Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Educational Studies

EMPIRICAL STUDY

The Laney Graduate School requires all doctoral students to pass a General Doctoral examination before they are admitted to candidacy. In the Division of Educational Studies, this examination consists of successful completion of an Empirical Study. In preparation for the Empirical Study, each student completes a comprehensive literature review with an annotated bibliography (typically completed during first year in the program) of the research topic he or she has identified under the advice, consent, and approval of the student’s research advisor. The student will show, to the satisfaction of the advisor, evidence of the depth of knowledge in his or her chosen field of inquiry. The comprehensive literature review forms the basis for the Empirical Study.

The purposes of the Empirical Study are (a) to provide the student with the opportunity to integrate the knowledge and skills acquired in coursework and to bring these to bear in analyzing specific educational problems and (b) to provide a basis for predicting the student's ability to undertake and successfully complete a doctoral dissertation. In evaluating the Empirical Study, faculty expect that it will be of publishable quality and will be disseminated and presented at scholarly conferences, appropriately converted into an article, and submitted for publication to a refereed journal. The Empirical Study should provide evidence that the student can identify a question of educational importance, design a study to answer the question(s) selected, collect and analyze appropriate data, and prepare a final report of the findings. The Empirical Study is intended to add to the body of scholarly knowledge on a given topic. The Empirical Study will include a comprehensive review of the literature that provides evidence of the student's ability to identify a problem of educational importance, design a strategy for the search and retrieval of scholarly knowledge about the problem, analyze and synthesize the scholarly knowledge available in the area of study, and report the findings in a clear, concise, and scholarly way. The analysis and synthesis embedded in the literature review should provide a foundation for understanding the basic questions that will be addressed in the Empirical Study, including a thoughtful critique of previous efforts to address the questions. The Empirical Study should conclude with carefully considered educational implications as well as recommendations for further research in the area. It is expected that the complete manuscript will be at least 50 pages in length.

Procedures for Completing the Empirical Study

By the beginning of second year of the doctoral program, students should have narrowed their research focus, identified a topic for the Empirical Study, and obtained the consent of a regular DES faculty member to serve as Chair of the Empirical Study Committee. With the advice of the Chair, the student will seek at least two additional faculty members to serve on the Committee, one of whom must be a regular faculty of the DES. Other DES faculty, associated faculty, adjunct faculty, or faculty members from other departments at Emory or at other institutions may serve as additional members of the Committee (Note: For students in the Ph.D. program in French and Educational Studies, the Chair may be a tenure-track faculty member from either department). Once faculty have agreed to serve on the Empirical Study Committee, the student will submit to the Director a Student Request for Appointment of Research Committee form officially requesting the appointment of the faculty members to the Committee and specifying the contribution that each will make to the student's successful completion of the work.

Guidelines for Completing the Empirical Study Proposal

In consultation with their Chair and at least two committee members, students will develop an Empirical Study Proposal describing the work to be accomplished. The Proposal should include as many of the following components as the Chair and committee members believe are applicable:

  Statement of the Problem

  Purpose and Rationale of the Study

  Theoretical Framework, Perspective, or Line of Inquiry

  Comprehensive Review of the Literature (based on an annotated  bibliography)

  Questions/Hypotheses

  Methodology, Procedures, or Modes of Inquiry

  Data Sources or Evidence

  Expected Results (theoretically grounded)

  Educational or Scientific Importance (Significance of the Study)

  List of References

  Appendixes with Instruments, Interview Protocols, or other data gathering means

  Information regarding Informed Consent Process to be followed (if appropriate)

Proposals should be double-spaced, printed using Times New Roman/12-point font, and consistent with guidelines published by the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition (or the style guide appropriate to the student's discipline). The last page of the Proposal will be a Signature Sheet bearing the names of committee members. Length of the Proposal will be determined by the student and by members of the Committee. However, proposals should include a comprehensive review of the literature demonstrating that the student has a clear grasp of the available work conducted in the area.

Studies involving human subjects require approval both from the Division and from the Arts and Sciences Institutional Review Board. When appropriate and required, and before substantive work on the Empirical Study has been conducted, students will obtain approval from the Division's Committee on Human Subjects, from Emory University's Institutional Review Board, and from other relevant authorities to conduct research in the behavioral sciences involving the use of human subjects. Instructions and application form can be downloaded from their site below.

• Institutional Review Board of Emory University College of Arts and Sciences.

The Chair will work with the student in developing the proposal for the Empirical Study, and it is expected that a student will submit several drafts to the Chair before the proposal is ready for presentation to other members of the Committee. If necessary, the Chair will refer the student to resources for assistance with writing or with APA (or other appropriate) guidelines as well as provide model proposals from students whom the Chair previously directed. The expectation is that, when other committee members receive the student's Proposal, it should require only minor revisions.

