Ph.D. Educational Studies

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Red Location IconProgram Location

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Fall Semesters

Red Book IconProgram Type
Thesis

Red Calendar IconSchedule
Full-Time/Part-Time

Red Clipboard IconCredits
14+ Credits

Red Clock IconAverage Duration
Up to 6 Years

Have questions?

grad.dise [at] mcgill.ca (Contact a Student Affairs Coordinator)

Full Program Details from the Course Catalogue

Educational Studies (Ph.D.)

Offered by: Integrated Studies in Ed (Faculty of Education)听听听
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Program Description

Students must satisfy all program requirements of the Ph.D.

Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.

Thesis

A thesis for the doctoral degree must constitute original scholarship and must be a distinct contribution to knowledge. It must show familiarity with previous work in the field and must demonstrate ability to plan and carry out research, organize results, and defend the approach and conclusions in a scholarly manner. The research presented must meet current standards of the discipline; as well, the thesis must clearly demonstrate how the research advances knowledge in the field. Finally, the thesis must be written in compliance with norms for academic and scholarly expression and for publication in the public domain.

Required Courses (8 credits)

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Course Title Credits
EDEC 700Proseminar in Education 1.2

Proseminar in Education 1.

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

Students will be exposed to a wide range of educational theory and research as faculty members present the theoretical underpinnings, methodologies, and applications of their various programs of research.

EDEC 701Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination.0

Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination.

Terms offered: Summer 2025

Comprehensive examination.

EDEC 702Proseminar in Education 2.2

Proseminar in Education 2.

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

First-year doctoral students will be exposed to more advanced level of educational theory and research to experience the multidisciplinary nature of educational inquiry.

EDEC 703Ph.D. Colloquium.4

Ph.D. Colloquium.

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

Second-year doctoral students will have formal and informal opportunities to present their work for critical discussion and dialogue. Students will also discuss fundamental issues and questions in the field of education.

Note: EDEC听701 Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination. is normally taken at the end of the second year for Ph.D. 2 program entrants and at the end of the third year for Ph.D. 1 entrants.

Complementary Courses (3 credits)

One of the following courses:

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Course Title Credits
EDEC 630Ethnographic Approaches to Research .3

Ethnographic Approaches to Research .

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

Ethnography as a qualitative research approach that allows researchers to conduct in-depth studies of complex social and cultural practices. Hands-on experience in ethnographic field work and practice ethnographic research methods are offered. Focus on history and application of a range of ethnographic approaches including traditional, critical, visual, activist, institutional, and collaborative ethnography.

EDEC 706Textual Approaches to Research.3

Textual Approaches to Research.

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

Survey a range of research strategies including philosophical, theoretical, historical, narrative, and autobiographical methods of textual analysis.

EDEC 707Interpretive Inquiry.3

Interpretive Inquiry.

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

Focus on issues of voice, reflectivity, and representation when using interpretive frameworks in qualitative research.

EDEM 692Qualitative Research Methods.3

Qualitative Research Methods.

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

Theoretical and practical exploration of the foundations of qualitative methods, with emphasis on underlying principles.

Elective Courses (3-12 credits)

Elective courses required in the student's Ph.D. plan of study will be determined in consultation with the Doctoral Advisory Committee depending on the student's background and research interests. Students must take a minimum of 3 credits of elective courses.

Students admitted to Ph.D. 2 will normally take up to 12 credits of elective courses under the advice of their Doctoral Advisory Committee.

Students admitted to Ph.D. 1 without an M.A. may be advised by their Doctoral Advisory Committee to take more than 12 credits of elective courses depending on their background. If admitted to the program without at least 6 credits of M.A.-level research methods and/or Statistics courses, candidates may be expected to take such courses during their first year of study as advised.

These may be selected from current offerings of research methods courses either within or outside the Department, such as:

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Course Title Credits
EDEC 630Ethnographic Approaches to Research .3

Ethnographic Approaches to Research .

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

Ethnography as a qualitative research approach that allows researchers to conduct in-depth studies of complex social and cultural practices. Hands-on experience in ethnographic field work and practice ethnographic research methods are offered. Focus on history and application of a range of ethnographic approaches including traditional, critical, visual, activist, institutional, and collaborative ethnography.

EDEM 690Research Methods: Theory and Practice.3

Research Methods: Theory and Practice.

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

Overview of the epistemological foundations of a range of research methods, including but not limited to quantitative, philosophical, qualitative, arts-based, and mixed methods. Students will learn techniques to conduct research and to develop a research proposal.

EDEM 692Qualitative Research Methods.3

Qualitative Research Methods.

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

Theoretical and practical exploration of the foundations of qualitative methods, with emphasis on underlying principles.

Students required by their Doctoral Advisory Committee to take graduate courses in statistics will select from a range of courses, such as the following:

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Course Title Credits
EDPE 575Statistics for Practitioners.3

Statistics for Practitioners.

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

Understanding and interpreting basic statistical procedures used in basic and applied research, including graphs, measures of central tendency and variability, hypothesis testing, and correlations, t-tests, and basic ANOVA designs.

EDPE 676Intermediate Statistics.3

Intermediate Statistics.

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

Concepts and procedures of conducting basic descriptive and inferential statistics, including analysis of variance, correlation, and regression models. Provides experience with data-analysis tools.

EDPE 682Univariate/Multivariate Analysis.3

Univariate/Multivariate Analysis.

Terms offered: this course is not currently offered.

General linear model as a unified data analytic system for estimation and hypothesis testing that subsumes regression, analysis of variance, and analysis of covariance for single dependent variables. Introduction to generalizations involving multiple dependent (criterion) variables. Applications oriented toward education, educational psychology and counselling psychology. Experience with data-analysis tools.

Graduate Supervision
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Application Deadlines
Complete applications must be received by the date indicated below.
  • Fall Admission: December 1
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