Ph.D. Program Review & Qualifying Examination Procedures for Bilingual/Bicultural Education

First Review

Purpose

1. To monitor and evaluate the student's progress in the doctoral program; and 2. To advise the student on planning his/her program of study.

Eligibility

The First Review will be scheduled when the student has completed at least 18 hours of graduate level coursework at The University of Texas at Austin. Courses taken on a credit/no credit basis may not be counted toward this 18 credit hour requirement. The 18 hours must include at least one research methodology course (three hours credit) at UT Austin. A grade point average of at least 3.0 must be maintained for the first 18 hours in C&I.

Transfer students must have completed at least 18 hours of graduate courses in Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Texas at Austin.

Students must have a 3.0 grade point average on completed coursework.

Committee Constituency

The First Review is conducted by the program area faculty members. Faculty affiliates of the Bilingual/Bicultural Education Program may serve on the Review Committee.

Scheduling

It is the student's responsibility to consult with his/her Academic Adviser to schedule the First Review at the appropriate time.

Students must submit required materials to their Academic Adviser three weeks prior to the Review meeting date. Students who do not meet the deadline for submission of materials must wait until the next semester to schedule their Review.

Required Materials and Submission Procedures

Two weeks prior to the scheduled review, the student must submit hard copies of the following to each Review Committee Member:

1. The C&I Doctoral Program Review form* (see footnote);

2. A Program of Work*, including work in progress, the courses the student has completed and those s/he plans to take with a timeline for completing the proposed coursework;

3. Curriculum Vitae

4. One or more examples of written work; A list of participation/experience in research.

Program Area Specifics

In addition to the above requirements, students in the Bilingual/Bicultural Education program must include the following:

1. A copy of their transcript, including work in progress;

2. A list of written papers with one example of written work which may include literature reviews, research/position/term papers, conference presentations, or other products related to their program of study; and

3. A document, no more than two pages long, to include (a) a brief description of the student's focus or area(s) of interest, and (b) discussion of what the student learned from doing the written work submitted for review.

The curriculum vitae should include, as appropriate, a summary of educational and academic background, as well as certifications, teaching experiences, related experiences (e.g., leadership roles, awards, honors, affiliations), research experiences, publications, and/or other relevant details.

Meeting and Review Criteria

The First Review typically occurs during the third semester of residence for full-time students, or at the end of two full semesters and a summer session for part-time students. The Bilingual/Bicultural Education (BBE) program faculty will establish a designated time in each semester for scheduling students who are ready for their first review. The BBE area will notify students as to the date of review. Students will then be responsible for notifying their advisor that they intend to go through the review and for scheduling the review.

The review is an informal interview conducted by the area faculty with each individual student. The Academic Advisor chairs the First Review Committee. It is the student’s responsibility to consult with his/her Academic Advisor to schedule the First Review at the appropriate time.

Review Criteria

Specifically, the review will be based on the student's:

A grade point of at least 3.0 must be maintained for the first 18 hours in C&I.

Mid-Program Review

Purpose

1. To monitor and evaluate the student's progress in the doctoral program;

2. To evaluate the student's ability to conduct and present research;and

3. To advise the student on planning his/her program of study.

Eligibility

The Mid-Program Review will be scheduled when the student has completed between 27 and 36 hours of graduate level coursework at The University of Texas at Austin. Courses taken on a credit/no credit basis may not be counted toward this requirement. The student must have a 3.0 earned grade point average on work completed.

Committee Constituency

The Mid-Program Review is conducted by the program area faculty members.

Program Area Specifics

Faculty affiliates of the BBE Program may serve on the Review Committee. The Academic Advisor chairs the Review Committee and chooses the Review Committee members in consultation with the student.

Scheduling

It is the student’s responsibility to consult with his/her Academic Advisor to schedule the Mid-Program Review at the appropriate time.

Students must submit required materials to their Academic Advisor three weeks prior to the Review meeting date. Students who do not meet the deadline for submission of materials must wait until the next semester to schedule their Review.

Required Materials and Submission Procedures for the Bilingual/Bicultural Education Program

Three weeks prior to the scheduled review, students will submit hard copies of the following to their Academic Advisor:

1. The C&I Doctoral Program Review form* (see footnote)

2. A Program of Work*, including work in progress, courses to be taken, and a schedule for completion of coursework.

3. Curriculum Vitae

Program Areas Specifics

The BBE faculty will designate a date and times each semester for Mid-Program Reviews. The BBE Program Coordinator will notify all eligible students as to the date and time their respective reviews will be conducted. Students will then be responsible for notifying their advisor of their intent to sit for the review.

