Ph.D. in Education

The Ph.D. in Education is a rigorous, research-intensive program designed for scholars, practitioners, and leaders committed to advancing the field of education through original research, critical inquiry, and transformative practice. The program prepares graduates to make significant contributions to the development of educational theory, policy, and practice at the highest level.

The Ph.D. in Education program is structured to:

• Prepare graduates for academic, policy, and leadership roles in education and beyond.
• Cultivate advanced research skills for investigating complex educational issues.
• Develop a deep theoretical and methodological foundation across disciplines.
• Promote innovation in teaching, learning, equity, and leadership.
• Empower students to influence educational practice, policy, and scholarship.

The student and the faculty adviser determine a program of study for a Ph.D. student and must conform to division and department requirements. 18 courses (72 units) are required for the degree, as indicated below. At least 10 of the total courses must be in the 200 series.

• 3 Proseminar courses:
  • Education and Society
  • Learning and Development Across Contexts
  • Designing for and Evaluating Education Transformation
• 5 Methodological Foundations Course covering:
  • Reflection on Research Methods in Education
  • Introductory Qualitative Research Courses
  • Introductory Quantitative Research Courses
  • Advanced Methods Courses
• Electives:
  • Content courses in areas of interest (7 courses)
  • Advanced methods (3 courses)
  • Up to 3 electives can be taken outside of the department

Fall Quarter

• Fall Pro Seminar: Education and Society
• ED 243: Reflections on Research Methods in Education
• Elective in consultation with faculty advisor

Winter Quarter

• Winter Pro Seminar: Language and Development Across Contexts
• ED 222A: Introductory Qualitative Research Course
• ED 230A: Introductory Quantitative Research Course
• Elective in consultation with faculty advisor (optional)

Spring Quarter

• Spring Pro Seminar: Designing for and Evaluating Educational Transformation
• ED 222B: Qualitative Data Reduction and Analysis
• ED 230B: Linear Statistical Models in Social Science Research
• Elective in consultation with faculty advisor (optional)
• Doctoral Screening Exam for doctoral student who entered program without a prior master’s degree.

Year 1 – Complete minimum of 9 courses: 3 proseminars, 5 methods, 1-3 electives

Fall Quarter

• Begin 3 advanced methods courses and additional electives
• Select Written Qualifying Exam format (empirical/meta-analysis/systematic review)

Winter/Spring Quarters

• Complete advanced methods and additional electives
• Work on the Written Qualifying Exam
• Submit Written Qualifying Exam (Week 10)

Year 2 – Complete 9 additional courses: 3 advanced methods, 6 electives in alignment with research interests

Advancing to candidacy

Fall Quarter

• Present Written Qualifying Exam at Research & Inquiry Symposium (Week 0)
• Submit Dissertation Memo (goals, RQs, methods, reading list)

Winter Quarter

• Nominate dissertation committee members
• Create an undergraduate course syllabus

Spring Quarter

• Form dissertation committee (by end of quarter)
• Begin dissertation proposal writing

Dissertation Phase

Fall Quarter

• Completion dissertation proposal
• Share the proposal with committee members
• Schedule proposal defense

Winter/Spring Quarters

• Oral defense of dissertation proposal (closed)
• Begin dissertation research and data collection
• Continue seeking research funding

Dissertation Phase

Fall/Winter Quarters

• Completion of dissertation research and analysis
• Draft dissertation chapters
• Share drafts with advisor regularly
• Begin job search preparation

Spring Quarter

• Share the complete manuscript with the committee
• Schedule dissertation defense
• Execute job search

Community Building & Professional Development

• Engaged in 10 hours per week of research with faculty advisor each year until Advanced to Candidacy
• Collaboratives (e.g., Language, Learning and Literacy)
• Thursday Forums: a one-unit course each year of study in years 1-3
• Peer Mentoring
• Learning Cafes
• Social Gatherings

Individual

• Annual Research Symposium
• Conference Proposals & Attendance
• Fellowship Applications
• Research Partnerships
• Academic Organization Membership

• Apply by December 1, 2025
• Selected applicants will be invited to participate in an interview.
• Receive admissions decision.
• Accept/decline admission.
• Provide necessary documentation to confirm admission.

