Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in the Professions

Education and Jewish Studies

Steps to the Ph.D. in Education & Jewish Studies

This document was created in March of 2008 by Renee Rubin Ross with comments, questions and suggestions from Nancy Hall, Michael Kay, Abby Uhrman and Harold Wechsler.

This document outlines the steps to complete a Ph.D. in Education and Jewish Studies at NYU. I have tried to be as detailed as possible. Note that these steps are a guideline; there will be variation depending on your area of research, previous coursework, etc.

You are not alone! There are a number of resources in the Steinhardt School to help make sure you get through all of the necessary hoops. Specifically, it would be helpful to meet with Nancy Hall by the first semester of your second year to make sure that you're on track. She's an excellent resource who wants to help us succeed.

There are a number of books that break down the process of writing a dissertation; these are useful even when one is just at the stage of figuring out a dissertation topic. Here are two that we recommend: Destination Dissertation and Writing your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day. One alumna of the program said, "I wish I had these at the beginning, they were very helpful." 

If you don't have a copy already, you should get a copy of the Steinhardt Doctoral Student Handbook, available online here.

It includes forms, in order, that need to be submitted as you go through these different steps. Looking at the forms themselves will help you to understand these steps more clearly.

Also, more detail on some of the topics covered in this document can be found at http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/policies_doctoral/dissertation

Step 1: Coursework

When: Students in our program do 2-3 years of coursework, depending on whether they already have a Master's Degree. In your first semester, you should find out how many credits you need and how many courses you'll have to take.

Who: One suggestion: take courses from professors that you think will be dynamic teachers; you'll have a better experience that way. Another suggestion: speak to advanced students and find out about courses/professors that they recommend. You could also take courses from professors who might be on your dissertation committee; think of your coursework as an opportunity to "audition your professor."

What: Make sure you monitor that you are following the requirements outlined by the Steinhardt school, e.g. the right number of methodology courses, foundation courses, etc. Foundations of education and cognate study courses must be taken outside of the Education and Jewish Studies program. (The bottom of this page contains the degree checklist that you can use to chart your progress.)  Every student must take a departmental seminar, which should be selected with a faculty advisor based on the student's interests and academic track.  Although the Education and Jewish Studies program is housed in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, students have the option of taking the specialized departmental seminar in a different department.

Other helpful stuff to note: Independent studies can be very helpful in terms of getting credits and doing reading in an area that interests you. They are also a good way to build relationships with potential dissertation advisors. Please make sure to fill out a form with the HMSS administrative aide to give your independent study a relevant title. Additionally, you should register for desired courses and methods courses as soon as registration opens, since some courses fill quickly.

Step 2: Candidacy paper

When: When you submit this, you should have only a certain number (9-18) credits remaining. So the majority of your coursework should be completed. Harold Wechsler will help you figure out the right time for you to complete the candidacy paper. This is not as complicated as it appears, it is basically a matter of tailoring your coursework to the requirements. Note that our program does not require a comprehensive exam; we do a candidacy paper instead. You must do the candidacy paper before appointing a dissertation chair.

Who: Writing the candidacy paper can be a "course" that you get credit for: You can write the candidacy paper as an independent study with an advisor who might (or might not) be your dissertation advisor. This is a chance to find out how you work with a particular faculty member.

What: The candidacy paper is somewhere between 30-50 pages. It is an exploration of a topic that you will continue to explore in your dissertation proposal. At the beginning of the semester, your advisor fills out a form saying that you are entering degree candidacy. Then at the end of the semester your advisor gets the form back (from the Graduate Office) and needs to sign off saying that you have passed degree candidacy.

Step 3: Dissertation proposal

When: After you've submitted your candidacy paper.  Almost all of your coursework will be finished, except the dissertation proposal seminar, which you may do as an independent study.

Who: At this point you need to pick your dissertation advisor and committee members. How to pick an advisor? Meet with different professors and get a sense of whether they're interested in your topic and supportive of it; it often helps to send a short description of the proposed thesis topic ahead of the meeting. You should consider whether they seem to have the time to work with you. For example, a professor who doesn't respond promptly to e-mails may not be a good choice, unless you want to be tracking that person down repeatedly over the next few years. It's not necessary to ask the professor to sit on your committee at the first meeting. Bob Chazan and Harold Wechsler are great resources for possible advisors. If you aren't sure who could help you with your topic, contact them for ideas.

Your dissertation chair will guide you as you write your proposal and throughout the dissertation writing process. The two committee members will attend the committee "meeting" (which might happen by e-mail) and later your dissertation defense; you might (or might not) meet with them for guidance as your work on your dissertation.

The chair of the committee must be from the Education and Jewish Studies program or affiliated faculty, e.g. Humanities and Social Sciences, Teaching and Learning, Skirball, etc.

In addition to the three committee members, you need to pick two outside readers who will give additional feedback at the proposal defense. These readers may not be too involved in your project, beyond giving feedback at that one occasion, and possibly at your dissertation defense.

