The Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction focuses on curricular issues as a field of inquiry and develops strengths in the areas of understanding and addressing the complex and multiple questions that influence curriculum theory, design, development, delivery, assessment, and evaluation. The primary goal of this program is to prepare curriculum leaders, researchers, and professors with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to analyze, construct, and evaluate curricula in ways that create optimal learning conditions for all learners. This comprehensive preparation will enable graduates to examine unconscious assumptions and identify complex challenges associated with working in schools and other institutions in a multicultural democracy. Consequently, particular attention is devoted to the philosophical, theoretical, historical, cultural, ethical, and political constructs and assumptions that affect curricula, including courses and programs.
The general education track in Curriculum & Instruction is designed for students who are interested in becoming a generalist and do not want to specialize in any one of the three currently offered specialization areas of the Ph.D. in C&I degree program (i.e., Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education (CSTE), Language, Diversity & Literacy Studies (LDLS), or STEM Education). In this degree plan, the 24.0 hours of specialization electives are open to the student (as long as they are 5000 level (or above) and taken at the TTU Lubbock campus either in-person, hybrid, or online), students may acquire a wide range of knowledge and skills in different theories, educational foundations, research methodologies, blended and personalized learning, or a specific content area of interest.