Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD)

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Quick Facts

Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Subject
Education
Mode of delivery
On campus
Registration options
Full-time
Specialization
Curriculum Studies
Program Components
Dissertation
Faculty
Faculty of Education
 

Overview

Graduate programs in the field of Curriculum Studies encompass, but are not limited to, investigations into: teacher education, the social construction of knowledge, the curriculum as culturally and politically situated, contemporary curriculum and instructional discourses, and the role of curriculum and curricular reform in K-12 and other learning environments. Students learn about issues of planning and development, program implementation and evaluation, and pre-service and in-service teacher education. Inquiry in the field is multi-disciplinary and includes numerous perspectives and orientations such as: cultural studies, historical consciousness, post structuralism, feminism, multicultural education, semiotics, and critical theory.

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Requirements

Document Requirements

A letter of intent describing the focus of the proposed research and a sample of work demonstrating scholarly writing,

TOEFL (ibT) Overall Score Requirement

92
22
22
22
22

IELTS Overall Score Requirement

6.5
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0

Prior degree requirements

A Master's degree with high standing in a relevant educational discipline.

Career Outcomes

68 students graduated between 2005 and 2013: 3 are in non-salaried situations; for 6 we have no data (based on research conducted between Feb-May 2016). For the remaining 59 graduates:


RI (Research-Intensive) Faculty: typically tenure-track faculty positions (equivalent of the North American Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor positions) in PhD-granting institutions
TI (Teaching-Intensive) Faculty: typically full-time faculty positions in colleges or in institutions not granting PhDs, and teaching faculty at PhD-granting institutions
Term Faculty: faculty in term appointments (e.g. sessional lecturers, visiting assistant professors, etc.)
Sample Employers in Higher Education
University of British Columbia (11)
Royal Roads University (2)
Capilano University (2)
Concordia University (2)
Lakehead University (2)
University of Alberta (2)
University of Wollongong
Mount Saint Vincent University
Columbus State University
Thompson Rivers University
Sample Employers Outside Higher Education
BC School District
Alpha Secondary School
Museum of Vancouver
Government of Lesotho
TEC
Community Association for Lasting Success
Da Vinci Science Center
HR MacMillan Space Centre
Wells Fargo
Pythagoras Academy
Sample Job Titles Outside Higher Education
Teacher (2)
President
Community Artist and Contract Researcher
Teacher Principal
Senior Manager, Curatorial
VP
Science Education Manager
Personal Banker
High Commissioner to Canada
Head Start Early Education Coordinator
PhD Career Outcome Survey
You may view the full report on career outcomes of UBC PhD graduates on outcomes.grad.ubc.ca.
Disclaimer
These data represent historical employment information and do not guarantee future employment prospects for graduates of this program. They are for informational purposes only. Data were collected through either alumni surveys or internet research.

Alumni on Success

Ashwani Kumar

Job Title
Associate Professor
Employer
Mount Saint Vincent University

Carla Peck

Job Title
Associate Professor
Employer
University of Alberta
All Alumni Profiles

Tuition / Program Costs

FeesCanadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / DiplomatInternational
Application Fee$102.00$165.00
Tuition *
Installments per year33
Tuition per installment$1,600.60$2,811.98
Tuition per year$4,801.80$8,435.94
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible) $3,200.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
Student Fees (yearly)$923.38 (approx.)
Costs of living (yearly)starting at $16,884.10 (check cost calculator)
* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see UBC Calendar.
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.

Statistical Data

Enrolment Data

 20162015201420132012
Applications2847382627
Offers1319171615
New registrations1211121111
Total enrolment7873777674

Completion Rates & Times

This program has a graduation rate of 67% based on 42 students admitted between 2003 - 2006. Based on 38 graduations between 2012 - 2015 the minimum time to completion is 3.66 years and the maximum time is 8.66 years with an average of 5.29 years of study. All calculations exclude leave times.
Disclaimer
Admissions data refer to all UBC Vancouver applications, offers, new registrants for each year, May to April [data updated: 12 July 2017]. Enrolment data are based on March 1 snapshots. Program completion data are only provided for datasets comprised of more than 4 individuals. Rates and times of completion depend on a number of variables (e.g. curriculum requirements, student funding), some of which may have changed in recent years for some programs [data updated: 8 April 2016].

