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Sep 07, 2024
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2024-2025 Graduate Catalog
Doctor of Philosophy - Learning Sciences
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Plan Description
The Learning Sciences Ph.D. is an academic program with an emphasis on the design and evaluation of learning environments, including but not limited to technology-rich environments. Students take core courses in: 1) the learning sciences, 2) research methods and statistics, and 3) advanced studies in a specialization area. The specialization areas are: (a) learning technology, (b) educational data science and statistics, (c) learning policy and organizational change, and (d) cognitive and developmental sciences. All students will be actively involved in research and research-related activities throughout their program of study. Students in the Post-Bachelor Learning Sciences strand will be eligible to earn a Master of Science in Educational Psychology.
The program will prepare students for a variety of professional careers related to teaching and learning in both academic and nonacademic settings. Graduates of the program will be prepared for a variety of professional positions (e.g., university and community college faculty, curriculum specialists, learning and technology specialists, employee training specialists, program evaluators, and instructional technology coordinators).
For more information about your program, including your graduate program handbook and learning outcomes, please visit the Degree Directory.
Plan Admission Requirements
Application Deadlines
Applications available on the UNLV Graduate College website.
All domestic and international applicants must review and follow the Graduate College Admission and Registration Requirements.
(a) Graduate College Admission Requirements
- Completed application in the Application Portal and non-refundable application fee.
- Bachelor’s Degree – You must hold a four-year baccalaureate from a regionally accredited institution or an approved equivalent.
- Post-Master’s tracks require a regionally accredited Master’s degree.
- Grade Point Average – You must have a minimum overall grade point average of 2.75 (4.00=A) for the bachelor’s degree or a minimum 3.00 (4.00=A) for the last two years (60 semester credits).
- All applicants are required to submit an unofficial transcript from each postsecondary institution attended, showing all degrees and coursework, the dates awarded, and grades received. Official transcripts required upon admission.
- Credentials not in English must be accompanied by an English translation certified as true by a university official, an official representative of a United States embassy or consulate, the United States Information Service, the United States Education Foundation, or an approved professional translating service. Notarized copies of originals or translations are not considered official.
(b) Department Admission Requirements
Admission to the Post-Master’s Subplan will be limited to the most qualified applicants based on a combination of the following:
- An undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 or above.
- If graduate course work has been completed, a graduate grade point average of 3.00 or above.
- Preference given to students whose scores relate to the 50th percentile or better on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
- Three letters of reference from university faculty or other individuals qualified to judge the applicant’s academic potential.
- The applicant’s statement of professional interests and goals.
- A scholarly or professional writing sample.
- Students must have a master’s degree to be considered for admission.
Admission to the Post-Bachelor’s Subplan will be limited to the most qualified applicants based on a combination of the following:
- An undergraduate grade point average of 3.25 or above.
- If graduate course work has been completed, a graduate grade point average of 3.25 or above.
- Preference given to students whose scores relate to the 50th percentile or better on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
- Three letters of reference from university faculty or other individuals qualified to judge the applicant’s academic potential.
- The applicant’s statement of professional interests and goals.
- A scholarly or professional writing sample.
- Students must have a bachelor’s degree to be considered for admission.
Students are accepted into a degree program as described in the Graduate Catalog. The faculty and corresponding sub-disciplines and sub-plans within the described programs are subject to change at any time.
Subplan 1 Requirements: Post-Master’s
Total Credits: 66
Proseminar Course - Credits: 3
Learning Sciences Core – Credits: 15
Core Research Courses – Credits: 15
Additional Research Courses – Credits: 6
Complete two of the following courses: Specialization Courses – Credits: 9
Complete 9 credits of advisor-approved coursework within one of the following specialization areas: (a) Learning Technologies, (b) Educational Data Science and Statistics, (c) Learning Policy and Organizational Change, or (d) Cognitive and Developmental Sciences. Illustrative learning technology courses include, but are not limited to:
Illustrative data science and statistics courses include, but are not limited to:
Illustrative learning policy and organizational change courses include, but are not limited to:
Illustrative cognitive and developmental sciences courses include, but are not limited to:
Elective Courses – Credits: 6
Student must take a minimum of 6 credits of advisor-approved elective courses that fall within any of the other program specialization areas or their own specialization courses.
