Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD)

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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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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

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.

Funding Sources

All full-time students who begin a UBC-Vancouver PhD program in September 2018 or later will be provided with a funding package of at least $18,000 for each of the first four years of their PhD. The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships. Please note that many graduate programs provide funding packages that are substantially greater than $18,000 per year. Please check with your prospective graduate program for specific details of the funding provided to its PhD students.

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$1,632.61$2,868.22
Tuition per year$4,897.83$8,604.66
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

 20172016201520142013
Applications2528473826
Offers1313191716
New registrations812111211
Total enrolment7678737776

Completion Rates & Times

This program has a graduation rate of 75% based on 40 students admitted between 2004 - 2007. Based on 36 graduations between 2013 - 2016 the minimum time to completion is 3.66 years and the maximum time is 8.66 years with an average of 5.45 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: 9 March 2018]. 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: 29 September 2017].

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, Ann (Math education)
  • Anderson, David (Cultural Institutions (Museums, Libraries, etc.), Museum Education, Visitor Studies, Informal Learning, Metacognition, Science Education, Long-term Memory, Nostalgia)
  • 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 (Native Health, Cultural and Health, Participatory research, Health Promotion, Social Contexts, Learning and Development Approaches, place-based/land-based learning, forum theatre, labour histories)
  • 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, Sandrine (Video and New Media, Media Content and Impacts, New Technology and Social Impacts, Arts and Technologies, Art Education Research, Artistic and Aesthetic Development, Arts Education, Cross Cultural Research, Cross-Cultural Education, Cultural Studies, Curriculum Studies Research, Educational Technologies, Media, Semiotics, Multiculturalism, Non-Formal Learning, Pedagogy, Subcultures)
  • 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 (Teacher Education, Arts, Literature and Subjectivity, Social Impact of Artistic Education, education, arts education, arts based research, a/r/tography)
  • 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 (Educational Context, Sexuality, Gender Epidemiology, Social Contexts, Teacher Education, Ideology and Social Policy, Epistemology and Methodology, Thought Schools (education), anti-oppressive education, queer studies, curriculum theory, youth studies, curriculum policy, qualitative methodologies, ethnography, gender studies, Social inequality, sexuality education, alternative education, marginalized youth, LGBT2SQ)
  • Meyer, Karen (Curriculum Studies, Pedagogy, Science Education, ethnography, qualitative research)
  • Milner-Bolotin, Marina (Educational Technologies, Teacher Education, Science and Knowledge, Teaching, Teaching and Learning Systems, Technological Innovations, Teacher and Student Performance Evaluation, technology, STEM education, educational innovation)
  • 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. Thompson Mumuni
    "Dr. Mumuni studied teacher practices in kindergarten classrooms, in Ghana. His findings revealed that teaching practices were developmentally appropriate, making learning meaningful through contextually relevant language of instruction, age-and culturally-appropriate learning materials, and the use of storytelling, traditional songs and traditional rhymes." (November 2017)
  • Dr. Yu-Ling Lee
    "Dr. Lee studied how religion and spirituality matter in the consumer use, design, and engineering of media and technology. His research showcases how educators, makers, and hackers, articulate networks of theological values alongside technological creations, practices, and personal ways of being." (November 2017)
  • 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)

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