How to Get a PhD or EdD in Education: K-12

Some of the most prestigious universities in the U.S. began as teachers' colleges in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. All societies advance through education, so there is a continual need for teachers, and teachers to teach the teachers, and for ongoing advancement in understanding how learning occurs and in developing best practices.

A campus-based or online PhD in Education establishes you as an expert in your field. While those holding PhDs in Education are often employed in universities, especially in education departments, they are also found on school boards, as principals at grade schools and high schools, in administration at community colleges, in government agencies, and in business.

If you are considering a PhD in K-12 Education you may already be working in a school setting, and many programs are designed with the needs of full-time teachers and administrators in mind--sometimes giving you up to eight years to complete your studies.

Alternative Degree to the PhD in Education: The EdD

Some schools offer a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in education, others offer a Doctor of Education (EdD) degree, and some schools offer both. There is no board or body that independently establishes a distinction between these two degrees. Schools themselves decide and define their degrees. That said, the PhD in Education has traditionally been perceived to be more research than application oriented, while the opposite perception was held of the EdD. However, holders of both degrees are prepared in research and in application and are not restricted by one degree or the other when it comes to employment opportunities. To earn either degree you must satisfy edd in mmmrigorous academic requirements that include researching, writing, and defending a dissertation.

Teaching Credentials

Earning a PhD in K-12 Education is not the same as getting a teaching credential. Teachers are credentialed or licensed by the state in which they teach. In most states, you can become credentialed to teach by earning an undergraduate degree, being supervised in a student teaching environment, and passing a test. If you hold a PhD in K-12 Education, your education automatically qualifies you to teach in most states. Contact your state commission on teacher credentials or get more information from the admissions offices of the schools in which you are interested.

Specializations

There are hundreds of areas of specialization within doctoral level education programs, some specific to K-12 education, and some specific to functions within education. If you already know your specialization, focus on schools that provide that education. Otherwise, consider learning more about these areas of specialization:

• Educational leadership
• Organizational change
• Policy and planning
• Psychological studies in education
• Advanced quantitative methods
• Evaluations
• Curriculum development
• Urban schooling
• Multicultural education
• Bilingual education
• Special education
• Early childhood
• Student affairs

Online versus On-Campus PhD in Education Programs

Working toward a PhD is a major commitment in both money and time. However, in the last ten years, well respected accredited online programs have helped students like you manage their time and have enabled many people to access education that would have otherwise been unavailable.

Online PhD in K-12 Education programs do not require that you drive to a campus, although many do have some brief residency requirement, perhaps one weekend per month within driving distance, or a week or two per term or year within the U.S.

Another benefit of online programs is that you can generally study at your convenience. Some programs offer live online sessions that you may be required to attend, but you do not have to drive anywhere to participate.

Like their campus counterparts, online PhD in Education programs usually come with defined quarters or semesters, with deadlines for homework and projects. However, some schools offer open enrollment, allowing you to begin at any time. And like campus-based programs, online schools have real live faculty who you interact with closely. In fact, you may interact with your virtual classmates more than you imagine, as online programs frequently require team projects.

Even if you choose an on-campus PhD program, chances are some of your instruction will occur online. Understanding the format, interactive components, and requirements of the online PhD in K-12 Education program you choose is extremely important.

Accreditation

Accreditation is important, because without it your degree may be worthless--even if you paid a lot of money for it. Degrees from diploma mills are not accepted as valid proof of education by most employers. To be sure that the schools of interest to you are accredited, just check the U.S. Department of Education's Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs.

Another important reason for checking the DOE database is that if your school is not on the list, you will not be eligible for federally-backed student loans. Almost all schools are accredited by some third party board, but not all accreditation bodies are recognized by the DOE. The take-away: be sure to check the DOE database. For more information on accreditation, see WorldWideLearn.com's What Is Accreditation?

Faculty for PhD in K-12 Education

When considering doctoral level study, you must make sure that you can establish rapport with the faculty members who will be guiding you, especially those who will be members of your dissertation committee. This is not so hard to do as it might sound, even in online PhD in Education programs.

