Financial Aid

Full- and part-time graduate students in Educational Studies may apply for financial aid when they are seeking admission to a graduate program and may reapply every year for a maximum of three years. Additional support beyond the third year may be requested and subsequently awarded depending on availability. Graduate students are ineligible for financial aid from University funds if they 1) have accumulated more than 260 graduate credit hours (or 204 if their master's degree is from another institution) or 2) have more than two C grades or three or more incompletes (I), no grades (N and NG), or failing grades (F) on their graduate transcripts.

Application forms for University Graduate Scholarships and Graduate Assistantships will be sent to students after they have been officially accepted into a program. Application procedures for other types of financial aid are provided on the University web site. Types of financial aid include:

• University Graduate Scholarship (UGS): The University Graduate Scholarship is for full- and part-time graduate students and includes partial tuition minus general and other fees for one to three academic terms and no services required.
• Graduate Assistantship (GA): A Graduate Assistantship in Educational Studies is a work appointment for full-time graduate students that includes a living stipend, full tuition for three academic terms, and waiver of all fees. All GA appointments are for a period of one academic year (nine months) beginning September and terminating with the fulfillment of normal academic responsibilities for the Spring Quarter. Students must reapply for GA positions annually. Applications for the next academic year are to be submitted to the Division of Educational Studies Office by February 15. Appointment decisions will be based on the anticipated ability of the applicant to: 1) meet the programmatic needs associated with the specified position; and 2) gain professionally as an individual from the assistantship experience. Reappointment decisions also will be based upon an evaluation of the applicant's prior work-related performance as a graduate assistant. Job responsibilities associated with each assistantship are determined by the Division Head and include no more than 19 hours of work-related activities per week. The required academic load for Graduate Assistants is 12 credit hours per quarter. A maximum of 3 additional hours of credit may be taken with the specific approval of the academic advisor.
• University Programs: The University's Office of Research and Advanced Studies offers several scholarships, fellowships, internships and special assistantships. The University Distinguished Graduate Fellowship is awarded to academically outstanding students coming to UC doctoral programs. It covers three years of graduate studies and includes a highly competitive, 12-month stipend plus a full tuition scholarship. Yates Fellowships and Scholarships provide tuition, scholarships and stipends for selected students. Advanced doctoral students may apply to a campus-wide competition for a Summer Research Fellowship that covers living expenses for two summer months. Students must be nominated by a graduate program to receive any of these awards except for the Summer Research Fellowship where they must be enrolled in a graduate program in order to apply. For more information, locate Graduate Programs under the program listing on the University web site at uc.edu

Degree Requirements

Students pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies complete a minimum of 135 credit hours with a minimum of 90 credit hours of course work and additional dissertation credit hours. Of the 90 course work hours, no more than 30 credit hours can consist of 500/600 level courses and no less than 30 credit hours can consist of 800/900 level course work. Up to 30 graduate credit hours may be transferred if they were completed less than 10 years prior to admission.

The plan for course work includes completion of credit hours in the following areas:

• Professional Seminar Sequence: Year-long sequence of courses which introduces first-year students to the program and fields in educational Studies.
• Content areas: Selected courses in students' chosen area(s) of concentration as well as some interdisciplinary breadth in the form of one or more support areas (see Curriculum page).
• Basic Research Courses: Required courses in basic research include 18-EDST-710: Introduction to Statistical Methods and 18-EDST-800: Modes of Inquiry. Students must also choose one of the following courses that is different from their advanced research strand specialization: 18-EDST-802: Introduction to Field Methods in Educational Research, 18-EDST-855: Quantitative Research Methods I, or 18-EDST-850: Action Research I.
• Advanced Research Courses: At least two courses in one or more areas of advanced research.
• Research Induction Experience: A pre-dissertation research study conducted under the supervision of the student's Doctoral Committee or designee. During their doctoral study, and prior to the dissertation, students must successfully complete a research induction experience where they apply one or more advanced research methods. The plan for this experience must be approved by the student's committee and a record of the Committee's approval must be included in the student's file.
• Individual Dissertation Guidance: Credit hours designated for the design and completion of a dissertation.