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Curriculum

PhD, International Education

How to Apply

In the International Education PhD program, you will investigate key challenges, complexities, and inequities affecting global education systems and programming through intensive coursework and applied research. Our interdisciplinary approach applies theoretical, conceptual, and methodological advances in the humanities and the social sciences to the analysis of international educational policies and institutions. The PhD in International Education requires the completion of a minimum of 54 credits, a written and oral examination, and a dissertation. We welcome both full- and part-time students. You will work with your faculty advisors to develop a course of study that concentrates on an area of the world, with expectations to conduct field work abroad, and take courses in specialized research methods, social science or humanities disciplines, and educational policy. Our PhD graduates go on to pursue academic careers in comparative and international education and/or careers as researchers or professional educators in international and multinational settings. 

Core Course Sequence 

Our curriculum includes doctoral seminars, core courses in international education, specialized research methods, areas studies courses, and course work in the student’s area of interest. In consultation with your faculty advisor, you will choose elective courses that will prepare you to conduct research or work within a particular academic discipline, professional field, and/or geographic area. You will also develop competencies in the research methods that will be used in your dissertation research. Beyond campus and coursework, our doctoral students conduct original fieldwork on key education questions relating to policy and programming domestically and internationally with nonprofits, NGOs, refugee services, multilateral organizations, government agencies, and higher education institutions. Through in-depth experiential learning inside and outside the classroom and first-hand research in the field, you will shape your theses and key contributions to the field of international education, and complete the program prepared to take academic and leadership positions in diverse education settings.

Core Courses

  • Foundations of International Education
  • Contemporary Issues in International Education
  • Content Seminar in International Education I
  • Content Seminar in International Education II
  • Department Doctoral Seminar I

Specialization Sequence

As a doctoral student, you may specialize in one of the following areas of concentration as a general pathway to organize and tailor your program of study:

  • Cross-Cultural Exchange and Training equips you with the knowledge and skills needed to engage in research, teaching, and employment within academia or with educational and cultural organizations that promote international exchanges and cross-cultural training
  • Global Education prepares you to conduct research; teach; and pursue opportunities in academia or in schools, publishing houses, and educational agencies dedicated to the design, development, and implementation of global education initiatives
  • International Development Education prepares students to conduct research, teach, and work in academia or in government agencies, private voluntary organizations, and foundations that deliver educational assistance to low- and middle-income countries to foster sustainable economic development.

Students may also choose to develop a regional and/or disciplinary concentration. Most area studies courses are offered in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. These may include courses in, for example, Political Science, Sociology, Philosophy, Economics, etc. as well as regional studies.

Sample Elective Courses 

Students must complete a minimum of 31 credits in elective coursework. At least 12 credits of elective coursework must be taken in research methods. Students, in consultation with their faculty advisor, should select elective courses that will prepare them to conduct research or work within a particular academic discipline, professional field, and/or geographic area.

In Quantitative Methods

  • Intermediate Quantitative Methods: The General Linear Model 
  • Topics in Multivariate Analysis
  • Causal Inference
  • Missing Data

In Qualitative Methods

  • Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry
  • Case Study and Ethnographic Inquiry
  • Interview and Observation
  • Participatory Action Research

Culminating Experience

The dissertation represents the culmination of your doctoral training in the form of an independent piece of scholarship. It should represent a unique, valuable, and rigorous contribution to research in the field of international education.  You may choose to complete a “Traditional Format” dissertation that focuses on presenting the motivation, research question(s), literature/framework, methods, findings, analysis, and implications of a single empirical study over the course of multiple (often 6-7) chapters. This format is sometimes called a "Book" dissertation to reflect the idea that it could, in theory, be published as a monograph by an academic press. Alternatively, you may choose a "Journal Article Format" that presents 3 distinct papers from multiple empirical studies that belong to a coherent research agenda.  This format is called the "Journal Article Format" dissertation to reflect the idea that each paper could, in theory, be published as a journal article in a peer-reviewed journal. 

Prior to the dissertation, you will complete a written comprehensive exam focusing on the basic literature that grounds the field of international education followed by an oral comprehensive exam based on an individual reading list prepared in consultation with your dissertation chair and committee members. Once you have successfully completed the written comprehensive examination, your dissertation chair will help you identify two additional faculty members to help share the oral comprehensive exam reading list as noted above and to serve on the dissertation committee (for a total of three members). The committee will supervise the writing of the proposal and the dissertation. At the completion of a successful proposal defense, you will advance to candidacy (“ABD”) and complete your dissertation research, analysis, and writing. After submitting the dissertation, you will defend the document before an examining commission of five faculty, including the dissertation chair, two sponsoring professors (your committee members) and two outside readers.

On This Page

Program Requirements

The PhD degree requires the completion of a minimum of 54 credits and a dissertation, as follows:

Course Title Credits
International Education Doctoral Seminars
INTE-GE 3097Content Seminar in Int'L Ed I3
or INTE-GE 3098 Content Sem in Int'L Ed II
INTE-GE 3801Research in Int'L Ed I3
or INTE-GE 3802 Research in Int'L Ed II
Core Courses in International Education
INTE-GE 2803Foundations In International Education4
INTE-GE 2025Contemporary Issues in International Education4
Departmental Doctoral Seminar
Complete 3 credits by advisement3
Specialized Research Methods
Select 12 credits in specialized research methods 112
Specialization in International Education
Complete 8-12 credits 28-12
Area Studies
Complete 8-12 credits (optional) 38-12
Readings and Dissertation Proposal Seminars
Select up to 12 credits from the following doctoral seminar courses (optional)0-12
ASH-GE 3002
Doctoral Seminar I (can be repeated for credit)
ASH-GE 3003
Doctoral Seminar II (can be repeated for credit)
Total Credits54
1

Students should develop competence in the research methods that they will use in their dissertation research. Faculty play a large role in directing individual mentees toward specific research courses and have their own individual specifications within these requirements. Both qualitative and quantitative methods sequences are housed in our department, but may be taught by faculty from other departments. Students prioritizing quantitative methods should take 4 courses in related methods, including for example, basic/intermediate/advanced statistics, causal inference, survey design, etc. and 1-2 courses in qualitative methods. Those prioritizing qualitative methods should take a minimum of 2 semesters of statistics, and 2 additional qualitative methods classes.

