Advisory Phase
Once admitted into a C&I Doctoral program, students will be assigned an initial advisor or advisors from the C&I faculty in order to initiate the advisory phase.
Within the first three semesters of their course work, a student must organize an academic advisory committee. The advisory committee may or may not include the initial advisor(s). A student will then work with their advisory committee to complete a doctoral study prospectus (i.e., the plan of academic work during the advisory phase).
In addition to completing coursework requirements, students must also develop and implement a residency plan. The plan should include professional activities normally associated with life in an educational research institution and academic community setting (e.g., attendance and presentations at professional conferences, professional writing and publications, teaching undergraduate courses, workshops, attendance at doctoral defenses). Students may complete these activities collaboratively with faculty members or fellow doctoral students.
Upon completion of the coursework and other requirements listed on the student's prospectus and residency plan, the student engages in written and oral comprehensive examinations that cover academic work accomplished during the advisory phase. After the comprehensive examinations have been successfully completed, the student enters into Candidacy, better known as the dissertation phase of the doctoral program. At this point, the student's advisory phase committee is dissolved. The student is then responsible for organizing a dissertation committee.
Candidacy Phase
The Ph.D. candidate organizes their dissertation committee. This committee contains a minimum of three C&I faculty members and one faculty member from a Kent State University Ph.D. program other than Curriculum and Instruction (C&I).
The student works with the established committee to successfully write and defend a dissertation proposal. The student then proceeds through the dissertation process. The committee supervises the research progress and evaluates the final product. Once the student has successfully defended the dissertation, they receive the Ph.D.