What are the PhD degree requirements?

Students must complete a minimum of 96 semester hours of graduate work beyond the baccalaureate or 64 semester hours beyond the master’s degree.

The degree requirements consist of coursework, a research project, two preliminary exams, and a doctoral dissertation.

This is an on-campus program. The course requirements are a combination of College of Education courses and Department of Medical Education courses. The College of Education courses, which are weekly 3-hour courses, must be taken on-campus, in-person in Chicago. The Department of Medical Education courses can be completed either in an intensive format (1-2 weeks) on-campus, in-person in Chicago or online* (full semester).

College of Education Core and Methodology Course Requirements: 24 credit hours

• ED 502: Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry in Educational Research, 4 hrs
• ED 503: Essentials of Quantitative Inquiry in Education, 4 hrs
• ED 504: Urban Contexts and Educational Research, 4 hrs
• ED 505: Introduction to Educational Research: Paradigms and Processes, 4 hrs
• ED 506: Introduction to Educational Research: Designs and Analysis, 4 hrs
• Additional Methodology Elective, 4 hrs

College of Education Curriculum Studies Concentration: 5 credit hours

• CI 574: Foundations of Curriculum Studies, 4 hrs
• CI 500: Curriculum Studies Pro-seminar, 1 hr

Health Professions Education Strand: 16 credit hours

For students who do not already hold a Master’s degree in health professions education –
Department of Medical Education Core Course Requirements:

• MHPE 501: Scholarship in Health Professions Education (HPE), 4 hrs
• MHPE 502: Instruction and Assessment in HPE, 4 hrs
• MHPE 503: Curriculum and Evaluation in HPE, 4 hrs
• MHPE 504: Leadership in HPE, 4 hrs

For students who already hold a Master’s degree in health professions education, 16 credit hours of courses in the College of Education, Department of Medical Education or other UIC units are selected with the advisor.

Other courses:

For students holding a Master’s degree: 3 credit hours

Other courses, selected with advisor, in the College of Education, Department of Medical Education or other UIC units, 3 hrs

For students holding a Bachelor’s degree: 35 credit hours

Other courses, selected with advisor, in the College of Education, Department of Medical Education or other UIC units, 35 hrs

Research Project: 4 credit hours

CI 593: Participation in a DME faculty research project, 4 hrs (spread over 1 or 2 semesters)

Preliminary Exams:

Written and Oral Preliminary Exams, 0 hrs

Dissertation: 12 credit hours

CI 599: Dissertation research, jointly supervised by DME and COE faculty, 12 hrs

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*some online course registration restrictions may apply and some online courses do require students to participate in a one-week intensive on-campus, in-person session in Chicago during the last week of July each year.