Once the Chair has approved the proposal for circulation, the student will give copies to the other committee members and make appointments for a face-to-face conference, at which time the committee members will provide feedback on the proposal. The student should give each committee member sufficient time to read the proposal, keeping in mind that the time required by a faculty member to read a student's work and provide feedback will depend on the faculty member's previous commitments and schedule. The student will inform the Chair of the comments/recommendations made by committee members, and the Chair will guide the student in making appropriate revisions. It may be necessary for the Chair to confer with the other committee members for further clarification regarding conflicting feedback/recommendations that the student may receive. At any point throughout the approval process, committee members will determine whether a formal meeting with the student and the full Committee is required. Committee members will refrain from signing the Signature Sheet until they are satisfied with the proposal. When committee members approve the Proposal, they will sign the Signature Sheet. Once all committee members have signed the Signature Sheet, the student may begin work on the Study. The Chair will file the completed Signature Sheet in the student's official DES folder.

Guidelines for Completing the Empirical Study

As with the Empirical Study Proposal, it is expected that a student will submit several drafts of the Empirical Study to the Chair before it is ready for presentation to other members of the Empirical Study Committee. Once the Chair has approved the Study for circulation, the student will give copies to the other committee members and make appointments for a face-to-face conference, at which time the committee members will provide appropriate feedback. The student should give faculty members sufficient time to read the manuscript. The student will inform the Chair of the comments and recommendations made by committee members, and the Chair will guide the student in making appropriate revisions. It may be necessary for the Chair to confer with the other committee members for further clarification regarding conflicting feedback and recommendations that the student may receive.

When the student has completed the procedures outlined above, and with permission from the Chair, the student will schedule a public defense to which all DES faculty and graduate students are invited. With the approval of the Chair, faculty members from Emory University or from other colleges or universities may be invited to attend the defense. No meeting date should be scheduled unless all of the previous steps have been concluded. At least one calendar week before the scheduled date of the defense, published notice of the defense should be placed in the mailbox of each doctoral student and faculty in the Division and on the Division's Learnlink Conference, and three copies of the final draft paper must be made available in Room 247. At the defense, the student will make an oral presentation of the Study, after which questions will be posed by committee members and other faculty. Finally, the Committee will meet in camera to decide if the work is acceptable, and, if not, what revisions the student must undertake. When the work is judged acceptable, committee members will sign the public notice of the defense and the Chair will place it in the student's official DES graduate student file. The student will present softbound copies of the final Empirical Study to each member of the Empirical Study Committee and to the Director of the Division for placement in the Division's library.

While working on the Empirical Study, the student will enroll in the following two courses:

EDS 597R Directed Study: Empirical Proposal (variable credit)
EDS 599R Individual Research: Empirical Study (variable credit)

Students should enroll in these courses using the S/U option only. EDS 597R Directed Study: Empirical Proposal is initially taken when the student begins preparation of the Empirical Study Proposal; EDS 599R Individual Research: Empirical Study is initially taken after the student has completed the Proposal and begins preparation of the Study itself. A student will receive a grade of P in each course until the Proposal or Study is successfully completed.

Students who wish to engage in independent study or directed reading on a special topic may enroll in EDS 597R Directed Study: Special Topic. If they are conducting research on a special topic, they may enroll in EDS 599 Individual Research: Special Topic

. After consultation and with the permission of the professor with whom the course is taken, a student may enroll in these courses using the LG or S/U option

.

DOCTORAL CANDIDACY

Students who have successfully completed all required course work and defended their Empirical Study will obtain the consent of a DES faculty member to serve as Chair of their Dissertation Committee. Procedures to be followed for the selection of the Committee and for the preparation of the Dissertation are similar to the procedures for the Empirical Study, except that the proposal Hearing for the Dissertation will be in a formal session to which all faculty and graduate students will be invited. With the advice of the Chair, the student will seek at least two additional faculty members to serve on the Committee, one of whom must be a regular faculty member of the DES. Other DES faculty, associated faculty, adjunct faculty, or faculty members from other departments at Emory or at other institutions may serve as additional members of the Committee (Note: For students in the Ph.D. program in French and Educational Studies, the Chair may be a tenure-track faculty member from either department). Once faculty have agreed to serve on the Dissertation Committee, the student will submit to the Director a

Student Request for Appointment of Research Committee form officially requesting the appointment of the faculty members to the Committee and specifying the contribution that each will make to the student's successful completion of the work.

After the Dissertation Committee has been selected, the student will develop a Dissertation Proposal with the advice and consent of the Committee Chair and of the Dissertation Committee. There is no set length for the Dissertation Proposal, but it is expected that it will be substantially more detailed than the Empirical Study Proposal, including a thorough and comprehensive review of the literature and complete methodology section. Procedures to be followed for the preparation of the Dissertation are similar to the procedures for the preparation of the Empirical Study, except that the Proposal Hearing for the Dissertation will be in a formal session to which all faculty and graduate students will be invited.

