Doctor of Philosophy in Workforce Education and Development

The Pennsylvania State University Workforce Education and Development program offers a graduate degree program leading to degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Students interested in this program should be employed in or aspire to be employed as faculty, trainers, administrators, or researchers in education-for-work settings such as business, industry, health fields, occupational home economics, cooperative education, youth apprenticeship, or employment and training.
The PhD degree requires, among other matters:

Maintenance of satisfactory scholarship, with a minimum grade-point average of 3.00 for work done at the University,
Completion of Scholarship and Research Integrity (SARI) requirements
Attainment of doctoral candidacy status,
High-level competence in the use of the English language, including reading, writing, and speaking,
Over some twelve-month period during the interval between admission to the PhD program and completion of the PhD program, enrollment at least two semesters (summer sessions are not included) as a registered full-time student engaged in academic work at the University Park campus,
Completion of research requirements, in lieu of typical communication and foreign language requirements for most PhD programs,
Completion of the PhD program, including acceptance of the doctoral dissertation, within eight years from the date of attainment of doctoral candidacy status, and
Successful completion of a comprehensive examination, acceptance of a dissertation, and completion of a final oral examination for the PhD degree.

Applicants apply for admission to the program via the Graduate School application for admission.

Admission to graduate degree programs in Workforce Education and Development (WFED) is based on the faculty's evaluation of an applicant's prior undergraduate and graduate work, relevant prior work experience including military service, and career goals. A minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.50 is required for admission to the master's degree program.

A GPA of 3.00 in prior graduate course work is required for admission to the doctoral program. Two or more years of prior full-time work experience that is relevant to WFED is an important consideration in evaluating applications for the doctoral program.
International applicants must take and submit scores for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), with the exceptions noted below. The minimum acceptable score for the TOEFL is 550 for the paper-based test, 213 for the computer-based test, or a total score of 80 with a 19 on the speaking section for the Internet-based test (iBT). Applicants with iBT speaking scores between 15 and 18 may be considered for provisaaional admission, enrollment, and, if necessary, remedial course work. The minimum composite score for the IELTS is 6.5. Revised TOEFL PBT July 2017 and later 60