What: The proposal itself is usually at least 25 but not more than 40 pages. There will be a committee "meeting" (again, which could be over e-mail or in person) attended by you, your chair and the two additional members of the committee. Then there will be a proposal review attended by you, your advisor, and two outside readers. (Note that sometimes the two additional members of the committee attend the proposal review so that there is one large review meeting; it is the proposal review that "passes" the proposal.) Your proposal review won't be scheduled until your advisor feels that the project is far enough along to pass the review. On the other hand, there may be some revision necessary after the review. But it is highly unusual to fail a proposal review.

Other helpful stuff to note: It's a good idea to look closely at several proposals that have already passed in order to get a sense of expected format and structure. Nancy Hall has a collection of current proposals in her office. You can make an appointment to come to her office and read them there.

Any time you drop below full time, you need to submit a Full Time Equivalency Form to defer loans, as part of a TA or GAship, if you have a student visa, or to secure loans. This form is available online through the graduate office.

You also need to register for the dissertation proposal seminar for at least one semester while you're writing your proposal.

Additionally, you must register for a one credit dissertation research or writing "class" every semester that you're researching/writing your dissertation. The course is HMSS-GE 3004, and you can get a code from the HMSS department.  It is recommended to reserve 6 credits from your total number of required credits to be used for researching/writing.  You will use at least one per semester until you graduate.

Step 3.5 IRB proposal

When: After your dissertation proposal is approved. You should attend an IRB orientation some time before that. You need to take an online tutorial (which is a requirement for many courses here also) and pass an online test. Note that it may take a few months to get your IRB proposal approved, since the committee (called the UCAIHS, the University Committee on Activities Involving Human Subjects) may have some questions/revisions the first time you submit it. Figure this into your timeline.

Who: Your dissertation advisor must review and sign this form before it is submitted.

What: In order to ensure that our studies don't harm anyone, students who create a study with human subjects must submit their form to the UCAIHS. If you are doing research with only documents (e.g. not humans), you can skip this step. The UCAIHS form is online at http://www.nyu.edu/ucaihs/forms/index.php .

Other helpful stuff to note: Rather than reinventing the wheel, it's easier to get an application from a colleague whose application was passed and adapt it for your project. This also makes it more likely that the UCAIHS will approve the language of your consent form, etc. Note that all IRB proposals have to first be approved by the Steinhardt Dean's offices on the 5th floor of Pless Hall before being submitted to the UCAIHS.

Step 4: Dissertation Fieldwork or Research

When: After your proposal is approved and you have permission from the UCAIHS to begin your research. Members of our program have been spending approximately one school year on their fieldwork or research. Note that people doing, for example, history or philosophy might not do fieldwork, though they will obviously do other sorts of research. However, the exact scope of the project will be determined by your dissertation committee.

Who: During this time, you will probably be meeting with your dissertation advisor every 4-8 weeks, just to make sure that you're on track.

What: You do what you said you'd do in your proposal.

Other helpful stuff to note: Don't forget to register for the one credit (HMSS-GE 3004) while you're doing your research.  

Step 5: Data Analysis

When: After your research is done, or while you are collecting data.

Who: Your dissertation proposal might roughly suggest how you are going to analyze your data. Your dissertation advisor should be able to guide you on this.

What: Depending on what kind of research you're doing, you will probably use data analysis software such as atlas.ti to analyze your data. Your advisor will probably help you with this.

Other helpful stuff to note: Consult the folks in Bobst, etc. before purchasing any software; many programs are available to NYU students.

Step 6: Write dissertation

When: After your research is done. (You may begin writing somewhere in the middle of your fieldwork, also.)

Pay attention to the filing deadlines; each semester there are specific deadlines to finish that semester that can be found online, e.g. end of January to graduate in May. You must file several months before the end of the semester in order to have the dissertation accepted for that semester.

Who: Again, your advisor will read drafts from time to time. You may share drafts with others, including a presentation to the students in the EJS seminar, who can help you formulate your ideas.

What: It may be helpful to read other dissertations from your department, to get a sense of expected format, etc.

All of this culminates in a dissertation defense. Similar to the proposal, your advisor won't schedule the defense unless he/she thinks that you will pass. The defense lasts two hours. The three members of your committee and two outside readers attend. You might also consider inviting another student in our program to take notes for you and to give them a chance to preview the experience.

Other helpful stuff to note: Again, note that if you want to graduate in May you must file your dissertation some time in January; the exact deadline can be found online. If your chair does not specify particular readers, then the Graduate Office may invite all Steinhardt faculty to be dissertation readers. So if you would like certain faculty members to be the outside readers at your dissertation defense (possibly the faculty who came to your proposal review) you should instruct your chair to recommend these outside readers.


EDUCATION AND JEWISH STUDIES (Ph.D.)

Name ____________________________________ Year of Matriculation ______________

DEGREE CHECKLIST
Course # | Term/Year Points

I. School of Education Required Courses

II. Education Specialization Courses

III. Judaic Studies Courses