Doctoral Curriculum
The doctoral curriculum consists of 60 to 66 semester hours of course work, which includes: 18 to 24 semester hours in the area of concentration, 6 to 9 semester hours in a supporting field, 12 semester hours of research methods, 3 semester hours of teaching methods, and 21 semester hours of dissertation research.
| Types of Courses | Number of Semester Hours |
| Research Core Requirements ( 4 courses) | 12 credit hours |
| Major Field Requirements ( 6 to 8 courses) | 18 to 24 credit hours |
| Minor/Supporting Field Requirement (2 or 3 courses) | 6 to 9 credit hours |
| Teaching Methods (1 course) | 3 credit hours |
| Dissertation Research Requirement | 21 credit hours |
| Total | 60 to 66 credit hours |
Following satisfactory completion of the course work requirements, each student must pass a comprehensive examination in his/her concentration and successfully defend a dissertation proposal and a final dissertation in front of the dissertation committee and the department’s faculty. Students are awarded the Ph.D. degree after successful completion of the doctoral curriculum and all other university requirements.