Application Process

At this time, no more applicants are being taken for this cohort.

The review of applicants will begin on May 1, 2012, to select a cohort of 15-18 students. Submitting an application before May 1, 2012, is strongly recommended. On a space available basis, applications received after May 1, 2012, will be considered. If space remains, applications received after the start of the Fall 2012 semester will be considered to start the program in Spring 2013. Applications will be considered "complete" without submission of GRE scores; but in all cases GRE scores must be received by the start of the first course taken by an applicant to this program.

Step 1: Apply to Texas Tech University's Graduate School.

• Since science education is one of several concentrations within the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, on the Graduate School Application Site "Curriculum and Instruction: MEd, PhD" is your "Field of Study and you can contact walter.smith@ttu.edu as your advisor.
• Submission of Graduate Records Exam (GRE) scores that are five years old or fewer is required. Information about the GRE can be found at gre.org.
• International applicants must also submit their Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score to the Graduate School.

Step 2: Apply to the College of Education.

• The College of Education requires the submission of an online application portfolio. Details and guidelines, as well as submission instructions, can be found on the College of Education degree website.

Step 3: Apply for financial aid and/or general scholarships.

Step 4: Upon acceptance to the Graduate School and the College of Education, you will work with a faculty advisor to develop a degree plan.

Program Requirements

Prerequisites

Applicants must have a master's degree from an accredited institution in science education or closely related field such as curriculum and instruction, elementary, middle or secondary education, or a science field. Applicants must have taken a graduate course in each of three areas: curriculum, instruction, and diversity. Any or all of these three courses may apply to a specific field (e.g., elementary science education) or to education in general. Examples of diversity courses include special education, diversity, or English as a Second Language.

By the start of their first course in the program, applicants must have had at least three years of successful science teaching in a public or private school at the elementary, middle and/or secondary level or an informal science setting.

Applicants must have completed undergraduate and/or graduate coursework in science consistent with their intended focus level after graduation. For example, applicants intending to work with secondary science teachers are expected to have a stronger science background than those who plan to work with elementary science teachers.

Prerequisites not completed at the time of admission must be completed by the end of the second year of doctoral study.

Course Requirements

In order to achieve the five signature outcomes of this doctoral program in science education, students will complete 30 hours in research courses (including 12 hours in dissertation) to demonstrate their skill as a science education researcher, and six hours each in science education change agency, science education advocacy, science education teacher leadership and global science education. Additionally students will complete 12 more hours of coursework that undergird these five outcomes.

Program Delivery

The majority of the 66 hours of coursework will be completed online but students will be required to attend as a group three intensive two-week mid-July sessions in 2013, 2014 and 2015 on the Lubbock campus of Texas Tech University and national conferences of the National Science Teachers Association (April 2013 in San Antonio), Association for Science Teacher Education (January 2014 in San Antonio), and National Association for Research in Science Teaching (2015 at TBA). Students must be committed to completing a predetermined set of courses as part of a cohort starting in Fall 2012. Additionally, students will be expected to complete coursework and additional expectations as outlined in the program requirements.

Admission Criteria

Interested applicants should have:

• A master's degree from an accredited institution in science education or closely related field such as curriculum and instruction, elementary, middle or secondary education, or a science field with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• Completed a graduate course in each of three areas: curriculum, instruction and diversity.
• An acceptable set of GRE scores.
• At least three years of successful K-12 science teaching in a public or private school and/or an informal science setting by the start of their first course in the program.
• A minimum of three references from professionals in the field of education. At least one of the references must speak to the strength of the applicant as a science teacher.

Preference will be given to applicants who have significant graduate work in science education. Applicants' undergraduate and/or graduate coursework should be commensurate with the grade level – elementary, middle or secondary – at which they plan to work; applicants planning to work at the secondary level are expected to have studied science to a greater extent than those who plan to work at lower levels.

Additional Expectations

In addition to meeting programmatic and degree requirements, students are expected to actively contribute to the profession. Students will be advised to do many of the following activities either as part of a course or as a separate activity:

• Presenting at a national or international professional conference, such as ASTE, NARST or NSTA.
• Submitting research manuscripts for publication.
• Submitting book reviews for publication.
• Contributing to the writing of a grant proposal.
• Serving as a reviewer of conference proposals.
• Serving as a reviewer of a journal article.