View our step-by-step application guide.

Fall 2026 Education M.A./Ph.D. Online Information Sessions (All times Pacific)

Click on date/time to join Zoom session.

• Thursday, July 17, 5-6 p.m.
• Thursday, August 28, 12-1 p.m.
• Friday, September 12, 9-10 a.m.
• Wednesday, October 8, 5-6 p.m.

Dissertation Year Award

Application Deadline: Friday, March 20, 2026 at 4pm.

Purpose of the Award 

The Dissertation Year Award is intended to support doctoral students who are advanced to candidacy at the time of nomination and are within one year of completing and filing their dissertation.

Award Amount 

Standard tuition and fees (excluding non-mandatory fees, nonresident supplemental tuition, and professional degree supplemental tuition, if applicable).

$30,000 in student financial support 

Eligibility

• Students must be officially advanced to doctoral candidacy no later than the end of Winter Quarter 2026 (March 20, 2026).
• Eligible students must be one of the following: 1) U.S. citizens; 2) permanent residents; 3) international students; 4) Undocumented student eligible for AB540. For international students, funding is subject to eligibility with regard to visa type. For those under AB40, funding will be provided only if AB131 is still in effect for the duration of the award.
• Students may only be nominated one time for the Dissertation Year Award. Second nominations will be allowed in the 2025-2026 cycle by exception. The department is expected to address why the student did not complete the program in 2024-2025 since their completion was attested by the department at the time of the student’s nomination. Second nominations will not be allowed starting in the 2026-2027 award cycle.
• Students may be nominated for the UC President’s Pre-Professoriate Award (UC PPPF) and the DYA in the same year. If a student is awarded both, the student must choose one.
• Students who have previously received any dissertation award DGE funds or outside agencies (such as, but not limited to, the UC President’s Pre-Professoriate Fellowship, AERA Minority Dissertation Fellowship, NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship, Haines Lindley Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships) are not eligible for a DYA.
• Students who are current or past recipients of dissertation awards provided by outside funding sources that are for the student’s final year of dissertation writing are not eligible for the DYA.
• Cota-Robles awardees with multi-year extramural funding (e.g., NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program) are not eligible to apply for the Dissertation Year Award.

Expectations & Requirements

• It is expected that students receiving the Dissertation Year Award will not be employed more than 25% time during the award period.
• Award recipients must complete all degree requirements within 12 months of beginning their dissertation awards, this includes filing the dissertation on or before September 10, 2027. Students will be asked to submit a progress report at the midpoint of the award period. Failure to submit a progress report by the deadline will result in suspension of payment for subsequent terms.
• Recipients must be registered and enrolled in at least 12 units each quarter of the award year (not required for summer terms). Awardees with summer DYA funding must have been registered /enrolled in the previous Spring and must plan to register/enroll in the following Fall. If not, their summer funding will be cancelled, and it will have to be repaid.
• Recipients must hold a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 during the entire award period.

Failure to meet requirements may result in suspension or cancellation of funding.

Application Materials

By applying, students understand that they are giving their consent to disclose application information to University officials and to relevant funding committees.

Applicants must submit the following as a single PDF file (unless otherwise noted):

