Doctoral Program Curriculum

The capstone of the HGSE doctoral program is the investigation of an important question within the field of education, conducting original research on it, which culminates in a dissertation. All students are required to complete at least half of their total coursework at HGSE. The program includes three basic phases: the completion of coursework, the qualifying paper phase, and the dissertation phase.

To prepare for the dissertation, doctoral candidates are required to take a minimum of 16 courses: 7 core courses and 9 electives, generally in 2-3 years. All students are required to complete at least half of their total coursework at HGSE. Coursework may extend into the third year if fewer than 4 courses are taken each semester, or if the student elects to complete more elective courses. Students complete a qualifying paper (QP), and prepare a rigorous dissertation proposal prior to entering the dissertation phase.

The program requirements listed below are for four of the concentrations (Education Policy, Leadership, and Instructional Practice; Human Development and Education; Culture, Communities, and Education; and Higher Education). In addition to the core requirements of the doctoral program, the Quantitative Policy Analysis in Education (QPAE) concentration requires specific coursework in research methods and disciplinary study, and a research apprenticeship. The Urban Superintendents Program (USP) follows an accelerated plan of study, wherein students complete required courses within one calendar year and participate in a six-month internship prior to beginning the qualifying paper and dissertation phase.

Core Courses (7 Courses)

1. First-year core course, Integrating Perspectives on Education (8 credits, year-long), a foundations course that spans the history, philosophy, theories and current controversies in the five concentrations. Team-taught by faculty members, this integrated course will offer the cohort of incoming doctoral students the opportunity to work across the concentrations with students who have a variety of career goals and interests.

2. Five courses in research methods or research intensive courses, to prepare doctoral students with the inquiry and methodology skills critical to create useable knowledge for educators.

• An introductory course on qualitative and quantitative research methods. For those beginning the doctoral program during the 2006-07 academic year, students will take the following research modules:
  • S-010Y: Answering Questions with Quantitative Data
  • One of the following courses:
    • S504: Doing and Writing about Qualitative Research
    • S-710B: Participant Observation in Context
    • S-710C: Qualitative Interviewing in Context
• S-030A or S-030B: Intermediate Statistics
• One additional qualitative research course of the student's preference (total 6 credits in qualitative research methods)
• Two advanced methods or research-intensive courses

Elective Courses (9 courses)

HGSE doctoral students are encouraged to draw upon the educational opportunities throughout the school and across the wider University. In preparation for their dissertation and their eventual careers as faculty members, researchers, and practitioners, students can create specializations to meet their individual needs. Some of these specializations might be in substitution for rather than in addition to the above requirements. Examples of how students accomplish their goals are:

• A student who wants to master a discipline like sociology, psychology, or economics would have the opportunity to take as many as six courses in a Faculty of Arts and Sciences department.
• A student who wants to work in a school system as the director of literacy would have the opportunity to earn a master's degree in the Language and Literacy program, to take specialized courses on language across Harvard, and to do a field placement in a school system.
• A student who wants to become a professor in an education school would have the opportunity to take courses across concentrations, and enroll in courses in the disciplines, to build breadth in the field of education and teach in our teacher education program.
• Building on the strengths of our quantitative faculty, a student might focus on courses at HGSE and at other Harvard faculties to create a unique preparation for a career in quantitative assessment.
• A student who wants to become a policy analyst could enroll in the Education Policy concentration, take courses at the Kennedy School of Government, and do a field placement in a government agency or an NGO.

Cross-Registration

Many HGSE doctoral students enroll in courses at other Harvard schools, including the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), Harvard Business School (HBS), and the Kennedy School of Government (KSG). For more information about cross-registering at other Harvard schools, please visit: https://crossreg.harvard.edu/

HGSE Course Catalogue

For more information about HGSE course offerings, view the entire HGSE course catalogue.