College of Education Health and Human Services
School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration
www.kent.edu/ehhs/fla

About This Program

Empower yourself as a thought leader in education with our Ph.D. degree in Cultural Foundations, offering a comprehensive curriculum that prepares you to critically examine, interpret and shape educational policies and practices, driving positive change in the field. Read more...

Contact Information

• Program Coordinator: Tricia Niesz | tniesz@kent.edu | 330-672-0591
• Connect with an Admissions Counselor: U.S. Student | International Student

Program Delivery

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

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries*

^{* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes 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.}

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

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.

Application Deadlines

• Fall Semester
  • Priority deadline: March 15
• Spring Semester
  • Priority deadline: October 15
• Summer Term
  • Priority deadline: February 1

Applications submitted by this deadline will receive the strongest consideration for admission.

Program Requirements

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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.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the program will be able to:

1. Analyze the social, cultural, economic and political conditions that shape education in domestic and international contexts.
2. Analyze pressing social issues related to education from a foundational point of view.
3. Critically engage a range of theoretical approaches to understanding education.
4. Examine dynamics of social differentiation, power and injustice related to education in and out of school.
5. Theorize education’s contribution to social justice.
6. 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.
7. Conduct independent research resulting in an original contribution to knowledge in the field of cultural foundations of education.
8. Bring foundational research to bear on the intellectual and organizational aspects of their professions, schools and communities.

Full 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.