other faculty member must be from IST. At least one faculty member should be from outside IST, usually the minor.

The Research Committee need not have the same members as the Program Advisory Committee. The student should ask faculty members to serve on these committees whose areas of expertise are consistent with the research proposal.

Prerequisite: Computer Competence

Students entering the IST program are expected to have basic computer competence on either Macintosh or DOS/Windows computer systems, in the following areas: operating systems, word processing, graphics, a general theoretical understanding of how computers work, electronic mail, file transfer, information retrieval, scanning and Web publishing. Students who do not meet the competence requirements must arrange to study independently to make up their deficiencies before entering the program. These skills are necessary for successful participation in IST courses. More advanced knowledge and skills taught in IST courses assume these skills.

See Prerequisite Computer Competencies for suggested workshops and tutorials for each competency.

IST Coursework (42 hours)

Masters Core Courses (0 - 12 hours)

Incoming students without a masters in the field are required to take the masters core courses.

Core I (fall only)

R511 Instructional Technology Foundations I (3 hours)

R521 Instructional Design and Development I (3 hours)

Core II (spring only)

R541 Instructional Development and Production Process I (3 hours)

R561 Evaluation and Change in the ID Process and Colloquium (3 hours)

Doctoral Core (18 hours)

R711 Readings in Instructional Technology

R690 Application of Research Methods to IST Issues (3 hours)

R695 Topical Inquiry Seminar in IST (3 hours; taken 4 times consecutively):  See the R695 website for details about expectations for each R695 and dossier preparation.

IST Electives (6 - 24 hours)

Students are required to take 6 – 24 hours of additional IST coursework. The hours available for additional course work depend on how many credits have been transferred in from a previous masters in the field and how many credits a student is required to take in the master’s core. These hours are taken in addition to the doctoral core courses.

Non-IST Coursework

Inquiry (9 hours)

EDUC Y520, Strategies for Educational Inquiry, or a suitable substitute is required. Additionally, a minimum of one 3-hour course is required in each of the following areas: 1) quantitative methods (e.g., Y502, Y603, Y604), and 2) qualitative methods (e.g., Y611). At least one of these courses must be advanced (i.e., at the 600 level or higher). If a student has not taken a beginning or intermediate course that is required for the advanced course, then any additional inquiry course work must be taken (but counted as electives or counted in the inquiry minor). P501 (Statistical Methods Applied to Education) cannot be counted for the above quantitative methods requirement, but can count as an elective.

Education Foundations (6 hours)

A minimum of two 3-hour courses is required in the area of education foundations. A minimum of one 3-hour course is required in two of the following areas: (1) theories of learning, (2) educational assessment, evaluation or measurement, and (3) history, philosophy, or sociology of education. The courses must be outside of IST.

Minor (12 hours)

A minimum of 12 hours will be taken in the minor. The minor may be inside or outside of education, must complement the major, and should support the student's professional goals. The courses selected must be theory-and research-oriented. Typical minors may be in educational inquiry methodology, organizational psychology, cognitive science, computer science, information science, learning science, business, educational psychology, telecommunications, and others. If educational inquiry methodology is chosen as the minor, the 12 hours of minor courses are taken in addition to the required 9 hours of inquiry courses.

IST or Non-IST Electives (6 hours)

This component consists of six student-determined credit hours which enrich her or his general preparation for the Ph.D. degree. They may be IST courses, or they may be other courses inside or outside the School of Education. These courses may be used for additional basic or intermediate inquiry courses (such as Y502, Y527, etc.), in the event that a student wants to take more advanced inquiry courses and is required to take additional basic ones as prerequisites.

Dissertation (15 hours)

R795 Dissertation Proposal Preparation in IST (3 hours)—with a qualified advisor of the student's choice.

R799 Dissertation in IST (12 hours)—with a qualified dissertation director and advisory committee of the student's choice. For the Ph.D., students are required to complete, write, and orally defend a dissertation which reflects the ability to conduct an original piece of research in the field of instructional systems technology.

The dissertation research committee requires at least four members. Two members, including the chair, must be from IST. One member must be from the minor area. All members must be Graduate School faculty members and two of the four must be full members. Faculty from other universities may sometimes serve, on an exceptional basis.

Residency

This component consists of two 9-credit-hour semesters (excluding summers), which must be consecutive. Dissertation credit hours (i.e., R799) may not be used in meeting residency requirements. While in residency, IST Ph.D. students are expected to be involved in the following types of activities: (1) mentoring with IST faculty on research/development projects, (2) participating in colloquia and topical seminars, (3) publishing articles and/or presenting papers, and (4) participating in professional association activities.

Dossier Reviews and Qualifying Examinations

Each doctoral student will begin developing a dossier from the first semester in the program. This dossier will be structured along the lines of a promotion and tenure document, although it will be used specifically as a vehicle for planning professional development and for assessment of progress. The dossier will be reviewed three times during a students’ program (see the R695 website for specific details about research groups, dossier preparation and reviews):

• 1^st review – conducted after R711, R690 and when taking their second R695: developmental review conducted by the students’ program advisory committee.
• 2^nd review – conducted during their fourth R695 seminar: public review of dossier conducted by the entire IST faculty with all R695 students in attendance.
• 3^rd review – conducted after completion of R795 Proposal Preparation by student’s research committee.  Note that students should register for their fifth R695 for dissertation proposal preparation, which counts for the R795 requirement by the School of Education.  See the R695 website for details.