Doctoral Degree Program

[Click here for Print Version of Doctoral Degree Program Information and Degree Worksheet]

The Ph.D. program is designed specifically for professionals who desire tenure-track research, teaching, and administrative positions in postsecondary education. The Ph.D. program offers academic concentrations in physical education teacher education, coach education, adapted physical education, and athletic administration.

Admission Requirements

Admission to doctoral study in the Department of Sports Education Leadership will be granted to qualified applicants based on a combination of the following:

1. A Masters degree from an accredited college or university

2. Official copies of all postsecondary transcripts

3. Professional vita or resume

4. Evidence of writing ability with appropriate examples including excerpt from a master's thesis, professional paper, or published article

5. Three letters of recommendation from previous instructors and/or professional colleagues attesting to the applicant's ability to complete doctoral study

6. A detailed statement explaining why the student desires admission to the program;

7. One personal interview with the graduate faculty committee within the program

8. Satisfactory GRE test scores (taken within five years from the date of application for admission)

9. TOEFL scores are required of international students with a preferred minimum of 550

Interviews will be conducted in April.

Degree Requirements

The Doctoral program is comprised of 66 hours of coursework beyond the Masters degree. Coursework requirements are as follows: Content Knowledge (18 hours), Research Requirements (15 hours), Cognate Coursework (18 hours; two 9 hour cognate concentrations), and Dissertation (15 hours). Individual programs of study may exceed minimum requirements and specific coursework will vary depending on particular interest. Students must maintain a GPA of 3.00 or higher for all course work taken at the doctoral level.

Scholarly Product Requirement

Each student must satisfy a scholarly product requirement. This requirement can be met in one of two ways:

students may submit a research study to a refereed journal for publication
students may submit a proposal for presentation of research at an annual conference of a national organization

Student Advisory Committees

Students are required to select a graduate advisory committee before completing 16 hours or by the 6 th week of the 1 st semester of admission if 12+ hours, taken prior to admission, will be considered as part of the degree program. Advisory committees must consist of three Sports Education Leadership graduate faculty members (one of which can be an associate graduate faculty member) and a graduate college representative from outside of the department. The chair of the advisory committee must be graduate faculty member in the Department of Sports Education Leadership. Advisory committees should be formed prior to the student's completion of 16 credit hours. The committee oversees the student's progress, including the comprehensive exams. A temporary advisor will be assigned until the student becomes acquainted with the faculty and should then select their own advisor.

Comprehensive Examination

The student takes the comprehensive examination during the semester immediately preceding enrollment in dissertation. The comprehensive examination consists of 6 questions in which the student is allotted two hours per question. Questions are constructed and scored by the students' advisory committee. Students must file intent to take comprehensive examinations, adhering to timelines cited for other graduate programs scheduled by the Graduate College and the Department of Sports Education Leadership. The examinations are scheduled on two successive Fridays, the first two Fridays in October or the first two Fridays in March. Students may petition the Sports Education Leadership Graduate Program Committee for permission to take comprehensive examinations in the summer or in an alternative set of consecutive Fridays.

The questions on the comprehensive examination address elements of Content Knowledge, Research Methodology, and Related Discipline Electives. The student's advisory committee provides general parameters from which questions are selected. "Take-home" examinations, in whole or in part, are not allowed. Students may use college provided technology for word-processing. Grading consists of two categories: Pass and Fail.

Upon receiving a passing grade for the written comprehensive examination, students will be required to pass an oral examination by their respective advisory committees. Students must successfully complete the written and oral comprehensive examinations before beginning the dissertation.

Application for Comprehensive Examination can be download below

Application for Comprehensive Examination [PDF]

Dissertation Proposal and Defense

Following the successful completion of the written and oral comprehensive examinations, the student must submit a dissertation proposal to the Doctoral Advisory Committee and submit the accompanying "Dissertation Prospectus Approval" form from the Graduate College . The Doctoral Advisory Committee will determine the acceptability of the prospectus.

Upon completion of the dissertation, a defense will be scheduled and conducted in accordance with the Graduate College 's policy for dissertation completion. Students should obtain The Graduate Student Guide and the Guide to Preparing and Submitting a Thesis or Dissertation from the Graduate College .

It is the student's responsibility to file all required paperwork (Dissertation Prospectus Approval, Notification of Oral or Written Examination) to the Graduate College in a timely manner.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE (18 Hours)

PED 780: Colloquium Course (6)*

And advisor approved course (3 to 12)**

* 3 hours of Colloquium must be taken during the course of your program: Must be enrolled for 1 hour during your first semester, must be enrolled for 1 hour at the time of Proposal, and must be enrolled for 1 hour at the time of Defense.

**If the student did not complete masters degree in the Department of Sports Education the following 9 hours must be included as part of the 18 hour content knowledge requirement

PED 705: Philosophy of Sport and Physical Education (3)

PED 750: Biophysical Foundations of Sport OR PED 730 (3)

PED 765: Survey and Analysis of Professional Literature in Physical Education and Curriculum Issues (3)

RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS (15 Hours)

Advisor approved courses

COGNATE COURSEWORK (18 Hours)

Students are required to select 2 cognate concentrations which will consist of 9 hours of coursework each.

Research

Behavior Analysis

Physical activity and Health

Adapted PE

Nutrition

Athletic Administration

Higher Education OR other advisor approved cognate concentration

DISSERTATION (15 Hours)

PED 796: Prospectus (3)

PED 799: Dissertation (12)