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Doctor of Philosophy - Educational Policy Studies
Program Overview
The School of Education and Human Development’s program in Educational Policy provides students with preparation that draws on a theoretical foundation and employs appropriate methods to offer evidence on important questions in educational policy. The program is organized on four components: strong preparation in methods that permit causal inference, a grounding in a social science discipline, an understanding of the working of schools, and a strong knowledge of the existing educational policy landscape and literature. Students who don’t hold a masters in public policy or economics typically pursue the MPP through UVA’s Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy simultaneously with the PhD.
We employ an apprenticeship model where students work closely with faculty on research projects to examine the impact of a variety of educational policies on student outcomes. These projects are often in collaboration with federal, state or local policymakers. Graduates are prepared to take positions in academia or research organizations.
Total Number of Credits required
72 credit hours total, 60 credit hours of coursework
List of required core courses
Research Methods (18 credit hours)
Social Sciences (9 credit hours)
Educational Policy (6 credit hours)
Research apprenticeship (12 credit hours)
Dissertation credit hours (12 credit hours)
Other Program requirements
Qualifying Literature review
Qualifying paper proposal
Culminating Experience
Students must complete the doctoral dissertation in accordance with the School of Education and Human Development’s doctoral dissertation guidelines.