1. Proposed Plan for Completing the Dissertation. This document should be written so that the work will be understandable, and its significance appreciated by faculty who are not experts in the student’s field. The document must also provide evidence that the student can successfully complete the dissertation in the award year. A feasible and clear timeline for completion is an important factor in the selection process. The student’s name and “Proposed Plan for Completing the Dissertation” should appear at the top of each page. The plan should also describe or include:
   1. A brief abstract that summarizes the following in a manner appropriate to the subject or discipline (150-300 word maximum):
      1. motivation, context and/or foreground for the research;
      2. question or hypothesis being addressed;
      3. theoretical framework, experimental approach or research methodology;
      4. preliminary findings;
      5. innovation, significance and/or impact of the work.
      6. Typically, the abstract is about 150 to a maximum of 300 words in length. It is essential that it be written for faculty who may not be expert in the student’s field of research.
   2. A brief introduction that provides background and context for the work.
   3. A research plan that describes the current status of the research and the plan for addressing the remaining research aims/goals to complete the dissertation. This section may include images, graphs, and/or tables, if appropriate.
      1. If applicable, the plan should include information on sampling, instrumentation, data sources and collection, analyses and expected results. A synopsis of preliminary results or analyses may be incorporated as space permits.
   4. A detailed timeline with projected monthly progress for the remaining research, writing, revision, and defense of the dissertation.
   5. The Proposed Plan must be a maximum of four pages double spaced. Minimum font size is 11 pt., with at least 1” margins. Any images, captions, graphs, tables, notes and/or references may be single spaced, but must be 11pt. font and included within the four pages. Pages in excess of four pages will not be forwarded for review.
2. Unofficial Graduate Transcript. The transcript must Fall 2025 grades. A transcript printed from MyUCLA is acceptable. Do not submit a Degree Progress Report (DPR).
   • Students who have incomplete grades that remain unresolved (i.e., “I” grades) are strongly encouraged to provide a statement explaining the context surrounding the incomplete(s) and how the student is moving forward with their degree progress.

3. Personal Statement. The statement must include the student’s career goals after receiving the degree (maximum two pages, double-spaced, 11 pt font with 1” margins – an accessible font, such as Calibri, Arial or Aptos is required).

4. Curriculum Vitae or Resume. Your CV should include the following items:
   1. Education (degrees earned and in progress, with dates; date of advancement to doctoral candidacy)
   2. Extramural, departmental and DGE awards and prizes (include year and amount)
   3. Published and submitted manuscripts, if any, during the student’s doctoral program at UCLA. Provide full citations, including start/end pages. Do not include manuscripts in preparation.
   4. Conference presentations, if any, during the doctoral program at UCLA. Indicate the conference date and place, and whether it was a poster or oral presentation. If there are multiple authors/presenters, place an asterisk by the student’s name.
5. Two Letters of Recommendation (submitted directly by recommenders)
   1. Letters must be signed and on department letterhead
   2. One must be from your dissertation chair
   3. Recommenders will receive submission instructions from the department once applicants enter their names

Letters are due by the application deadline.

Submission Instructions

• All application documents (except recommendation letters) must be combined into one PDF and submitted via the department’s submission form (link forthcoming on the department website).
• Recommenders will upload letters directly to the secure portal.

Late or incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Activation Term Options

Awardees will select one of three options for DYA activation in their application submission.

Option	Summer 2026	Fall 2026	Winter 2027	Spring 2027
1		$10,000 stipend + Tuition/Fees	$10,000 stipend + Tuition/Fees	$10,00 stipend + Tuition/Fees
2	$7,500 stipend	$7,500 stipend + Tuition/Fees	$7,500 stipend + Tuition/Fees	$7,500 stipend + Tuition/Fees
3	$10,000 stipend	$10,000 stipend + Tuition/Fees	$10,000 stipend + Tuition/Fees	Tuition/Fees

Note that the DYA does not cover the fee(s) related to the dissertation filing fee.

Offers made to awardees will be set according to this selection. Whichever start date is selected, the awardee should file their dissertation by Friday, September 10, 2027. This is essential information for reviewers to evaluate the likelihood that the work will be completed within the proposed time frame.

Award Review Process & Notification

Applications will be reviewed and ranked by the Doctoral Programming Committee. Students are notified during the Spring quarter via e-mail as soon as award decisions are made. Do not expect notification before April. If applicants have not received an email after the published Decision date, they should contact their staff graduate advisor/Student Affairs Officer.

Download these instructions.