In addition to the above, students in the Bilingual/Bicultural Education Area must submit:

1. A copy of their transcript, including work in progress;

2. A list of written papers with one example of written work which may include literature reviews, research/position/term papers, conference presentations, or other products related to their program of study; and

3. A document, no more than two pages long, to include (a) a brief description of the student's focus or area(s) of interest, and (b) discussion of what the student learned from doing the written work submitted for review;

4. A research paper reporting a study (or series of studies) completed independently or in collaboration with a program area faculty member. The paper should include a discussion of theories and/or frameworks that have influenced his/her work. The research report is typically completed as part of an assignment for an organized course, or under the auspices of an individual instruction course, such as an EDC 396T - Directed Research. Students will consult with a supervising faculty member with regard to preparation and submission of the Research Report. The report will follow APA guidelines for research reports, and will be submitted to the designated area faculty members for review. The Academic Advisor must approve the research paper submitted for review. It cannot be the same paper the student submitted for the first review.

 5. A document, no more than two pages in length, that describes the student’s specific role in the conduct of the study and/or the preparation of the research paper, and a discussion of the student's research trajectory.

The Curriculum Vitae must include, as appropriate, a summary of educational and academic background, as well as certifications, teaching experiences, related experiences (e.g., leadership, roles, awards, honors, affiliations, research experiences, publications, and/or other relevant details.

Meeting and Review Criteria

The student will make a brief oral presentation of his/her research study; the presentation will be followed by questions and discussion. The Review Committee will review and discuss the student’s progress in the program, the plan and timeline for completing remaining coursework, and plans for taking the Qualifying Examinations.

Faculty will judge the research paper on a range of criteria, such as importance of the research questions(s), appropriateness of the literature review, appropriateness and rigor of the methodology, significance of the study, conclusions and discussion, and quality of writing.

The Review Committee will evaluate the quality of the oral presentation and the student’s effectiveness in responding to questions posed by committee members.

Program Area Specifics

In addition to the content and quality of the required research report, faculty will consider:

1. student progress toward completion of degree requirements,

2. remaining work,
3. plans for candidacy

Decisions

The Review Committee will recommend continuation, continuation with conditions, repeat the Mid-Program Review, or termination of the student’s program. The recommendation will be a consensus decision of the Review Committee. Conditions may be specified by the Review Committee on an individual basis. It is expected that conditions will entail such prescriptions as coursework, independent readings, etc. Termination options will follow the guidelines of the Graduate School.

Program Area Specifics

Continuation: The student may continue his/her program of study.

Continuation with Conditions: The student may continue his/her program of study but must meet certain conditions. These conditions are intended to help the student address areas of concern to the faculty. Conditions may include, for example, additional courses, more involvement in research projects, independent readings, etc. A student who receives a Pass with Conditions may not take the Qualifying Examinations until the conditions are met.

Repeat the Mid-Program Review: The student will be given specific suggestions for addressing areas of concern to the faculty. The Committee will also specify the materials the student must submit for a second Mid-Program review. The second review must be conducted within a year of the first Mid-Program Review.

Terminate the Program of Study: If the Review Committee decides that the student is not making satisfactory progress toward completion of the degree, it will recommend to the Graduate Studies Committee that the student's program of study be terminated. The policies and procedures of the Graduate School will be followed in terminating the student's program.

Reporting Procedures

The Academic Advisor will formally communicate to the student the results of the Mid- Program Review as soon as a decision has been reached. The Academic Advisor will submit the Review Committee’s written report (Program Review form) to the C&I Graduate Advisor's office and will provide a copy of the report to the student.

Students are evaluated by the program area faculty through written and oral examinations. The student must pass the written and oral components of the examination to be recommended for Advancement to Candidacy.

Purpose

1. Evaluate the student’s understanding of content important to his/her field;

2. Evaluate the student’s understanding of the processes of research related to his/her field of study

3. Evaluate the student’s preparedness to conduct a dissertation study

In addition, faculty will evaluate whether the student's Program of Work meets all departmental requirements and Graduate School requirements; courses included in the Application for Candidacy must have been taken within the past six years.

Qualifying Exam Procedures

When a student has completed the First and Mid-Program Reviews and during the semester prior to the completion of all coursework, he or she is eligible to schedule the Qualifying Examination. The student must complete the Core Foundation and Research Sequence course requirements prior to taking the Qualifying Exams. See the Core Foundation courses and Research Sequence section on the next page for details.

Planning for the examination is done with the chair of the student’s Qualifying Examination Committee. The student, in conjunction with the faculty members selected for the committee, will set the date for the Written Examination at the convenience of faculty and student. The exam will be scheduled through the C&I Graduate Office. The Oral Examination will be scheduled by the chair, committee members, and the student.

