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PhD, Educational Communication and Technology

How to Apply

This research-oriented doctoral degree prepares you for academic and leadership positions in research and development across contexts including academia, government, and industry. The program’s coursework and research opportunities focus on theoretical, design, and methodological issues related to supporting and understanding learning. You will draw on areas including cognitive sciences, learning sciences, learning analytics, user experience, game studies, design-based research, and more, to conduct original research on how innovative and emerging technologies can support learning.

The program offers opportunities for hands-on research and design experiences through project-based coursework in informal and formal learning settings, collaboration on interdisciplinary project teams, mentorship from preeminent scholars in the field, participation in academic conferences, and in internationally recognized research centers.

Ultimately, you will develop the theoretical and methodological skills and the scholarly community necessary to address the research questions that interest you.

Core Course Sequence 

Students in the ECT program take foundational courses in the Learning Sciences, Cognitive Sciences, and research methods, as well as electives based on their research interests, which may include learning analytics, game studies, psychology, computer science, or other specialized education or methods courses.

With your faculty adviser, you will develop a course plan that best aligns with your personal goals and interests.

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Program Requirements

The PhD requires the completion of 36-54 credits. The 54-credit curriculum is designed for students who do not have a master's degree in a related field of study prior to matriculation. Students entering the PhD program with a field-appropriate master’s degree may receive advanced standing for up to 15 credits in Instructional Design and 3 credits in Research courses and complete the program in 36 credits. Instructional design courses and a research or statistics course are typically required in related master’s degree curricula, including NYU’s own master’s degree programs in this same field. Students with partially relevant master’s degrees may be advised to take some core Instructional Design courses and will complete the program for 36-54 credits based on transcript and syllabus review.

 The Coordinator of the doctoral program and faculty academic advisers assist students in making course selections and planning course sequences relevant to students' individuals goals and interests (all ECT faculty serve as academic advisers to doctoral students). All courses taken must be at the graduate level.

Course Title Credits
Major Requirements
Foundations of Cognitive and Learning Sciences
EDCT-GE 2174Foundations of Cognitive Sciences3
EDCT-GE 2175Foundations of the Learning Sciences3
Doctoral Seminars
EDCT-GE 3076Advanced Seminar in Research and Practice in Educational Technology3
Instructional Design Courses
Select fifteen credits by advisement15
Research Courses18
Specialized Research Method3
Dissertation Proposal Seminar3
Cognates, professional electives related to specialization6
Total Credits54

Research Requirements and Benchmarks

As doctoral students advance through their coursework and develop expertise in a particular area of inquiry, they begin to formulate the questions that will define their research process.  This process consists of a series of benchmarks.

  1. The candidacy paper
  2. Candidacy approval
    Admission to degree candidacy
  3. Appointment of dissertation committee
  4. The dissertation proposal
    Application to University Committee on Activities Involving Human Subjects
    The dissertation proposal review
  5. Dissertation research and writing
    Final oral examination
    Final dissertation approval

The first benchmark is the candidacy paper, a written, scholarly examination of a critical issue or problem at the intersection of learning, media and technology. With the guidance of an ECT faculty adviser, students review relevant theory and studies previously conducted concerning this issue or problem, with a view toward establishing important directions to pursue in their own dissertation research.

After admission to candidacy, the next benchmarks include developing the dissertation proposal and the appointment of a dissertation committee. These steps typically interact, as students make progress on the proposal while identifying appropriate committee members who, in turn, as selected, contribute to students' progress. During this period, students have the benefit of additional support in the Dissertation Proposal Seminar required of all doctoral students. Depending on the types of studies students plan, this phase might also involve applying for approval to conduct their studies from the University Committee on Activities Involving Human Subjects.

The dissertation proposal, once approved by the students' committee, is formally reviewed by an advisory panel of faculty with relevant expertise. When approved, students begin the longer process of conducting their studies with the continued guidance and support of committee members. The last benchmark is the final oral examination of the completed dissertation, conducted by the dissertation committee and two outside readers.

Sample Plan of Study

Plan of Study Grid
1st Semester/TermCredits
EDCT-GE 2174 Foundations of Cognitive Sciences 3
EDCT-GE 2175 Foundations of the Learning Sciences 3
Specialized Methods of Research course (by advisement) 3
 Credits9
2nd Semester/Term
EDCT-GE 2158 Design Process for Learning Experiences 3
Research course (by advisement) 3
Research course (by advisement) 3
 Credits9
3rd Semester/Term
EDCT-GE 2015 User Experience Design 3
EDCT-GE 3076 Advanced Seminar in Research and Practice in Educational Technology 3
Cognate (by advisement) 3
 Credits9
4th Semester/Term
EDCT-GE 2520 User Research Methods 3
Research course (by advisement) 3
Cognate (by advisement) 3
 Credits9
5th Semester/Term
EDCT-GE 2260 Building Artificial Intelligence Applications for Education 3
Research course (by advisement) 3
Research course (by advisement) 3
 Credits9
6th Semester/Term
RESCH-GE 3001 Dissertation Proposal Seminar 3
EDCT-GE 2114 Experience Design and Artificial Intelligence 3
Research course (by advisement) 3
 Credits9
 Total Credits54

Comprehensive and culminating elements include: conference papers; candidacy paper preparation and presentation, dissertation prospectus preparation and presentation, dissertation defense.

Following completion of the required coursework for the PhD, students are expected to maintain active status at New York University by enrolling in a research/writing course or a Maintain Matriculation (MAINT-GE 4747) course.  All non-course requirements must be fulfilled prior to degree conferral, although the specific timing of completion may vary from student-to-student.

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