Program/Course Requirements

Completion requirement

In addition to the requirements of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Graduate Programs in Education requires that students be available on campus for the first two years of their program.

a) EDER702 and EDER704;

b) Additional 9 units of 700-level thesis-based courses in research methods (excluding EDER 707, 708, 709, 710, 711 and 712);

c) Additional graduate courses or seminars as required by the student's specialization. Courses may be selected from any 700-level Education Research courses:

Adult Learning requires 9 units which must focus on Adult Learning;
Curriculum and Learning requires 9 units which must focus on Curriculum and Learning;
Language and Literacy requires 9 units which must focus on Language and Literacy;
Leadership requires 9 units which must focus on Leadership and Policy;
Learning Sciences requires 9 units which must focus on Learning Sciences.

d) Any additional courses as determined by the supervisor in consultation with the student.

Additional Program Information

Completion requirement

Advanced Credit

The applicant must make Advanced Credit request as part of the admission process. Credit will not be given for course work taken as part of another completed degree/diploma, or for courses taken to bring grade point average to a required level for admission.

Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade)

Graduate Programs in Education in the Werklund School of Education will not permit the Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade) for any course offered by the School.

Students may not choose the CG grade for a course taken extra to load.

The use of the CG grade will affect students' eligibility for internal awards.

Credit for Undergraduate Courses

Graduate Programs in Education does not normally accept undergraduate courses for credit toward graduate degrees.

Time Limit

Expected completion time for full-time students is four years with a maximum completion time of six years.

Supervisory Assignments and Required Examinations

Completion requirement

Supervisory Assignments

A supervisor is normally appointed at the time of admission.

Required Examinations

Candidacy

Admission into Candidacy in the Werklund School of Education Graduate Programs: 1) requires that students have abilities to conceptualize, interpret, critique and synthesize comprehensive, substantive knowledge that is relevant to the discipline and practice of educational research; and 2) ensures that students have a well-developed plan for their dissertation research, a sound proposal with a well-developed research question, appropriate methodology, and consideration of ethical issues that demonstrate the ability to pursue and complete original independent research at the doctoral level.

In compliance with the Faculty of Graduate Studies Candidacy Regulations, the requirements for Admission to Candidacy at the Werklund School of Education is a 4-stage process:

Completion of all course requirements as identified in the calendar;
Field of study (FoS) written paper;
A research proposal approved by the Supervisory Committee (recognizing changes may be made after successful completion of the Candidacy exams);
An oral examination of the research proposal;

Ethics approval is required for all research projects involving the use of human subjects, before data collection begins. To initiate the ethics approval process, the student, in consultation with the supervisor, must submit an application to either the Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board or the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board. Applications to the CFREB or CHREB are created and submitted online using IRISS.

All Candidacy requirements must be completed within 28 months of the start of the program.

For further information, please consult the Graduate Programs in Education website.

Thesis

The Doctoral thesis is the focus of the degree program. In consultation with the supervisor, the student should formulate an appropriate thesis topic as early as possible in the program because the thesis proposal affects the choice and number of courses needed in order to complete the program.

Thesis Examination

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies regulations for Thesis Examinations, the program requires:

Scheduling of the Examination

All members of the Supervisory Committee must have approved the student’s draft thesis document before an examination can be scheduled.

Composition of the Committee

The Internal Examiner may be internal to the home program.

Financial Assistance

Completion requirement

Financial assistance may be available to qualified students.

Students are expected to apply for scholarships and awards. For information on funding and awards, see https://werklund.ucalgary.ca/graduate-programs/current-students/programs/doctoral/phd and the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this Calendar.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Educational Research

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