Program

Curriculum

To view the degree plan and curriculum requirements for the PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Interdisciplinary Education, please visit the USF Catalog.

Departmental Procedures

Students in the Interdisciplinary Education program will go through the curriculum by following steps with major professor in subsequent order.

STEP I: Plan a Program of Study

  • Tentative Program of Study: Your major professor will assist you in developing a tentative program of study after admission. The formal Ph.D. Program of Study form (approved by major professor and doctoral committee members) should be submitted by the end of the third semester.
  • Committee selection: Your major professor will assist you in selecting committee members appropriate to disciplinary interests during the first year. The Advanced Graduate Student Supervisory Committee must be completed and approved prior to taking the qualifying exam. 

STEP II: Take Classes

  • Complete 6 credit hours of required core courses: EDF 7470: Design of Systematic Studies in Education (3) and EDG 7067: Philosophies of Inquiry (3).
  • Complete 9 credit hours related to the Foundations of Education.
  • Complete 15 credit hours of required Research Methods courses.
  • Complete 36 credit hours of Concentration courses (at least 24 hours must be at the 7000 level or 6000 level requiring advanced graduate training).

STEP III:

  • Plan and select qualifying exam option: The major professor will schedule a meeting with you and your doctoral committee members at least one semester prior to the qualifying exam to identify subject areas of expertise and interest. At the qualifying exam planning meeting, the doctoral committee and you will select an exam option and agree upon the format and parameters of the exam/paper. See Qualifying Exam Options and Procedures information page for more details.
  • Schedule exam: The student will complete the Application to Take the Qualifying Exam form. This completed form is signed by the student and major professor and submitted to the College of Education’s Graduate Support Office by the semester deadline.
  • After the exam is completed: The student’s doctoral committee will evaluate the exam using the Qualifying Exam Rubric and notify student of a Pass or Fail grade within three weeks of submitting the completed exam. A Pass grade will advance the student to candidacy. If the criteria are not met for a Pass, the student must meet with their committee to determine next steps, including retaking the exam.
  • Submission of Advanced Candidacy Form: Once a student has passed, the major professor will forward the program coordinator the exam rubrics. The completed Admission to Doctoral Candidacy form with the required signatures must be submitted to the College of Education’s Graduate Support Office. More information on the Doctoral Candidacy process, including any necessary forms, can be found here.

STEP IV: Dissertation Research Proposal Defense

  • Design proposal: The student designs a dissertation proposal in consultation with their major professor and doctoral committee.
  • Scheduling proposal defense: At least three weeks before the proposal defense, the student will submit 1 copy of the approved dissertation proposal (if Outside Chair is on the Committee, two copies if Outside Chair is not on the Committee) and the Request for Proposal Defense Form signed by the major professor, each committee member, and the department chair to College of Education’s Graduate Support Office indicating the date, time, and place of the proposal defense.
  • Proposal defense: Committee evaluates proposal and, when approved, committee members sign the proposal title page and outside chair completes the Chair’s report form, which are submitted to College of Education’s Graduate Support Office.
  • Institutional Review Board (IRB): The student submits the proposed study to the IRB for approval. 

STEP V: Dissertation Defense

  • Schedule defense date: The Doctoral Committee and student schedule a dissertation defense date and file completed Request for Final Defense form to the USF Office of Graduate Studies at least two weeks before the scheduled defense date.