Doctor of Philosophy in Secondary Education

The PhD program is geared towards developing a scholarly knowledge base in education, becoming skillful at engaging in educational research, and preparing for research and scholarship in higher education contexts: most commonly faculties of education and educational research institutes. The doctoral program is flexible, encouraging the pursuit of both personal and professional interests and creative scholarship. It is designed to develop significant depth and expertise in the candidate's particular area of study.

The PhD program focuses on the following components:

Curriculum and teaching: required courses in curriculum foundations and curriculum inquiry.
Research: courses are available that offer general research perspectives, as well as more in-depth study of approaches such as narrative inquiry, action research, hermeneutics and phenomenology, arts-based research, participatory research, ethnography, gender theory, empirical inquiry, deconstructionism, and critical inquiry.
Subject matter or specialty focus: math, English, social studies, second languages, music, art, drama, science education, career and technology, physical education, educational technology, adult professional practice, curriculum studies, pedagogy.
Dissertation interest scholarship: students are encouraged to select course work specific to their research focus and interest.

Minimum admission requirements are:
a master's degree or its academic equivalent from an academic institution recognized by the University of Alberta
a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4 point scale in the most recent two years of full-time study (60 units) or equivalent
a dissertation supervisor who is willing to assist with program planning and supervise the student's research
To be admitted to a program in Secondary Education, applicants must meet the minimum exam scores as outlined below:
TOEFL: a total score of 93 with a score of at least 24 on speaking and writing and 21 on reading and listening (internet-based)
IELTS (Academic): minimum overall band score of 7.0, with at least 6.5 on each band
CAEL: overall minimum score of 70, with at least 60 on each subtest