Dissertation – Credits: 12
Degree Requirements
- Students must maintain a GPA of 3.00 or higher for all course work taken at the doctoral level, and a B or better in core courses.
- Residence Credit Requirement: A minimum of 50 percent of the total credits required to complete the doctoral degree not including transferred and dissertation credits must be earned at UNLV after admission to the doctoral degree program.
- Each student must satisfy a scholarly paper requirement by the time he or she has completed 36 credits (Review I). The student must be primarily responsible for carrying out and reporting a study under the supervision of a program faculty member. The requirement may be fulfilled in one of two ways. First, the study may involve the collection and analysis of some empirical data (for example, a pilot study) resulting in a scholarly paper that is submitted to either a professional journal or as a proposal to an annual conference of a national organization. Second, the paper may consist of a literature review that is submitted for publication in a quality, peer-reviewed journal or submitted for presentation at a national conference. Prior to beginning, projects must be approved by a supervising faculty member. Once completed, students must submit to the program coordinator: (a) a copy of the paper, (b) a submission acknowledgment, and (c) a completed Review I form from the supervising faculty member.
- In consultation with their advisor, a student will organize a dissertation committee of at least three program members. In addition, a fourth member from outside the program, known as the Graduate College Representative, must be appointed. An additional committee member may be added at the student and department’s discretion. The committee must be chaired by a program faculty member with a primary affiliation with the Department of Educational Psychology and Higher Education or co-chaired by such a faculty member and a program faculty member with a primary affiliation in another department. Please see Graduate College policy for committee appointment guidelines.
- Students must successfully complete a preliminary examination. This formal assessment will focus on areas of knowledge that are most relevant to the student’s dissertation topic. The student and their committee will determine the content of this examination. The student and their committee will determine the content of this examination format in that it will focus on in-depth reading and writing directly related to the student’s proposed dissertation topic as well as on the student’s mastery of previously learned core information.
- After successfully completing Review I (i.e., satisfying the scholarly product requirement) and Review II (i.e., passing the preliminary examination), students can then submit a formal dissertation proposal to their doctoral committee and submit the accompanying “Dissertation Prospectus” form to the Graduate College. The doctoral committee will meet and determine whether to accept or reject the prospectus. A prospectus can be accepted provisionally given that the student follows the committee’s suggestions in the dissertation.
- The student must submit and successfully defend their dissertation after a minimum of 54 credits of initial coursework and a minimum of 12 credits of dissertation coursework and have it completed by the posted deadline to be eligible to earn the Doctor of Philosophy - Learning Sciences. This defense will be scheduled and conducted in accordance with the Graduate College’s policies for thesis and dissertation completion. It is the student’s responsibility to file the required “Notification of Oral or Written Examination” form with the Graduate College in a timely manner.
Graduation Requirements
The student must submit and successfully defend their dissertation by the posted deadline. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.
After the dissertation defense, the student must electronically submit a properly formatted pdf copy of their dissertation to the Graduate College for format check. Once the dissertation format has been approved by the Graduate College, the student will submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest. Deadlines for dissertation defenses, format check submissions, and the final ProQuest submission can be found here.
Students may apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing their degree requirements. All required forms must be submitted to the graduate college via the Grad Rebel Gateway.
Subplan 2 Requirements: Post-Bachelor’s
Total Credits: 96
Learning and Development Courses - Credits: 6
Research Courses - Credits: 9
Elective Courses - Credits: 12
Students must complete a minimum of 12 credits of advisor-approved electives.