Qualifying Examination Committee Constituency

The Qualifying Examination Committee will consist of a Chair and at least two other faculty members formed within the following stipulations:

1. A minimum of three committee members must serve on the Department of Curriculum and Instruction Graduate Studies Committee

2. If the student wishes to include a 4th committee member, it is highly recommended that that individual be from another department (out-of-department) or another institution.

The Qualifying Examination Committee need not be the student’s Dissertation Committee; however, it is recommended that at least one member of the Qualifying Examination Committee be on the student's Dissertation Committee.

Foundation and Research Methodology Requirements

Foundation Requirements:
EDC 380F Sociocultural Foundations
EDC 381F Introduction to Teaching and Teacher Education

EDC 383F Curriculum Theory

Research Methodology Requirements (to be taken in sequence):

Step 1:
EDC 381R Introduction to Systems of Human Inquiry
Step 2:
EDC 385R Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods and Design
EDC 386R Introduction to Qualitative Research
Step 3 (one course topic from either category or an Advisor-approved advanced research course):

EDC 387R Advanced Quantitative Research

or

EDC 388R Advanced Qualitative Research

Components of the Qualifying Examination

Qualifying Examinations consist of two parts:

Written Exam - A three-day (72h) Specialization Examination related specifically to the student’s areas of expertise, interest, and research; and

Oral Exam - A two-hour Oral Examination in which the student is expected to elaborate or justify the written examination before the Qualifying Examination Committee.

Description of Examination Components

Written Exam - Written Examination will be prepared expressly in the student's area of interest, expertise, and research by the Qualifying Examination Committee.

Oral Exam - The two-hour Oral Examination will be conducted by the student’s Qualifying Examination Committee and open to any additional readers of the examination who have interest in the student’s performance. It is expected that the written examination will serve as the basis for the oral exam.

Program Area Specifics

Written Examination: The written examination is a Bilingual/Bicultural Education specialization examination related to the student’s areas of expertise and research interests. Each member of the Qualifying Examination Committee will submit questions for the written examination. The Chair will select the three questions to be included in the examination, the fourth written document will be the student’s prospectus. The examination will include a question in each of the following areas: (a) Bilingualism, (b) Research Methods, (c) Culture, and (d) a prospectus focused on the student’s specific area(s) of interest within the field of bilingual/bicultural education. (e.g., biliteracy, history and policy of bilingual education, evaluation and assessment, etc.).

Oral Examination: The oral component is a two-hour defense of the student's written examination responses and a discussion of his/her proposed dissertation topic.

The Oral Defense is scheduled no earlier than two weeks after the written exams to allow sufficient time for the Graduate Coordinator to disseminate the examination and for the Committee members to evaluate the written responses.

It is the student's responsibility to schedule the time for the Oral Examination on a date agreeable to all members of the Qualifying Examination Committee.

Scheduling

Students will schedule the Qualifying Examination after they have completed the First and Mid-Program Reviews and during the semester prior to the completion of all course work.

Step 1:

When students are ready to begin their Qualifying Examinations, they should choose the Qualifying Examination Committee, which will supervise them through both parts (Written & Oral). Refer to the previous page for information about selecting Qualifying Exam Committee Members.

NOTE: Because a smooth transition from the Qualifying Exam Committee to the Dissertation Committee is desirable, the Graduate Advisor recommends that as students choose members for the Qualifying Exam Committee, they should bear in mind the requirements for membership on the Dissertation Committee.

Step 2:

When students have secured agreement of three faculty members to serve on the Candidacy Committee and are ready to schedule specific dates for each part, they should contact the Graduate Coordinator to let the GC know that they will be taking their exams in the near future.  They should also complete and submit to the Graduate Coordinator the Program of Work form. This form is to be typed or word-processed and should be turned in to the Graduate Coordinator about two to three weeks before the student wants to take the Written Exam.

2. A Prospectus and a take-home written exam (BBE, and CSE areas);or

3. A take-home, written exam (CS, PETE, & SSE areas).

In-office Computer Exam – The student must decide on a four-hour block of time in which to take the written exam. Each time period should be scheduled during normal department office hours, Monday through Friday beginning and ending between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The Graduate Coordinator will reserve the exam room for the written exam.

Take-home Exams – The student must decide on a 72hour block of time in which to take the take-home exam. The block of time is specific to the student’s program area requirements (see below).

