PhD in Higher Education

Develop an advanced understanding of the dynamic forces shaping higher education.

The PhD in Higher Education is committed to advancing scholarship, research, and practice in the field of higher education. The program is focused on critical scholarship and centers equity, inclusion, and justice.

Students have research interests ranging from student access to student outcomes, student development and affairs, faculty, organizations, and administration, community colleges and community college leadership, and policy.

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Program Facts

Degree Type

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Credits

90

Format

In-Person

Time Commitment

Full-time or Part-Time

Duration

3 - 5 years

Enrollment Term

Fall

Application Deadline

December 1

Admission Requirements

No GRE Exam is required

Program Overview

The PhD in Higher Education is committed to advancing scholarship, research, and practice in the field of higher education. The program is focused on critical scholarship and centers equity, inclusion, and justice. Our students research interests include student access, student outcomes, student development and affairs, faculty, organizations, and administration, community colleges and community college leadership, and policy.

The program has a core set of courses designed for students to gain an understanding of historical, political, philosophical, and social elements that shape and continue to reshape higher education. The curriculum is designed to ground students in the study of higher education as a discipline and critical scholarship within the field. Students develop an area of research specialization. The curriculum in higher education is complemented by courses within other programs in the Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy Department and across the School of Education. In addition, through a strong focus within the program on rigorous methodological training, students gain competency in both quantitative and qualitative research methods and take advanced courses in the methodological approaches they plan to utilize in their research.

"The School of Education has been an asset to my doctoral journey and truly embodies the famous words of Nelson Mandela: 'Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.'"
Jenay Willis - Pitt alumni

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Prerequisites

There are no specific prerequisites for this degree, but interested students should verify that they fulfill the admissions requirements.

Curriculum

The PhD in Higher Education program is 90 credits.

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EFOP 2307 – POLITICS AND HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION
EFOP 2131 – HIGHER EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION
EFOP 2055 – STUDENT DEVELOPMENT THEORY
EFOP 3141 – POLICY STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION
EFOP 3150 – FOUNDATIONS FOR THE STUDY OF HIGHER EDUCATION
EFOP 3151 – THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS FOR THE STUDY OF HIGHER EDUCATION
EFOP 3153 – RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Students enroll for 24 credits of electives, including 9 credits of higher education courses taught in the program. Program courses include but are not limited to the following:

EFOP 3015 – ETHICAL ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION
EFOP 3131 – STUDENT, CAMPUS, AND SOCIETY
EFOP 3136 – COMPARATIVE HIGHER EDUCATION
EFOP 3134 – CONTEMPORARY LATINX ISSUES IN US HIGHER EDUCATION

Students enroll for 18 credits of research methodology, including:

Three required courses (9 credits):

EDUC 3100 – INTRODUCTION TO QUAN METHODS: DESCRIPTIVE AND INFERENTIAL STATISTICS (required)
EDUC 3103 – QUANTITATIVE METHODS 2 (required)
EDUC 3104 – INTRODUCTION TO QUALITATIVE METHODS (required)

Research Methodology electives (9 credits) include the following:

EDUC 3107 – WAYS OF KNOWING
EDUC 3505 – RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS: APPROACHES TO COLLABORATIVE DESIGN, INQUIRY & CHANGE
EDUC 3506 – MIXED METHODS RESEARCH
EFOP 3012 – QUALITATIVE DATA MANAGEMENT, ANALYSIS, AND PRESENTATION
EFOP 3201 – INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION
EFOP 3209 – HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENT & ACCREDITATION
EFOP 3408 – HIERARCHICAL LINEAR MODELING
EFOP 3417 – STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING
EFOP 3471 – CONSTRUCTING QUESTIONNAIRES AND CONDUCTING SURVEYS
EFOP 3472 – CAUSAL INFERENCE IN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
EFOP 3501- Critical Policy Analysis
EDUC 3000 – ADVANCED APPLIED STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
EDUC 3106 – ADVANCED APPLIED QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
TLL 3003 – RESEARCH INTERVIEWING