Dissertations involving human subjects require approval both from the Division and from the Arts and Sciences Institutional Review Board. When appropriate and required, and

before substantive work on the Dissertation has been conducted, students will obtain approval from the Division's Committee on Human Subjects, from Emory University's Institutional Review Board, and from other relevant authorities to conduct research in the behavioral sciences involving the use of human subjects. Instructions and application form can be downloaded from the Institutional Review Board web site.

Once the Chair has approved the Dissertation Proposal for circulation, the student will give copies to the other committee members and make appointments for a face-to-face conference, at which time the members will provide feedback on the Proposal. The student will inform the Chair of the comments/recommendations of committee members, and the Chair will guide the student in making appropriate revisions. Copies of the revised Proposal will be distributed to all committee members. At least one calendar week before the scheduled date of the Proposal Hearing, the student places a published notice of the Hearing in the mailbox of each doctoral student and faculty in the Division and on the Division's LearnLink Conference, and

one copy of the Proposal must be placed in Room 247. After receiving approval of the Proposal by the Dissertation Committee, the student may make application for candidacy. Appropriate forms are in the Division office.

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

The faculty of the Division of Educational Studies subscribes to the policy formulated by the Graduate School, which states that "as a fundamental requirement of the Ph.D. degree, the student must demonstrate mastery of methods and tools of research, potential for productive scholarship, and promise as an authority in a special subject. This demonstration is embodied in a dissertation setting forth the results of the student's original investigations. The dissertation must constitute an actual contribution to existing knowledge or be a fresh and significant critical interpretation of existing knowledge. It serves as the most important, concrete proof of the candidate's scholarly abilities" (Graduate Student Handbook).

Once students have completed a final working draft of the Dissertation to the satisfaction of their Chair, they will distribute copies to the other committee members. The student will make an appointment with each member for a face-to-face conference, at which time each member will provide feedback on the Dissertation. The student should give faculty members sufficient time to read the manuscript, keeping in mind that the time required to read a student's work and provide feedback depends on the individual faculty member's schedule and previous commitments. The student will inform the Chair of the comments and recommendations of the committee members and the Chair will guide the student in making appropriate revisions. The Chair may wish to confer with the other committee members for clarification regarding conflicting feedback/recommendations that the student may receive. After these procedures have been followed, and at the appropriate time decided by the Chair, the student will distribute to the Dissertation Committee the final working draft of the Dissertation.

Once the final working draft of the Dissertation has been approved by a student's Chair and Dissertation Committee, a formal, closed Hearing will be scheduled for the presentation and defense of the Dissertation to which all DES faculty and graduate students are invited. With the approval of the Chair, faculty members from Emory University or from other colleges or universities may be invited to attend the closed Hearing. No other guests may be invited. No date should be scheduled unless all of the previous steps have been concluded. At least one calendar week before the scheduled date of the Dissertation Hearing, published notice of the Hearing should be placed in the mailbox of each doctoral student and faculty in the Division and on the Division's LearnLink Conference,

and one copy of the dissertation draft must be made available in Room 247. At the Hearing, the student will make an oral presentation of the findings and conclusion of the Dissertation, after which questions will be posed by committee members and other faculty. Finally, the Dissertation Committee will meet in camera to decide if the Dissertation is acceptable, and, if not, what revisions the student must undertake.

The student should plan carefully to meet Graduate School deadlines for progress toward the degree. However, students should carefully note that the quality of the Dissertation will not be compromised or driven by these deadlines. The student will present

bound copies of the final Dissertation to each member of the Dissertation Committee and to the Director of the Division for placement in the Division's library. In addition, an electronic copy of the dissertation is submitted to the Graduate School. See the Graduate School's Instructions for Electronic Submission of Your Thesis/Dissertation.

While working on the Dissertation, the student will enroll in the following two courses.

EDS 597R Directed Study: Dissertation Proposal (variable credit), S/U
EDS 799R Dissertation Research (variable credit), S/U

EDS 597R Directed Study: Dissertation Proposal should be taken during the semester when the student expects to complete, and have approved, the Dissertation Proposal; EDS 799R Dissertation Research is taken after the student has completed the Proposal and prepares the Dissertation. Students should enroll in these courses using the S/U option only. Students should be aware that a grade of U in these courses places them on probation for one semester.

• Click here to see a list of the Dissertations completed in the DES since 1980.

