Students must pass a portfolio review after 12 units, complete a total of 60 units of course work, and successfully complete and defend a doctoral dissertation. The Foundation Four courses, normally completed the first year are Psychological Foundations of Education, Applied Educational Statistics, Research Methods, and Cognitive Psychology. All students take these four at the beginning of the doctoral program and will not be allowed to advance in the program until these four courses and a qualifying student portfolio have been successfully completed. These are fundamental skills needed to successfully complete a doctoral dissertation. The qualifying portfolio includes a course product from each of the Foundation Four courses.
Students normally take at least three courses in their second year in the program.
Two of these courses address, Educational Measurement and Advanced Statistics, address fundamental measurement and data analysis issues. Models of Teaching and Instruction, one of the core conceptual courses offered by the department, surveys a variety of research approaches to the study of teaching and instruction. Students are required to take at least one course from each of these four areas. Since students are already required to take Methods of Teaching and Instruction and Cognitive Psychology, they must take one course from both the learner characteristics and the outcomes areas. Currently the department offers courses in human abilities, motivation, program evaluation, and performance-based assessment.