Research Supervisors

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

  • Anderson, David (Museum Education, Visitor Studies, Informal Learning, Metacognition, Science Education, Long-term Memory, Nostalgia)
  • Anderson, Ann (Math education)
  • Butler, Joy (action research, human movement, physical education, teacher development, Action Research, Assessment, Children & Youth, Curriculum Studies Research, Pedagogy, Teacher Education Research, Teacher Research)
  • Clark, Penney (history education, Curriculum Studies Research, History Education and Historical Consciousness, History of Education, Pedagogy, Social Studies Education Research)
  • Clarke, Anthony (Educational practice, Pedagogy, Research Design and Method, Teacher Education Research, Teacher Research)
  • Cole, Peter (Indigenous Education Research; Aboriginalizing/indigenizing research methodology; Orality; Narrativity; Environmental thought; Indigenous self-determination and self-governance; Traditional Aboriginal and Indigenous technologies)
  • Friedel, Tracy (Indigenous education, place-based learning, service-learning, outdoor recreation )
  • Gerofsky, Susan (Curriculum Studies Research, Mathematics, Media, Semiotics, Text Studies, Pedagogy, Research Design and Method, Technology; gesture; genre; mathematics and the arts; Performance Theory)
  • Goble, Scott (music and history; music education; conducting; choral music, Expressed an interest in chairing music exams, music education)
  • Gouzouasis, Peter (early childhood music education; computer literacy through fine arts and new media; music in mass media; especially jazz, guitar, Music education, Action Research, Artistic and Aesthetic Development, Arts Education, Assessment, Early Childhood Education, Educational Technologies, Literacy, Media, Semiotics, Text Studies, Music, Music Education Research, Non-Formal Learning, Pedagogy, Philosophy, Research Design and Method, Sociological Issues, Teacher Education Research, Teacher Research, Technology)
  • Grimmett, Peter (Action Research, Curriculum Studies, Higher Education, Pedagogy, Policy Studies, Teacher Education, Teacher Research)
  • Han, Hsiao-Cheng (Art Education Research, Artistic and Aesthetic Development, Arts Education, Asia Pacific, Cross Cultural Research, Cross-Cultural Education, Cultural Studies, Curriculum Studies Research, Educational Technologies, Higher Education, International Perspectives, Media, Semiotics, Text Studies, Multiculturalism, Non-Formal Learning, Pedagogy, Subcultures, Technology)
  • Hubball, Harry (Physical Education Program, Strategic Educational Leadership Development in International Research-intensive Settings, Research-informed and Evidence-based Approaches to Learning-centred Undergraduate and Graduate Degree Program Reform, Scholarship of Curriculum & Pedagogical Practices in Higher Education)
  • Irwin, Rita (arts in education with a particular emphasis on visual arts; implementation of arts education; working with inservice and preservice teachers; community oriented art projects; research creation; scholarship of teaching and learning; inquiry process; artography as a research methodology, Action Research, Art Education Research, Community Research, Curriculum Studies Research, Teacher Research)
  • Khan, Samia (science education, teaching and learning, cognition, digital technology, learning space design, case study, higher education, Educational Technologies, Science Education, Teacher Education)
  • Kindler, Anna (art education; artistic and aesthetic development; teacher education )
  • Loutzenheiser, Lisa (sexuality, anti-oppressive education, queer studies, critical race theory, youth studies, gender studies, qualitative methodologies, ethnography, LGBTQ, sexuality education, alternative education, marginalized youth, curriculum policy)
  • Meyer, Karen (Curriculum Studies, Pedagogy, Science Education, ethnography, qualitative research)
  • Milner-Bolotin, Marina (Mathematics and science teaching Physics education Women in science Educational technology Secondary teacher education Elementary teacher education Student attitudes about science, Action Research, Educational Technologies, Pedagogy, Science Education, Teacher Education, Teacher Research, Technology, Ways of Knowing)
  • Nashon, Samson (Curriculum design; high school physics; primary science; teacher education; science teacher education; physics teacher education and classroom instructions, Action Research, Curriculum Studies, Metacognition and Learning, Pedagogy, Research Design and Method, Science Education, Teacher Education, Ways of Knowing)
  • Nicol, Cynthia (mathematics teacher education, culturally responsive pedagogy, Aboriginal education, care-based and problem-based learning, Math education)
  • O'Donoghue, Donal (Art Education, Curriculum Studies, Gender, History of Education, Sociological Issues)
  • Petherick, LeAnne
  • Petrina, Stephen (Adolescent Issues, Artistic and Aesthetic Development, Arts Education, Children & Youth, Cultural Studies, Curriculum Studies, Educational Technologies, Environmental Education, Higher Education, History of Education, Literacy, Media, Semiotics, Text Studies, Metacognition and Learning, Music, Pedagogy, Philosophy, Research Design and Method, Science Education, Social Cognition, Social Studies Education, Sociological Issues, Subcultures, Technology)
  • Phelan, Anne (Curriculum Studies, Feminist Studies, Pedagogy, Philosophy, Teacher Education)

Pages

Recent Doctoral Citations

  • Dr. Stephanie Blair Anderson
    "Dr. Anderson examined the construction of Canadian national identity at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her work offers a new research approach for the identification and analysis of national narratives for history education, museology and public history." (May 2017)
  • Dr. Terrance Leonard Berg
    "Dr. Berg explored evidence projecting a future world of limited fossil energy use. His research mapped out linkages between petroleum geology, energy economics and climate science. He concludes that future educators should embrace a post-carbon pedagogy in their practice." (May 2017)
  • Dr. John Michael Sarte
    "Dr. Sarte's research demonstrated a method for deciphering how beginning teachers consciously and unconsciously become recognisable as teachers. His contribution combined photo-elicitation with the work of French psychoanalyst, Jacques Lacan. His study brings forward a framework that facilitates the construction of positive professional identity." (May 2017)
  • Dr. Rachel Annelisa Ralph
    "Dr. Ralph investigated how media and technology, specifically iPads with interactive apps, impacted preschool children's prosocial sharing behaviours. Her research deepens our understanding of how digital devices shape young children's everyday lives." (May 2017)
  • Dr. Brooke Madden
    "Dr. Madden studied teacher identity in relation to the emergent field of Indigenous education. She focused on teachers' processes, priorities, and preparedness as they navigated Faculties of Education and schools. Her work enhances our understanding of knowledge-practice across institutions, and has widespread and immediate applications for practice." (November 2016)

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