SUGGESTED TIME LINE FOR COMPLETION OF DOCTORAL PROGRAM

The Division of Educational Studies is committed to the thorough preparation of its doctoral students and understands that the time required to accomplish this preparation may differ depending on factors such as the individual characteristics of the student, demands of a particular program of study, or personal/familial factors that may serve to alter the time required to complete the Program. Full-time doctoral students at Emory University are funded for a period of five years, and hence it is the Division's expectation that a student can complete the program in that time. The following is a suggested time line that students can use to gauge how they should be progressing to complete their degree.

Year 1: Partial completion of required coursework—26 hours of formal coursework, including

• Introduction to Educational Research (4 hours) and Professional Colloquia (2 hours)
• two foundations classes (8 hours)
• two classes in area of specialization (8 hours)

• EDS 453 or additional required course (4 hours)

Year 2: Continued progress on completion of required coursework—26 hours of formal coursework, including

• Professional colloquia (2 hours)
• two foundations classes (8 hours),
• two classes in area of specialization (8 hours),

• two research methods classes (8 hours),

Year 3: Completion of required coursework—10 hours of formal coursework, including

• Professional colloquia (2 hours)

• two research methods classes (8 hours)

Completion of Empirical Study (including enrollment in and completion of EDS 599R Individual Research: Empirical Study) and advancement to doctoral candidacy. Completion or substantial progress on Dissertation Proposal (including enrollment in EDS 597R Directed Study: Dissertation Proposal). Completion of TATTO requirement (enrollment/completion of TATT 610: Teaching Associateship - 2 hours). Presentation at professional meetings. Progress on conversion of Empirical Study into article form. Assigned internship.

Year 4: No formal coursework, with the exception of continued enrollment and attendance of Professional Colloquia each semester. Submission of Empirical Study to refereed journal. Completion of Dissertation Proposal (and EDS 597R Directed Study: Dissertation Proposal). Assigned internship.

Year 5: No formal coursework, with the exception of continued enrollment and attendance of Professional Colloquia each semester. Submission of publications to refereed journals. Completion of Dissertation (and EDS 799 Dissertation Research). Assigned internship. Apply for employment and make trips for job interviews.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Teaching Assistantship/Associateship

The Graduate School provides all doctoral students a systematic introduction to college teaching through its Teaching Assistant and Teacher Training Opportunity (TATTO) program. TATTO offers summer course in pedagogical techniques, a semester as teaching assistant to a regular faculty member in a course within the student's area of study, and full responsibility for teaching an undergraduate course in the student's area of study under the supervision of a faculty member. Ph.D. students in the joint French and Educational Studies program teach French for four semesters in the French Department at the same time that they are enrolled in courses in both departments. Click here to download the TATTO Program Checklist.

Research Assistantship

Students assist DES faculty with research-related tasks. These may include the gathering of data, data entry, search and review of literature, data analysis, or other research activities.

Supervision

University Supervisors (i.e., experienced classroom teachers enrolled in the Division's Ph.D. program) serve as active school-university liaisons and are cooperatively involved in the overall development of Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) field experiences. The functions of the role involve a variety of activities and responsibilities. The three primary functions of the University Supervisor during MAT field experiences involve facilitation, supervision, and evaluation. The MAT Field Experiences Handbook offers detailed descriptions of these three functions of the University Supervisor.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ASPECTS

The Division of Educational Studies will provide financial support and encouragement for maintaining an ongoing informal organization of students in the Ph.D. program. The major purpose of the organization is to provide an opportunity for the students to become acquainted with one another and with the faculty, and for the more advanced students to provide guidance and support to those students who are in the initial stages of the program. Advanced students, with the support and encouragement of the faculty, will organize informal gatherings to welcome incoming Ph.D. students and orient them to the nature and expectations of the program.

TUITION AND FINANCIAL AWARDS

HEALTH INSURANCE

The Graduate School requires that students show proof of health insurance. If they do not already have health insurance and wish to acquire it through Emory, they will receive a 75% subsidy of the premium for an individual. Emory's student health care is excellent. Emory Healthcare is the largest healthcare provider in Georgia, and Emory's Student Health Clinic provides access to leading experts on just about any medical condition See the Graduate's School information regarding health insurance.

LIVING AND HOUSING

THE UNIVERSITY AND THE DIVISION
The Emory campus stands on 620 hilly and wooded acres six miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Since its founding in 1836, Emory University has grown into a national teaching, research, and service center with an enrollment exceeding 9,000 students. The Division of Educational Studies, located in the North Decatur Building, is one of the 23 departments and divisions that comprise the Graduate School. The Division has approximately 35 part-time and full-time Ph.D. students during any one year. Typically six new, fully supported (tuition plus stipend), full-time Ph.D. students are recruited each year.

Dr. Glen Avant Program Development Division of Educational Studies Emory University Atlanta, GA 30322 Telephone: 404-727-0612 Fax: 404-727-2799  gavant@emory.edu