Applicable only to students admitted during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Doctor of Philosophy

Advising

At the time of admission to the department, the student is assigned a faculty adviser within the selected field.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

All Divisions: Urban Schooling; Psychological Studies in Education; Higher Education and Organizational Change; Social Research Methodology; Social Sciences and Comparative Education.

Students also may receive specialized interdisciplinary training in culture, brain, and development. Interested students should consult the Center for Culture, Brain and Development website.

Foreign Language Requirement

The department does not have a foreign language requirement for the Ph.D. degree. However, students in the Social Sciences and Comparative Education Division are required to demonstrate reading competence in a language other than English.

Course Requirements

A program of study for a Ph.D. student is determined by the student and the faculty adviser and must conform to division and department requirements. A minimum of 18 courses is required as indicated below. At least 10 of the total courses must be in the 200 series.

(1) A sequential three-quarter research practicum designed to provide an overview of research in the field of study. Students complete a research paper by the end of the sequence.

(2) Five courses from offerings in the student's selected division.

(3) Three upper division or graduate courses from other academic departments of the University related to the student's proposed area of research (the cognate).

(4) Appropriate research methods courses to enable demonstration of intermediate/advanced level competence in at least one area of research methodology. This requirement is satisfied by completing four methodology courses as specified in the list approved by the department; the approved list is available in the Office of Student Services.

The remainder of the courses to complete the required total may be chosen by the student; such courses must be in compliance with the selected division's guidelines and must be approved by the student's faculty adviser. Divisional course requirements may be waived, under exceptional circumstances, by the division. Students submit a petition, endorsed by their adviser, to the division head. Wherever additional academic background is needed, a faculty adviser may require other coursework.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

Doctoral Screening Examination. A written examination is taken after completion of appropriate coursework determined by the division. This examination is concerned with central topics in the selected division and field of emphasis. Questions are comprehensive in nature and are designed to measure the breadth and depth of knowledge, as well as to focus that knowledge on specific problems.

Students taking the doctoral screening examination ordinarily are not allowed to take more than nine courses before taking the examination. This limit is intended to ensure that students demonstrate basic competencies as early as possible in their doctoral training.

All students admitted to a doctoral program without a master's degree are required to take the doctoral screening examination.

In a first sitting for this examination, students may be passed with honors, passed at the master's level (the terminal master's), or failed. Students passed at the master's level are given one further opportunity to pass at the doctoral level; students who fail are given a second opportunity to take the examination at the master's level only.

Students who fail the doctoral screening examination, but who have been allowed to retake the examination, must do so at the next sitting. They can take up to 12 units per quarter until they have successfully completed the examination. Of these 12 units only four may be a doctoral 200- or 400-level course; the remainder must be the 597 course. After satisfying the above requirements, students are eligible to take the following qualifying examinations:

Doctoral Written Qualifying Examination. The examination is offered twice yearly, once in Fall Quarter and once in Spring Quarter. The written qualifying examination tests the core knowledge of the division and emphasis the student has selected. The questions on the examination reflect a research and theoretical orientation. Students may be passed, passed with honors, or failed on this examination. Students who fail this examination are given a second opportunity to take the examination at the discretion of the student's adviser and a third opportunity on a two-thirds majority of all divisional faculty voting on this issue. No fourth sitting for the examination is allowed. Students who fail the doctoral written qualifying examination, but who have been allowed to retake it, should do so at the next scheduled sitting with consent of the divisional faculty.

University Oral Qualifying Examination. The oral examination is conducted by the student's doctoral committee, which selects topics from both education and the cognate discipline(s) that are related to the student's written research proposal. On a majority vote of the doctoral committee, the University Oral Qualifying Examination may be repeated once.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

From admission to the doctoral program to the written and oral qualifying examinations: three to four years (nine to 12 quarters).

From admission to the doctoral program to the approval of the dissertation prospectus: three to four years (nine to 12 quarters).

From approval of dissertation prospectus to the university oral qualifying examination: same quarter.

A maximum of 21 quarters is permitted for completion of a doctoral degree.

