Curriculum and Instruction (PhD)

Admission Requirements

Application Deadlines

There are four annual admission deadlines. Depending on specific individual goals and situations, different deadlines may be more relevant for you.

Fall semester start, full-time status with Graduate Assistantship funding possibilities:

  • November 1

Graduate Assistantships (GA) and University Fellowships are competitive and awarded to full-time students for the fall semester well in advance--as early as mid-January for Fellowships--and typically by late March or April for Graduate Assistantships. Applications for both should be submitted by the November 1 deadline.

Specify the subsequent fall semester as your intended start date on the application. Indicate interest in assistantships on your Statement of Purpose.

Part-time doctoral student work or otherwise not interested in Graduate Assistantship funding:

  • November 1 - Spring semester start (or later semester as indicated on application)
  • February 15 - Summer semester start (or later semester as indicated on application)
  • May 1 - Fall and Late Summer semester start (or later semester as indicated on application)

Members of the Curriculum and Instruction PhD admissions committee evaluate all applications after the appropriate admission deadline. Admission decisions are made by the professional judgment of the admissions committee according to established criteria. Admission to the program is competitive and preference is given to applicants who have strong academic records, experiences, and abilities that show demonstrated excellence in professional performance and research potential. All applicants will be notified in writing regarding their admission; typically this notification occurs approximately three weeks after the admissions deadline.

To be considered for admission, all materials must be submitted prior to the admission committee's review. If materials are incomplete, applicants will be notified and may submit again during the next review.

Please note: Application for admission consists of two parts:

  1. Documents submitted to the University of Louisville for Graduate Admission, and
  2. Materials submitted directly to the PhD Curriculum and Instruction program by the established deadline date.

See the Application Process Overview [PDF] document for details.

Admission Materials

  • Graduate Application (online University of Louisville Graduate Application)
  • Three Letters of Recommendation [PDF] (see Directions for Applying for more information). If you have recommendation letters on file from a previous University of Louisville program application, you will need three new letters of recommendation for this application that speak to your potential in a doctoral program. In addition to the standard University form linked above, please have these individuals submit letters with supporting details for the recommendation. At least one of the three recommendation letters you choose should come from someone familiar with the rigor and requirements of a doctoral program.
  • TOEFL/IELTS/Duoling scores for non-native speakers of English (if needed - see Directions for Applying for more information)
  • Transcripts from each college you have attended other than the University of Louisville. Have all official non-University of Louisville transcripts sent to the Graduate School.
  • Statement of Purpose [PDF] To assist applicants with the process of crafting a strong Statement of Purpose, in addition to the directions on the Statement of Purpose document, an Annotated Exemplar of Statement of Purpose [PDF] is provided here for guidance. This document provides detailed annotated notes about the strengths of a particular example Statement of Purpose.
  • Interview Guidelines and Advisor Signature [PDF]. The process of mutually identifying a faculty member who agrees to serve as your doctoral advisor includes an applicant-initiated two-way interview process. As noted on the linked form, faculty with whom you interview in the process of identifying an appropriate advisor are requested to submit input to the admissions committee – such input becomes a portion of the evidence with which the admissions committee will make an admission decision.
  • Resume or Curriculum Vitae [PDF]

Degree Requirements

Master's Degree Prerequisite + 60 Credit Hours PhD Coursework Minimum

The student and program committee must develop courses, programs, and experiences that clearly identify and address the following areas:  research, teaching and teacher education, stewardship of the profession and knowledge of discipline.   These areas of emphasis must have descriptive competencies that the student should attain and the committee can assess.

Specialty Components
EDAP 711Doctoral Professional Seminar: First Year3
Area of Emphasis
30 credit hours selected with Program Committee approval30
Research Methodology
LEAD 601Applied Statistics (see note) 13
LEAD 704Qualitative Field Research Methods3
Research Electives
Field survey research, additional qualitative and/or quantitative methodologies, etc. 2, 36
Doctoral/Dissertation Research
EDAP 795Doctoral Research15
Minimum Total Hours60
1

Students with relevant statistical background should take LEAD 701.

2

Selected with Program Committee approval and within program guidelines/framework

3

LEAD 600 may not be used for these courses