2

Each student may specialize in one of the following areas of concentration as a general pathway to help organize one’s courses. The specialization is intended to help students frame their work for others; it does not appear on the IE PhD diploma.

  • Global Education
  • International Development Education/Education, Conflict, and Humanitarian Action
  • Cross Cultural Exchange and Training
3

Coursework is typically tailored to the student, and advisers decide together with their doctoral students which electives will suit the student’s areas of interest. These may include courses in, for example, Political Science, Sociology, Philosophy, Economics, etc. as well as regional studies. Students may choose to develop a regional concentration. Most area studies courses are offered in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Additional Program Requirements

Candidacy Examination

While completing coursework, students are known as “PhD students.”  Upon successful completion of coursework, written comprehensive exam, oral comprehensive exam, and proposal defense, they are known as “PhD candidates.” 

After completing most of their core course work, students should begin preparation for the candidacy examination. The candidacy examination has two parts -- a three-hour written comprehensive and a two-hour oral session. The written part focuses on the basic literature covering modernization theory, cultural identity, nationalism, globalization, and socialization and is largely based on the three core theory classes. The International Education Program faculty work together to write the exam questions. We encourage students to study together as a cohort and use and build on the notes that their colleagues developed in previous years. Most students choose to take their written exam by beginning of their 4th semester so that the material from the core theory classes is still fresh in their minds. The exam is offered on one single date in the fall or spring, scheduled at the request of the students in consultation with faculty. Faculty determine the final date for the exam.   

The oral examination focuses on key theoretical frameworks from the key discipline the student draws on (e.g., see disciplines below), major field of specialization in International Education (e.g., loosely described as Global Education, International Development Education, Conflict/Peace Education, or Cross Cultural Exchange and Training), research methods, and the area studies concentration.  Students must demonstrate competence in one of the following academic disciplines: anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, politics, or sociology. Students should use electives in their specialized field of international education and in their area studies concentration to build their theoretical knowledge to satisfy this requirement. Three professors conduct the oral examination representing expertise in, for example, the area studies concentration, disciplinary concentration, and research methods. Prior to taking the examination, each student must submit a list of books and articles for each part of the examination first, to their adviser, and second to the committee members for approval.

Dissertation Committee

When a student has successfully completed the candidacy examination and has chosen a topic for research, their adviser will help her/him identify two faculty members to serve on the sponsoring committee who will supervise the writing of the proposal and the dissertation. Although not required to be the same, these two members may be the same as the two selected for the oral comprehensive examination. The chairperson of the committee is the student’s adviser. The adviser must be a full time faculty member of the International Education program unless there is a compelling reason for another choice. At least one committee member must come from outside the International Education Program; they may come from the department, elsewhere in Steinhart, NYU, or beyond. In most cases at least one of the members of the committee is a specialist in the country or region in which the student has conducted their research.

Dissertation Proposal

The dissertation proposal should be completed and defended ideally by the beginning of the second semester of the third year. We recommend this deadline since the proposal defense typically must be completed in order to apply for dissertation research grants and fellowships. The proposal review process requires the PhD student to work closely with their primary adviser and the two other dissertation committee members to move the proposal to its final state. Once the chair and committee have agreed that the proposal is ready for defense, the student distributes the final version to the committee and to the two proposal reviewers/external readers. At the completion of a successful proposal/defense, the PhD student advances to candidacy (“ABD”). If Human Subjects (IRB) approval is required for the dissertation research, this paperwork should be submitted immediately after the proposal defense. 

While preparing the dissertation students must enroll in a 0-credit course, MAINT-GE 4747, to maintain matriculation.

Final Oral Defense

After submitting the dissertation each student will defend the document before an examining commission of five faculty, including the adviser and two sponsoring professors and two outside readers. The defense may include general areas of knowledge in the student's field of specialization as well as specific questions on the dissertation itself.

Sample Plan of Study

Plan of Study Grid
1st Semester/TermCredits
Departmental Doctoral Seminar 3
INTE-GE 3801 Research in Int'L Ed I 3
INTE-GE 2803 Foundations In International Education 4
Specialized Research Methods 3
 Credits13
2nd Semester/Term
INTE-GE 3098 Content Sem in Int'L Ed II 3
INTE-GE 2025 Contemporary Issues in International Education 4
Specialized Research Methods 3
INTE-GE 3802 Research in Int'L Ed II 3
 Credits13
3rd Semester/Term
Specialized Research Methods 3
Doctoral Seminar 3
Specialization in International Education Elective 6
 Credits12
4th Semester/Term
Specialized Research Methods 3
Doctoral Seminar 3
Specialization in International Education Elective 4
 Credits10
5th Semester/Term
Doctoral Seminar 0
Area Studies Elective 6
 Credits6
6th Semester/Term
Doctoral Seminar 0
 Credits0
 Total Credits54

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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