Doctor of Education

Advising

At the time of admission to the department, the student is assigned a faculty adviser within the selected field.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

The Ed.D. degree is offered for emphases in Divisions 1 through 4 and in the Educational Leadership Program. Administration, curriculum, and teaching studies emphases are offered for school, postsecondary and continuing education administrators, education policy analysts, program and curriculum developers, and teacher educators. Educational psychology emphases are offered for those interested in practical issues related to special education, educational technology, and computer-assisted instruction. Higher education and work emphases focus on administration in relation to corporate or proprietary education and training, community colleges, and continuing education. Social research methodology emphases are applied measurement and evaluation leadership. 

The only program currently accepting applications for the Ed.D. degree is the Educational Leadership Program.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

A program of study for an Ed.D. student is determined by the student and faculty adviser, and must meet division or program and department requirements. A minimum of 18 courses is required. 

(1) Three research methods courses, with no more than two introductory (first tier) courses and at least one intermediate/advanced (second tier) course, selected from the departmental list approved for the Ed.D. degree.

(2) Nine education courses, of which at least six must be from the Education 400 series; all courses must be approved by the faculty adviser. 

(3) Three supplemental courses selected from offerings in the department (outside the student's field of emphasis) or in another UCLA professional school or department.

(4)  One sequential three-quarter field practicum (Education 499A-499B-499C). Divisional or program course requirements may be waived, under exceptional circumstances, by the division or program.  Students submit a petition, endorsed by their adviser, to the division or program head. Whenever additional academic background is needed, a faculty adviser may require other coursework.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

Doctoral Screening Examination. A written examination is taken after the completion of appropriate coursework determined by the division or the program. This examination is concerned with central topics in the selected division and field of emphasis or program. Questions are comprehensive in nature and are designed to measure the breadth and depth of knowledge, as well as to focus that knowledge on specific problems.

Students who take the doctoral screening examination ordinarily are not allowed to take more than nine courses before taking the examination. This limit is intended to ensure that students demonstrate basic competencies as early as possible in their doctoral training.

All students admitted to a doctoral program without a master's degree are required to take the doctoral screening examination.

In a first sitting for this examination, students may be passed, passed with honors, passed at the master's level (the terminal master's), or failed. Students passed at the master's level are given one further opportunity to pass at the doctoral level; students who fail are given a second opportunity to take the examination at the master's level only.

Students who fail the doctoral screening examination, but who have been allowed to retake the examination, must do so at the next sitting. They can take up to 12 units per quarter until they have successfully completed the examination. Of these 12 units, only four may be a doctoral 200 or 400 level course; the remainder must be the 597 course. After satisfying the above requirements, students are eligible to take the following qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Written Qualifying Examination. The written qualifying examination is offered twice yearly, once in Fall Quarter and once in Spring Quarter. The examination tests the core knowledge of the division and emphasis the student has selected. The questions on the examination reflect a professional orientation. Students may be passed, passed with honors, or failed on this examination. Students who fail this examination are given a second opportunity to take the examination at the discretion of the student's adviser and a third opportunity on a two-thirds majority of all divisional faculty voting on this issue. No fourth sitting for the examination is allowed. Students who fail the doctoral written qualifying examination, but who are allowed to retake it, should do so at the next scheduled sitting with consent of the divisional faculty. 

University Oral Qualifying Examination. The oral examination is conducted by the student's doctoral committee, which selects topics from education that are related to the student's written dissertation proposal. On majority vote of the doctoral committee, the University Oral Qualifying Examination may be repeated once.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

From admission to the doctoral program to the written and oral qualifying examinations: three to four years (nine to 12 quarters).

From admission to the doctoral program to the approval of the dissertation prospectus: three to four years (nine to 12 quarters).

From approval of dissertation prospectus to the university oral qualifying examination: same quarter.

A maximum of 21 quarters is permitted for completion of a doctoral degree. 

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

A student may be recommended for termination either by the Committee on Degrees, Admissions and Standards, or by the faculty of a division or program. The student's adviser or the program head is given the opportunity to review and respond to a recommendation for termination from the Committee. In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for termination who fails a master's performance or doctoral screening examination. A student may appeal a decision by the Committee to the dean of the school.

PAGE 1 -- Master's Degree
PAGE 3 -- Educational Leadership Program
PAGE 4 -- Joint Doctoral Program in Special Education with Cal State - L.A.