Program

The Departments of Curriculum Studies, Educational Foundations, and Educational Psychology and Special Education support doctoral studies through the cross-departmental Ph.D. in Education.

The cross-departmental Ph.D. is a thesis-based research degree and graduates from this program may have goals of obtaining academic positions at other institutions and conducting education research for government, school divisions, First Nations and other research organizations. The program delivery is intended to be flexible with decisions on program delivery and specific program requirements decided by the student’s advisory committee. Students will be trained in educational research and have support from an advisory committee whose regular members draw expertise from Curriculum Studies (curriculum innovation, early childhood education, English as an additional language, and educational technology and design), Educational Foundations (social and ecological justice education, Indigenous Education), Educational Psychology and Special Education (including applied measurement and program evaluation, special education, and school-based assessment).

The cross-departmental Ph.D. program consists of a minimum of 15 credit units (nine required credit units focused on research methodology, plus six required credit units that support the student’s specific area of research). Students may also take up to six credit units of coursework through another Western Canadian university after a term of study, if these courses are approved as part of their official program of studies.

Program Information

Registration Policy
All graduate students will maintain continuous registration throughout their programs.

PhD students must register in ERES 996 each academic term throughout the program; September-December, January-April, May-August. PhD students shall be considered full-time for every term for the duration of their programs. There is no part-time option for the PhD program.

Grades Required to Pass
The standards below are the minimum acceptable grades for passing a course.

PhD
Undergraduate Class None allowed
Graduate Class 70%
Cumulative overall average needed 70%

Course Requirements
All Cross Departmental Ph.D. students are required to complete a total of 15 credit units of courses.

9 required credit units in Educational Research, generally selected from existing advanced ERES courses in the College of Education such as:
  • ERES 841
  • ERES 845
  • ERES 810
  • ERES 820
  • Other research classes, approved by the student’s supervisor and advisory committee are also permissible
  • 6 credit units of electives approved by the student’s supervisor and advisory committee
*Additional classes may be taken if recommended or approved by the student’s supervisor and advisory committee.
ERES 990 Seminar

In ERES 990 doctoral students will develop an understanding of, and ability to apply, research scholarship and methodology in the field of Education.
This non-credit seminar is required to be completed by all cross-departmental PhD students in the first two terms of their program.

College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
Graduate students at the University of Saskatchewan belong to the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (CGPS) and will follow all CGPS Policies and Ethics and Integrity.

All Cross Departmental PhD graduate students are required to complete the following ethics modules, in accordance to the CGPS

  • GPS 960 – Introduction to Ethics and Integrity;
  • GPS 961 – Ethics and Integrity in Human Research, if research involves human subjects.
*Previous credit for these ethics courses from a University of Saskatchewan master’s program will satisfy the PhD program requirement.