For the Oral Exam, it is the student's responsibility to schedule a two-hour block of time on a date agreeable to all members of the Qualifying Exam Committee. The student should reserve a room.  Ask the Graduate Coordinator or the department Administrative Assistant in SZB if you need help. It is advisable to schedule the oral exam approximately two to three weeks after the written examination. The lapse of time between the written and oral examinations allows the Graduate Coordinator opportunity to duplicate the examination and the Committee time to review the written responses.

Step 3:

Once the student has turned a preliminary copy of the Program of Work (POW)*, the Graduate Coordinator will send a memo to the members of the Qualifying Examination Committee officially appointing them, as well as a call for questions, and a copy of the student's Program of Work*.

Written Exam - Each committee member will be asked to write and submit one question to the Chair of the committee. The Chair will then include his/her question, and submit the final version of the written examination to the Graduate Coordinator at least three working days before the exam.

Oral Exam - The two-hour Oral Examination will be conducted by the student’s Qualifying Examination Committee and is open to any additional readers of the examination who have interest in the student’s performance. It is expected that the written examination will serve as the basis for the oral exam.

NOTE: Students are responsible for making sure that the Graduate Coordinator has the questions for each part of the exam in sufficient time. Students will be sent a copy of the call for questions.

Step 4:

Program Area Specifics

Students in the bilingual/bicultural education program area will do a take-home exam. The date of the Bilingual/Bicultural Education Qualifying Examination will be scheduled so that the student can pick up the examination from the Graduate Coordinator on Thursday at noon and submit the written responses to the Graduate Coordinator by the following Monday at noon. Responses to all four questions must be submitted in the allocated time period. Answers must be word- processed, double-spaced, in 12-point font, following APA format, and all pages must be numbered. The student must submit five hard copies of the written responses to the Graduate Coordinator by the deadline. The student will also send an electronic version to each Qualifying Examination Committee member.

Qualifying Examination responses will not be accepted after the deadline for submission (refer to steps below). Students who do not submit responses by the deadline will be required to respond to four new questions developed by the Qualifying Examination Committee.

Step 5:
After the student completes the written examination, the Graduate Coordinator will duplicate the questions and responses. The Graduate Coordinator will then send a reminder memo of the scheduled Oral Exam, a copy of the entire examination and the student’s Program of Work* to each committee member and to the student.

Program Area Specifics

The student sets the date and time for the oral defense at a time convenient for all members of the Committee. The student is responsible for notifying the C&I Graduate Coordinator, who will send a written notice confirming the date, time, and place of the Oral Defense to each committee member and to the student.

Evaluating the Qualifying Examinations

The written Qualifying Examination will be read and evaluated by the Qualifying Examination Committee, who will be asked to judge the adequacy of the student’s written answers. Any faculty member is welcome to attend any student’s Oral Defense.

Decisions

A decision to pass the student on both the Written and Oral Exams means the student will be recommended to advance to candidacy.

A decision to pass with conditions means the student will be allowed to advance to candidacy as soon as specified conditions are met. The imposition of these conditions is intended to help the student strengthen possible areas of concern to the faculty (e.g., additional research coursework, additional involvement in research projects, additional courses in content areas). The Qualifying Examination Committee Chair is usually responsible for monitoring student work on the conditions set.

A decision to fail will carry the recommendation that the student be terminated from the program or that the student retake one or more parts of the Qualifying Examination. In the case of a recommendation to redo, the student will be given specific suggestions on how to strengthen areas of weakness.

Program Area Specifics
The student may be asked to retake the written and/or the oral components of the Qualifying Examination. The Qualifying Examination Committee will make recommendations to help the student address its concerns. The Chair must approve the schedule for retaking the Qualifying Examinations. One retake is permitted according to the Graduate Studies Committee policy.

Three of the four committee members must recommend Pass on the Qualifying Examination.

The procedures of the Graduate School will be followed when the Graduate Studies Committee approves the Qualifying Examination Committee's recommendation that the student's program of study be terminated.

Reporting Procedures

A student is told following the Oral Exam whether s/he is being recommended for advancement to candidacy without conditions, advancement with conditions, asked to retake the examination in total or in part (written and/or oral), or whether the recommendation is to terminate their program. One retake is permitted according to the Graduate Studies Committee Policy.

The results of the student’s exams are recorded on the Doctoral Qualifying Examination Record, which is signed by all committee members present at the oral exam. The Committee Chair will turn in the Examination Record to the C&I Graduate Advisor’s office.

The student must turn in the final Program of Work*, signed by their Academic Advisor, if s/he passes his/her Qualifying Exams.

The C&I Graduate Studies Committee will vote on the recommendation when the student is recommended for advancement to candidacy.

The C&I Graduate Coordinator will then notify the student of the results and guide the preparation and submission of candidacy papers.