Ph.D. in Engineering Education Program

Rowan University’s Ph.D. in Engineering Education program provides the foundational elements that doctoral students will need to engage with to properly situate their research within the scientific field and be able to ethically and reliably collect and analyze data that can impact engineering education practices and policies in the future. The primary strength of the program is intentionally involving students in activities that they are most likely to encounter in a real-world academic, industrial, or government/NGO setting (e.g. classroom facilitation, research grant writing, design of training programs, participation in service activities for the department).

Students interested in pursuing a dissertation focused on engineering education research can apply for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Engineering Education program.  The Ph.D. in Engineering Education requires 72 semester hours of graduate-level work if you possess a bachelor’s degree or a minimum of 42 semester hours of graduate-level work beyond your master’s degree if all of your master’s degree coursework is transferable.  The requirements for the program include:

• Graduate Seminar (0 credits)
• Engineering Disciplinary Graduate Level Coursework (30 Credits)
• Engineering Education Core Coursework (15 Credits)
  • XEED 01660: Research Design in Engineering Education (3 Cr)
  • XEED 01650: Engineering Education Fundamentals (3 Cr)
  • CASE 90810 Quantitative Research Methods in Education (3 Cr)
  • CASE 90812 Qualitative Research Methods in Education (3 Cr)
  • XEED 01601 Effective Teaching in Academic, Corporate, and Government Settings (3 Cr)
• Engineering Education Elective Coursework (at least 6 credits)
• PhD Dissertation Research (at least 12 credits)
• Qualifier Exam
• Candidacy (Proposal) Exam
• Dissertation Defense

Students will discuss their course selection with their dissertation advisor to ensure the courses build adequate technical competency within a specific engineering discipline while giving them the skillset necessary to complete their dissertation work.  Examples of approved graduate-level courses within Engineering and Education can be found in the graduate catalog. 

The PhD in Engineering Education also includes a Career Preparation and Readiness Experience (CPRE). CPRE consists of four components, which need to be completed before the PhD Dissertation Defense:

• Teaching:
  • Take XEED 01601 Effective Teaching in Academic, Corporate, and Government Settings
  • Given meaningful teaching assignments, appropriate with their interests and skills.
• Professional Writing:
  • Expected to learn the art and science of grant proposal writing and application. This can include either:
    • Taking ENGR 01.602: Strategic Technical Writing and Winning Grant Proposals
    • OR/AND Contributing meaningfully to a faculty member’s grant proposal to a state or federal agency or foundation, and relevant to the field of engineering education.
  • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DEISJ):
  • Completion of a training component on DEISJ through either coursework or professional development opportunities.
  • Demonstrate application of DEISJ concepts, such as examples shown below:
    • Classroom integration of DEISJ concepts
    • Disseminated writing related to DEISJ concepts
    • Serving on DEISJ committees (campus-based, community-based, or statewide, nationally, or internationally)
    • Research related to a DEISJ topic
    • Self-reflection on DEISJ topics
  • Publishing:
    • Students must publish at least 3 peer-reviewed manuscripts as first author. Students must have at least one journal paper (under review or published) to satisfy the publishing requirement of CPRE.

If interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering Education, please reach out to this e-mail address: ExEEdGradCoordinator@rowan.edu.

Approximate curricular timeline for courses and major milestones