
School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration
www.kent.edu/ehhs/fla
Examples of Possible Careers*
Education teachers, postsecondary
- 4.8% about as fast as the average
- 77,300 number of jobs
- $65,440 potential earnings
Contact Information
- Program Coordinator: Tricia Niesz | tniesz@kent.edu | 330-672-0591
- Chat with an Admissions Counselor
Fully Offered
- Delivery:
- In person
- Location:
- Kent Campus
Admission Terms
- Fall
- Spring
- Summer
*Note
Source of occupation titles and labor data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.
Description
The Ph.D degree in Cultural Foundations explores education through a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives: philosophy of education, history of education, sociology of education, comparative/international education, anthropology of education, gender studies, multicultural studies and religious studies. Students examine the social contexts of education, with particular emphasis on critical questions concerning structural inequalities and considerations of access to education, distribution of educational opportunity and successful navigation of educational systems; normative considerations about the purposes of education; and interpretive understandings of the nature of educational experience and the transformative potential of education.
Students in the doctoral program work closely with faculty to generate dissertation topics that seek to add something new to existing scholarship in their chosen area of study within the field of education.
Graduates have the knowledge, critical understandings and interpretive skills to analyze and assess educational theories, policies and practices, as well as to lead and promote innovative practices in a range of educational settings and social contexts. Recent graduates have embarked on new careers or been promoted in their existing institutions in governmental agencies, K-12 school systems, institutions of higher education and nongovernmental organizations, both nationally and internationally.
Admission Requirements
- Master's degree from an accredited college or university
- Minimum 3.500 graduate GPA on a 4.000 point scale
- Official transcript(s)
- Résumé or vita
- Goal statement
- Two letters of recommendation
- Writing sample
- Interview
- 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 (paper-based version)
- Minimum 79 TOEFL IBT score (Internet-based version)
- Minimum 77 MELAB score
- Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
- Minimum 58 PTE score
- Minimum 110 Duolingo English Test score
Applicants will be assessed holistically, considering academic credentials, related professional experience, academic or professional references, scholarly activities and professional activities, among others. For more information about graduate admissions, please visit the Graduate Studies admission website. For more information on international admission, visit the Office of Global Education’s admission website.
Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of the program will be able to:
- Analyze the social, cultural, economic and political conditions that shape education in domestic and international contexts.
- Analyze pressing social issues related to education from a foundational point of view.
- Critically engage a range of theoretical approaches to understanding education.
- Examine dynamics of social differentiation, power and injustice related to education in and out of school.
- Theorize education’s contribution to social justice.
- Develop facility with the range of social science and humanities-oriented research methods and modes of analysis in the field of social foundations of education.
- Conduct independent research resulting in an original contribution to knowledge in the field of cultural foundations of education.
- Bring foundational research to bear on the intellectual and organizational aspects of their professions, schools and communities.
Program Requirements
Major Requirements
Code | Title | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|
Major Requirements | ||
CULT 80050 | HUMANITIES-ORIENTED RESEARCH IN EDUCATION | 3 |
CULT 80090 | DOCTORAL RESIDENCY SEMINAR | 3 |
CULT 80199 | DISSERTATION I 1 | 30 |
CULT 89581 | PROSEMINAR IN CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS | 3 |
Research, Measurement and Statistics (RMS) doctoral-level electives, as approved by advisor | 6 | |
Specialized research as approved by faculty advisor | 3 | |
Major Focus Electives, choose from the following: | 30 | |
VARIABLE TOPIC WORKSHOP IN CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS | ||
CLASSICS IN PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION | ||
MULTICULTURAL THEORIES AND SCHOLARSHIP IN EDUCATION | ||
CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION | ||
HISTORY OF AMERICAN EDUCATION | ||
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION: FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES | ||
GLOBALIZATION AND EDUCATION | ||
ANTHROPOLOGY AND EDUCATION | ||
SOCIAL CONTEXTS OF EDUCATION: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND THEORY | ||
MULTICULTURAL EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE AND POLICY | ||
ETHICS IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE | ||
COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION | ||
SOCIAL THEORIES IN EDUCATION | ||
SEMINAR IN CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS | ||
ADVANCED PRACTICUM AND INTERNSHIP IN CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS | ||
SPECIAL TOPICS IN CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS | ||
INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATION IN CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS | ||
RESEARCH IN CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS | ||
VARIABLE CONTENT SEMINAR: GREAT IDEAS IN EDUCATION | ||
Other courses, as approved by faculty advisor | ||
Minimum Total Credit Hours: | 78 |
- 1
Upon admission to candidacy each doctoral candidate, must register for CULT 80199. It is expected that a doctoral candidate will continuously register for Dissertation I for a total of 30 credit hours, and thereafter CULT 80299, each semester until all requirements for the degree have been met.
Graduation Requirements
Students whose background is not related to the cultural foundations of education may be required to complete a maximum of 9 additional credit hours of foundational coursework. After admission to the program, students plan a program of study with their respective faculty advisory committee headed by their advisor. A midpoint formative review presentation and comprehensive exam are required.