Proseminar Course - Credits: 3
Learning Sciences Core - Credits: 15
Core Research Courses - Credits: 12
Additional Research Courses - Credits: 6
Complete two of the following courses: Specialization Courses - Credits: 9
Complete 9 credits of advisor-approved coursework within one of the following specialization areas: (a) Learning Technologies, (b) Educational Data Science and Statistics, (c) Learning Policy and Organizational Change, or (d) Cognitive and Developmental Sciences. Illustrative learning technology courses include, but are not limited to:
Illustrative data science and statistics courses include, but are not limited to:
Illustrative learning policy and organizational change courses include, but are not limited to:
Illustrative cognitive and developmental sciences courses include, but are not limited to:
Elective Courses - Credits: 6
Student must take a minimum of 6 credits of advisor-approved elective courses that fall within any of the other program specialization areas or their own specialization courses.
Dissertation - Credits: 12
Degree Requirements
- Students must maintain a GPA of 3.00 or higher for all course work taken at the doctoral level, and a B or better in core courses.
- Residence Credit Requirement: A minimum of 50 percent of the total credits required to complete the doctoral degree not including transferred and dissertation credits must be earned at UNLV after admission to the doctoral degree program.
- Each student must satisfy a scholarly paper requirement by the time he or she has completed 36 doctoral credits (Review I). The student must be primarily responsible for carrying out and reporting a study under the supervision of a program faculty member. The requirement may be fulfilled in one of two ways. First, the study may involve the collection and analysis of some empirical data (for example, a pilot study) resulting in a scholarly paper that is submitted to either a professional journal or as a proposal to an annual conference of a national organization. Second, the paper may consist of a literature review that is submitted for publication in a quality, peer-reviewed journal or submitted for presentation at a national conference. Prior to beginning, projects must be approved by a supervising faculty member. Once completed, students must submit to the program coordinator: (a) a copy of the paper, (b) a submission acknowledgment, and (c) a completed Review I form from the supervising faculty member.
- Students must successfully complete a preliminary examination. This formal assessment will focus on areas of knowledge that are most relevant to the student’s dissertation topic. The student and their committee will determine the content of this examination. The student and their committee will determine the content of this examination format in that it will focus on in-depth reading and writing directly related to the student’s proposed dissertation topic as well as on the student’s mastery of previously learned core information.
- After successfully completing Review I (i.e., satisfying the scholarly product requirement) and Review II (i.e., passing the preliminary examination), students can then submit a formal dissertation proposal to their doctoral committee and submit the accompanying “Dissertation Prospectus” form to the Graduate College. The doctoral committee will meet and determine whether to accept or reject the prospectus. A prospectus can be accepted provisionally given that the student follows the committee’s suggestions in the dissertation.
- The student must submit and successfully defend their dissertation after a minimum of 84 credits of initial coursework and a minimum of 12 credits of dissertation coursework and have it completed by the posted deadline to be eligible to earn the Doctor of Philosophy - Educational Psychology. This defense will be scheduled and conducted in accordance with the Graduate College’s policies for thesis and dissertation completion. It is the student’s responsibility to file the required “Notification of Oral or Written Examination” form with the Graduate College in a timely manner. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.
- After the dissertation defense, the student must electronically submit a properly formatted pdf copy of their dissertation to the Graduate College for format check. Once the dissertation format has been approved by the Graduate College, the student will submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest. Deadlines for dissertation defenses, format check submissions, and the final ProQuest submission can be found here.
Plan Graduation Requirements
The student must submit and successfully defend their thesis after 27 credits of initial coursework and a minimum of 6 credits of thesis coursework to be completed by the posted deadline to be eligible to earn the Master of Science - Educational Psychology. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.
After the thesis defense, the student must electronically submit a properly formatted pdf copy of their thesis to the Graduate College for format check. Once the thesis format has been approved by the Graduate College, the student will submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest. Deadlines for thesis defenses, format check submissions, and the final ProQuest submission can be found here.
The student must submit and successfully defend their dissertation by the posted deadline. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.
After the dissertation defense, the student must electronically submit a properly formatted pdf copy of their dissertation to the Graduate College for format check. Once the dissertation format has been approved by the Graduate College, the student will submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest. Deadlines for dissertation defenses, format check submissions, and the final ProQuest submission can be found here.
Students may apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing their degree requirements. All required forms must be submitted to the graduate college via the Grad Rebel Gateway.
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