This group recommends the admission of students, approves study plans, and addresses issues which will facilitate the work of doctoral students. In addition, faculty from every school of the institution are recruited as senior advisors, members of study plan and dissertation committees, and serve as well as independent study advisors. As reflective and experienced practitioners, students come to Lesley already aware of unresolved issues related to their work and the field of education. The task of the Educational Studies program is to further student inquiry and research on the individual and social processes of learning and teaching. The program is three-tiered.
Students first work with faculty to construct a study plan.
This document describes the landscape of the students' professional experiences and training and how they will acquire new information and skills to broaden their interests and understanding. Then students set out to work through the plan through study, research and completion of a qualifying paper. The final stage is the research writing and defending of their doctoral dissertations. The study plan is one of the most important and defining characteristics of Lesley's Ph.D. program. Whereas doctoral students at most other institutions are left to their own devices, Lesley's program has built within it a faculty-assisted process whereby the student not only comes up with a plan for study but also a personal assessment of their relevant experiences and knowledge to date.