The Nice Group List Hands

Quick Facts

  • Modality: In-person
  • Degree offered: Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D.
  • Credits: 72
  • Length of Program: 4-5 years
  • Application Deadline: January 1 for Fall start

Program Overview

We offer a Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Language, Literacy, and Culture (LLC). LLC interests are guided by questions such as: 

  • What ethical and philosophical commitments have informed schooling? What have been their implications for language, literacy, and culture instruction? 
  • How have our histories and contexts shaped the use of language, literacy, and culture in and out of schools? 
  • Why do inequities persist in schools? How do we use research on language, literacy, and culture to close opportunity gaps? 
  • How can the School of Education enact the land-grant mission to engage communities in support of literacy? 
  • Who is fighting for equitable educational outcomes and what are some examples of their liberatory language, literacy, and culture practices?  
  • When and where do we see attention to themes of language, literacy, and culture in mainstream media? What does this reveal about contemporary ethical and philosophical commitments or contestations? 
  • In what ways do disciplines reflect and perpetuate systems of power?  
  • How can critical literacies and disciplinary literacies work in tandem?  

Distinguishing features of LLC are its attention to the past as a powerful influence on the present, and its deconstruction of knowledge, identity, and power dynamics as central to the work of reimagining schools and society for a socially just future. As a land grant university, Iowa State University is uniquely positioned to use its resources to be in service to and in partnership with communities. We therefore are invested in research that not only advances scholarly understanding of the pressing educational issues of our moment, but how we also work toward enacting transformative change. 

LLC is interdisciplinary in nature, allowing students to apply a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches in their scholarly inquiry. Current faculty expertise includes: 

  • Ethnography & Autoethnography 
  • Civics Education  
  • Culturally Relevant & Sustaining Pedagogy 
  • Cultural Studies 
  • Cultural Studies of Science Education 
  • Curriculum Development 
  • Design-based Research 
  • Discourse Analysis  
  • Latinx Education 
  • Longitudinal and multilevel modeling 
  • Multiculturalism & Multilingualism  
  • Philosophy of Education 
  • Student Identity & Belonging 
  • Teacher Education and Professional Development 
  • University-School-Community Partnerships 
  • Education in Demographically Transitioning Schools & Communities 
  • Critical Curriculum Studies  
  • Critical Disciplinary Literacies  
  • Critical Literacies  
  • Disciplinary Literacies  

Is this for you?

This is an excellent program for current or former educators who are interested in a study of language. The Ph.D. principally prepares students to pursue faculty positions in colleges and universities and positions as educational researchers in a variety of public institutions and private organizations, such as state educational agencies and literacy research centers. Some graduates who have extensive classroom experience work in school, district and state curriculum leadership positions. 

Curriculum

The Ph.D. program is designed to offer students both the rigorous methodological preparation required to undertake educational inquiry at the highest levels and the flexibility for students to work with their Academic Plan Committees (APCs) to pursue coursework and experiences that support the students’ individual research interests and professional paths. The Ph.D. in Education requires a minimum of 72 credits. 

Students will create an Academic Plan (AP) with their major professor and Academic Plan Committee (APC) based on Graduate College and SOE policies and requirements. The specific coursework of the program will vary depending on the student interests and guidance from their major professor. Some required coursework is listed below. Transfer credits, substitutions, and customization of the AP are allowed when approved by a student’s APC.

All Ph.D. students in the SOE are required to develop and understanding of both qualitative and quantitative research methods

  • RESEV 6010: Foundations of Educational Inquiry
  • RESEV 5520: Basic Educational Statistics
  • RESEV 5530: Intermediate Educational Statistics
  • RESEV 6030: Foundations of Qualitative Inquiry in Education
  • RESEV 6040: Advanced Qualitative Inquiry in Education 

  • EDUC 5820: History of Public Schooling in the United States
  • ELPS 6300: Education Policy and Analysis

One of the following:

  • EDUC 5330: Theories of Learning
  • EDUC 5360X: Sociocultural Learning Theory
  • EDUC 6120: Socio-psychological Foundations of Educational Technology

Affiliated Faculty

Katherine Richardson Bruna

Professor

Department: School of Education

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Constance Beecher

Associate Professor

Department: Human Sciences Extension and Outreach

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Jeanne Dyches

Associate Professor

Department: School of Education

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Application Information

This program has the following application deadlines:  

  • January 1st, for entry the following Fall semester

Complete the online graduate application. Applications require:   

  • Statement of Purpose  
  • Resume/CV  
  • Scholarly writing example  
  • Three reference who will provide letters of support  
  • Official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions you have attended  

For additional information, visit our Graduate Application Information and Frequently Asked Questions page.