College of Education Health and Human Services
School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences
www.kent.edu/ehhs/ldes

About This Program

The Learning Science Ph.D. program provides advanced training in research and theory to prepare you for a leadership role in education. Read more...

Contact Information

• Program Coordinator: Bradley Morris | bmorri20@kent.edu | 330-672-2294
• Connect with an Admissions Counselor: U.S. Student | International Student

Program Delivery

• Delivery:
  • In person
• Location:
  • Kent Campus

Examples of Possible Careers

• University professor
• Human behavior researcher
• K-12 teacher
• Data analyst
• Curriculum specialist
• Academic counseling
• Assessment specialist
• Educational research
• Program evaluation
• Data scientist
• Researcher for business/industry
• Marketing
• Advertising

For more information about graduate admissions, visit the graduate admission website. For more information on international admissions, visit the international admission website.

Admission Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university
• Minimum 2.750 undergraduate and graduate GPA on a 4.000-point scale
• Minimum 18 credit hours of courses in psychology, education or related fields (including a course in statistics)
• Official transcript(s)
• Research experience and broad background in educational psychology, psychology or related fields
• Goal statement
• Three letters of recommendation
• Interview
• Effective with spring 2024 admission term, a curriculum vitae will be required
• English language proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning one of the following:
  • Minimum 550 TOEFL PBT score
  • Minimum 79 TOEFL IBT score
  • Minimum 77 MELAB score
  • Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
  • Minimum 58 PTE score
  • Minimum 110 Duolingo English score

Application Deadlines

• Fall Semester
  • Priority deadline: January 1
    Applications submitted by this deadline will receive the strongest consideration for admission.

Program Requirements

¹

Post-baccalaureate students may use additional program electives to fulfill requirements for the M.A. degree. These courses may be taken at either the doctoral or master's level.

²

Upon admission to candidacy, each doctoral candidate must register for LRNS 80199. It is expected that a doctoral candidate will continuously register for Dissertation I for a total of 30 credit hours, and thereafter LRNS 80299 each semester until all requirements for the degree have been met.

Candidacy

Students who have been admitted into the doctoral program will be considered for Ph.D. candidacy after they have met all requirements for the master's degree. In addition, the department reserves the right to separate from the program a student who, in the opinion of a duly constituted departmental committee, is not likely to succeed professionally despite earning acceptable grades.

Graduation Requirements

• The doctoral program requires a minimum of four years of full-time attendance for holders of the bachelor's degree.
• All doctoral students complete a
  • program of basic core courses,
  • select additional courses and seminars with the aid of a faculty advisor and
  • master's thesis and a doctoral dissertation.
• A limited number of graduate courses outside the department may be credited toward graduation.
• Doctoral program aspirants who do not hold a master's degree upon starting the program must complete all the requirements for the M.A. degree in Learning Science.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Inform and enhance practice based on deep knowledge of research, theories and principles of cognition, learning and development.
2. Synthesize and critically evaluate scholarly articles and texts.
3. Apply principles of research design to create rigorous experiments and studies.
4. Analyze and interpret quantitative data using appropriate cutting-edge methodologies and tools.
5. Develop scientific writing skills in order to effectively communicate research findings to the scientific community and practitioners.
6. Design and conduct empirical research to investigate the cognitive and developmental basis for effective teaching and learning practices.
7. Disseminate original, empirical research through scholarly presentations, conferences and publications.

Full Description

The Ph.D. degree in Learning Science provides an advanced and interdisciplinary study in the principles of human cognition, learning and development. The program provides rigorous training in the theoretical foundations of cognition, learning and development, as well as research design, instrumentation, quantitative analysis and research application.

Graduates are qualified to become faculty at the university level and are also prepared for careers in a variety of industry and government settings conducting research and guiding the application of evidence-based practices.