Literacy Education Ph.D. Specialization
The graduate program in Literacy Education is an inter-disciplinary program stressing the relationship between child language, reading and writing processes, and school learning. The program is based upon the assumption that literacy is influenced by many overlapping facets of development both in and outside the classroom: cognitive, sociocultural, and linguistic. The purpose of the program is to develop a high degree of expertise in the field.
Specialization Courses
Listed here are courses required in addition to the Doctoral Core Courses. All students take the following four doctoral seminars in Literacy:
- EDUC 802: Seminar in Reading
- EDUC 807: Writing Processes in Educational Settings
- EDUC 816: Literacy Problems
- EDUC 822: Literacy and Educational Policy
Additional Coursework:
- 3 hours of additional elective coursework at the doctoral level
- 6 hours of supervised research
- 6 hours of advanced coursework in methodology
- 9 hours of dissertation study
Specialization Area Exam Policy
There are currently two SAE options for PhD students to consider. The option chosen should correlate to the semester the student was admitted to the Ph.D. program. Specialization Area Exams are typically taken at the completion of the doctoral seminars. Note: Specialization Area Exams will be administered in the fall and spring semesters only.
Option 1 (for students admitted to the Ph.D. program prior to Fall 2004)
Successful completion of exam question(s) constructed by the student and approved by the faculty. Process:
- The student constructs at least two possible exam questions the semester prior to completing the SAE. The questions must be submitted to the advisor no later than December 1 for a spring exam or May 1 for a fall exam.
- The Literacy Faculty reviews and approves or revises the submitted questions. The student's advisor returns the approved question to the student on the second Friday of the semester the exam is to be completed.
- The student's written responses are due two weeks later via email to the student's advisor who forwards it to the faculty reviewers. The PhD coordinator is responsible for collecting and forwarding the completed response if the advisor is not a member of the Literacy Faculty.
- At least two faculty members assess the exam. Students will be notified of the Literacy Faculty's response no later than one month from the receipt of the exam. Students either pass, make minor revisions, or fail.
- A student whose written responses receive a PASS will advance to the next phase of the program.
- A student whose written responses receive MINOR REVISIONS REQUIRED must make those revisions within one month of receiving the faculty's feedback. If revisions are not completed within the timeframe or do not address the faculty's concerns as outlined in the feedback, the student will fail the exam and will need to take a new exam the following fall or spring semester.
- A student whose written responses receive a FAIL may respond to a new comp exam the following fall or spring semester following the same procedure outlined above. If the student fails the second attempt, the student will be dismissed from the program.
Option 2 (for students admitted to the Ph.D. program in Fall 2004 or later)
Successful completion of exam question(s) constructed by the Literacy Faculty. Process:
- The Literacy Faculty constructs the PhD exam question(s).
- The student's advisor gives the question(s) to the student on the second Friday of the semester the comprehensive exam is to be completed. The PhD coordinator is responsible for giving the student the question(s) if the advisor is not a member of the Literacy Faculty.
- The student's written responses are due two weeks later via email to the student's advisor who forwards it to the faculty reviewers. The PhD coordinator is responsible for collecting and forwarding the completed response if the advisor is not a member of the Literacy Faculty.
- At least two faculty members assess the exam. Students will be notified of the Literacy Faculty's response no later than one month from the receipt of the exam. Students either pass, make minor revisions, or fail.
- A student whose written responses receive a PASS will advance to the next phase of the program.
- A student whose written responses receive MINOR REVISIONS REQUIRED must make those revisions within one month of receiving the faculty's feedback. If revisions are not completed within the timeframe or do not address the faculty's concerns as outlined in the feedback, the student will fail the exam and will need to take a new comp exam the following fall or spring semester.
- A student whose written responses receive a FAIL may respond to a new comp exam the following fall or spring semester following the same procedure outlined above. If the student fails the second attempt, the student will be dismissed from the program.
Affiliated Faculty
Faculty affiliated with this specialization area:
