All TLT doctoral students take a common core of 12 credits of foundational coursework and 12 credits of research coursework. For their professional cognate, students then choose between either the Instructional Design and Technology or the Learning and Instruction concentrations. Finally, students round out their total of 48 credits (minimum) past the master’s degree by pursuing directed research projects and professional sub-specialities, as shown below:

Foundations - 12 credits (4 required courses)

Research - 12 credits (3 required courses, 1 elective, additional as required by adviser)

Professional Cognate - 12 credits (1 required course + 3 electives)

Supervised research projects - 6 credits minimum

Professional sub-specialty - 6 credits

These credits are intended to advance the students' research agenda or career goals (such as a enhanced subject matter knowledge, mentored field/practical experiences with outreach programs, specialized coursework, college teaching, grant writing, and the like) with advisor approval.

Clearances

Depending upon the specific courses you choose or research activities you engage in while pursuing your master's degree program, it may become necessary to obtain proper school placement clearances in accordance with Pennsylvania Department of Education regulations.  See the TLT Clearances Policy for more information.

Qualifying Examination

The intent of Qualifying Examination is to measure both breadth and depth of understanding. These examinations may be either written or oral, or both, and are tailored to the individual student’s program of study. Qualifying Examinations are designed to measure mastery within the TLT concentration.  In order to be eligible to take Qualifying Examinations, students MUST complete TLT 401, TLT 403 and a minimum of 18 credits and a maximum of 30 credits total.  Students cannot take additional degree coursework beyond 30 credits until they have passed the Qualifying Examination.

Student success on Qualifying Examination is judged by a committee of at least three members. Once a student completes the Qualifying Examination satisfactorily, he or she is reclassified from graduate student to doctoral student and moves on to complete the remainder of his or her coursework and begin the General Examination requirements.

Doctoral Research Project (General Examination)

The General Examination is intended to demonstrate that a doctoral student is capable of completing their degrees in a timely fashion by requiring students to apply the same types of research and writing skills they will need to complete their dissertations.  The Doctoral Research Project, therefore, typically takes the form of a small empirical pilot study on the same topic as the intended dissertation.  This pilot study enables the student to answer some question or set of questions that help in the design of the later dissertation. This pilot research project should be completed near the completion of the student’s coursework and at least seven months before the doctoral degree is awarded.

The Doctoral Research Project is completed under the direction of a TLT faculty member and its success is judged by a Doctoral Research Project Committee composed of at least three faculty members. Once a student completes the Doctoral Research Project satisfactorily, he or she moves on to dissertation proposal, completion, and defense.