Current Program of Study
The program of studies, (i.e., the courses and curriculum) for the Ph.D. in Education, Culture, Curriculum and Teacher Education (CCTE) requires a minimum of 48-54 credit hours, made up of 4 parts:
- 21 credit hours of Required Core Courses for the Ph.D. in Education;
- 12-18 credit hours of Required Core Courses for the CCTE Research Strand;
- 12-16 credit hours of Electives;
- 6 Dissertation Credits
Note: CCTE doctoral students are given flexibility and assistance to declare concentration areas and develop pertinent knowledge claims through the Program of Studies process. More specifically, CCTE doctoral students work very closely from day one with their advisors to ensure that all coursework will be considered appropriate for their academic aspirations.
Ph.D. Core Courses
The following courses are required for all Ph.D.in Education candidates. As foundational courses for the rest of the program, you should plan to take them in your first, or at the latest second, year of coursework.
- EDUC 710: Statistical Analysis of Educational Data (or prerequisite), 3 hrs
- EDUC 824: Foundations of Educational Research
- EDUC 825: Development and Learning, 3 hrs
- EDUC 830: Field Techniques in Educational Research, 3 hrs
- EDUC 867: Issues in Ed Policy and Research, 3 hrs
- EDUC 876: Histories of Schooling: Culture, Curriculum, and Change, 3 hrs
- 1 advanced research methods course, any type (i.e., quantitative, qualitative, mixed), 3 hrs
CCTE Core Courses
You are required to complete the following 12 credit hours for the CCTE strand:
- EDUC 754: Teachers, Teaching and Teacher Education, 3 hrs
- EDUC 776: Gender, Race and Class Issues, 3 hrs
- EDUC 851: Curriculum Theory, 3 hrs
Additional CCTE core courses for students entering the program Fall 2026 or after include:
- EDUC 868: Qualitative Research II: Data Collection
- EDUC 869: Qualitative Research III: Data Analysis
- EDUC 771: Professional Seminar – Culture, Curriculum, and Teacher Education (1 credit hour, to be taken each semester for the first 6 semesters)
Elective Courses
The list below are approved elective courses. With approvel from your advisor, you can also take courses from other Ph.D. in Education strands, from other UNC-Chapel Hill academic departments, or from other universities (e.g., Duke, NC State, etc.).
- EDUC 764: Current Issues in Literacy, 3 hrs
- EDUC 868: Advanced Qualitative Methods, 3 hrs
- EDUC 869: Qualitative Research III: Data Analysis
- EDUC 878: Critical Discourse Analysis, 3 hrs
- EDUC 922: Mixed-Methods Research, 3 hrs
- EDUC 977: Autoethnography in/as Education Research, 3 hrs
Dissertation Hours Requirements
6 credit hours minimum over at least 2 semesters
- EDUC 994: Doctoral Research and Dissertation, 3 hrs
Important Notes
- Students must enroll in at least 9 credit hours each term to be considered full time. Maximum credit hours permitted per semester is 16.
- All courses must be approved by the student’s Program of Studies Committee, including any substitutions or transfers.
- Students have 8 calendar years from date of first registration to complete all requirements for the degree.
- With approval from the POS committee, the doctoral candidate can also take courses from other Ph.D. in Education concentrations,from other UNC-Chapel Hill academic departments, or from other universities (e.g., Duke, NC State, etc.)
- Students enrolled Fall 2014 and earlier should follow the program of study for pre-2015 cohorts. All students Fall 2015 and later should follow the program of study outlined on this page.
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