West Virginia University

Example Plans of Study for Major Areas of Study

Following admissions each student will develop a Plan of Study in consultation with the student’s advisor and doctoral committee. Each Plan of Study will include:

  1. The Theoretical Foundations Core consisting of one Seminal Course chosen from options listed for each of the three Major Areas of Study plus a Seminar entitled “The Nature of Inquiry”.
  2. The Research Core consisting of five courses (Introduction to Research, Statistical Methods 1, Statistical Methods 2, Qualitative Research Methods, and one elective research methods course).
  3. Mentored Research (six credits) and Mentored Teaching (six credits).
  4. Six credits of required coursework plus 27 credits of selected coursework in the Major Area of Study.
  5. Candidacy Examinations to be developed by the student’s advisor and committee members under guidelines approved by the faculty members most involved in the Major Area of Study.
  6. A Dissertation Prospectus, Dissertation Research, and Defended Dissertation all approved by the student’s advisor and committee.

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

A student working in this Major Area of Study who chooses to focus on Higher Education might develop a Plan of Study like the following:

  1. Theoretical Foundations Core
    • EDLS 650 Higher Education Administration
    • EDP 700 Psychological Foundations of Learning
    • SCFD 600 Sociology of Education
    • EDP 794 Seminar: Nature of Inquiry
  2. Research Core
    • EdP 612 Introduction to Educational Research
    • EdP 613 Statistics I
    • EdP 614 Statistics II
    • SCFD 615 Qualitative Research
    • Elective in Survey Research
  3. Mentored Teaching Practicum
    • 12 credit hours in Teaching and Research Activities
  4. Major Area of Study
    • Two Required Courses (6 hours) in
      • EDLS 754 History of American Higher Education
      • EDLS 793 P Policy Analysis in Higher Education
    • Nine additional courses (27 hours) from this array of courses:
      • EDLS 603 Education Leadership
      • EDLS 652 Assessment in Higher Education
      • EDLS 653 College Student and the Courts
      • EDLS 708 Changing Organizations
      • EDLS 754 Controversial Issues
      • EDLS 755 Higher Education Law
      • EDLS 756 Higher Education Finance
      • EDLS 651 College Student Development
      • EDLS 751 Academic Affairs Administration
      • EDLS 752 Governance of Higher Education
      • EDLS 757 Institutional Research and Planning
      • EDLS 769 Curriculum Development and Reform
      • EDLS 785 Internship

Learning, Instructional Design, and Technology

A student working in this Major Area of Study who chooses to focus on Learning might develop a Plan of Study like the following:

  1. Theoretical Foundations Core
    • EDLS 603 Principles of Educational Leadership
    • EDP 700 Psychological Foundations of Learning
    • SCFD 620 Philosophy of Education
    • EDP 794 Seminar: Nature of Inquiry
  2. Research Core
    • EdP 612 Introduction to Educational Research
    • EdP 613 Statistics I
    • EdP 614 Statistics II
    • SCFD 615 Introduction to Qualitative Methods
    • EdP 713 Single Case Research Design
  3. Mentored Teaching Practicum
    • 12 credit hours in Teaching and Research Activities
  4. Major Area of Study
    • Two Required Courses (6 hours) in
      • EdP 640 Instructional Design
      • EdP 740 Principles of Instruction
    • Nine additional courses (27 hours) such as:
      • TE 691 Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology
      • TE 731 Interdisciplinary Seminar-Technology and Culture
      • TE 740 Curriculum Development and Teaching
      • EdP 702 Human Development and Learning
      • EdP 730 Cognition in Social Contexts
      • EdP 703 Adult Learner
      • Psy 732 Behavior Theory and Philosophy
      • Psy 745 Seminar in Life Span Developmental Psychology
      • C&I 707 Theories, Models, and Research of Teaching

Curriculum, Literacy and Cultural Studies

A student working in this Major Area of Study who chooses to focus on Culture might develop a Plan of Study like the following:

  1. Theoretical Foundations Core
    • EDLS 603 Principles of Educational Leadership
    • EDP 700 Psychological Foundations of Learning
    • SCFD 600 Sociology of Education
    • EDP 794 Seminar: Nature of Inquiry
  2. Research Core
    • EdP 612 Introduction to Educational Research
    • EdP 613 Statistics I
    • EdP 614 Statistics II
    • SCFD 615 Qualitative Research
    • SCFD 715 Advanced Qualitative Methods
  3. Mentored Teaching Practicum
    • 12 credit hours in Teaching and Research Activities
  4. Major Area of Study
    • Two Required Courses (6 hours) in
      • SCFD 620 Philosophy of Education
      • C&I 701 Curriculum Development
    • Nine additional courses (27 hours) such as:
      • SCFD 640 History of American Education
      • C&I 707 Curriculum Theories and Models
      • C&I 708 Contemporary Determinants in Curriculum
      • RDNG 726 Literacy Leadership
      • C&I 689 Education that is Multicultural
      • EDP 617 Program Evaluation
      • EDLS 755 Higher Education Law
      • SCFD 791 John Dewey Seminar
      • EDP 640 Instructional Design
Interdisciplinary PhD in Education