After you have identified your top few schools, a call to the department chair or a faculty member is a good idea. Before the call, prepare a short list of questions so you do not waste your own or the other person's time. When you call, be sure to ask if the person has time to speak to you at that moment; if not, schedule a call back time. Regardless of the answers to your questions, the transaction itself will give you some idea about what to expect in the future.

Graduation Rates and Other Measures of Program Reputation

One of the measures of the reputation of a program is its graduation rate--the higher the better. Of course, people drop from programs all the time for many reasons, so do not expect to see 100 percent at any school. A better measure is to compare the graduation rates of several schools. You can find this information on school Websites or by calling admissions offices.

Other indicators of a school's reputation are the number of its graduates hired within a year of graduating (for work appropriate for their degree), the prestige of the employers, and the percentage of alumni who contribute to the school after graduating.

Prerequisites for the PhD in K-12 Education

Every school has its own requirements for admission, and beside the school requirements, each program has requirements. For a PhD in Education, probably the most common requirement is that your undergraduate degree be from a regionally accredited institution. Besides that, here are some other common prerequisites:

• Grade point average of X or higher in last 60 units of undergraduate work
• Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) with a score of X or better
• Written recommendations from faculty or employers
• Passing a written test
• Passing an oral interview
• Submitting a written statement of intent
• Prior teaching experience (not all programs require this)

Be sure to read the list of requirements carefully and make sure they are satisfied by the time you submit your application. It is especially important to give the people who are writing your recommendations plenty of time to comply with your request. Incomplete application packages might force you to wait up to a whole year to be reconsidered for admission.

Financial Aid for Doctorate Students

There are many ways to fund, or at least partially fund, a doctorate degree. Student loans aren't always the cheapest way to finance an education, although they are often the first solution people think of when looking for ways to pay their tuition. Graduates can end up with a financial hangover of outstanding loans that can make it difficult to finance a home or even a car. So it is wise to explore other options.

If you attend school on a physical campus, you may be eligible for a teaching assistantship; that is, you will be paid to teach undergraduate classes and you might earn academic credit as well.

Research assistantships may be available for online and on-campus students, depending on the type of research and on the institution.

Believe it or not, may dollars in grants, stipends, and scholarships go unclaimed each year because students do not know of their existence, file too late, or do not bother to apply for these funds. Not all financial aid is need-based, so even if you have a well-paying job, you should explore all possibilities. Free extra money is always good money!

The Doctoral Degree Application Process

Filling out grad school applications is no one's idea of fun. If it's been awhile since you graduated, it may be hard to track down faculty from your undergraduate days, and you will most likely need recommendations from at least one of them. In addition, you must usually fill out separate applications and provide backup documentation to both the schools and their programs.

You should apply to at least three programs in case you are not accepted by your first choice. Another reason for applying to more than one school is that, although they will not actually be bidding against each other for you, schools' offers of financial aid can be wildly different, enough so that you might come to a decision based on this factor.

You can streamline the application process somewhat by gathering all the applications, making a quick check list of materials needed and due dates, and then looking for the common elements. For example, you will probably need those letters of recommendation mentioned earlier. Provide your references with pre-addressed, stamped envelopes with sticky notes attached with due dates, so that the person writing your recommendation can easily comply, and you can easily follow up.

Likewise, compose your answers to narrative questions on applications in a word processing program so you can reuse pertinent information. Be careful not to cut and paste mindlessly, but this tip can save you from starting from scratch with each application.

Publications, Conferences and Professional Associations

Even before you apply or are accepted to grad school, you can keep up with the latest developments in K-12 education by subscribing to publications, attending conferences, and joining professional associations like the National Educational Association. This helps you "talk the talk" when composing your statement of intent and may also help establish credibility while searching out a mentor within the faculty.

Sources

• Educational Testing Service, GRE Details: Test Takers
• UCLA, General Catalog 2009-2019
• University of Kansas School of Education; Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
• University of California, Graduate Degree Programs: Academic Programs Inventory
• USA.gov, Government Information by Topic
• U.S. Department of Education, Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions