• Program details
• Required course work
• Admissions
• Online application

The EDPL doctoral program develops educational scholar-practitioners, researchers, and leaders who possess the commitment, perspective, and skills to implement strategies for greater equity in a variety of educational settings. Students inquire deeply into the foundational knowledge of education, exploring how the organization of schools, institutions of higher education, and society shape educational processes. Students gain theoretical knowledge in specific disciplinary/topical concentrations, enabling them to further examine educational practice in a chosen context.  Finally, students acquire expertise in research methods which equip them to advance and enact educational knowledge. The program supports EDPL PhD graduates to work actively to create a more just society. 

EDPL Doctoral Program Details

A Marquette doctoral student must complete a 57-credit program of study prepared in consultation with his or her adviser and outlined on an approved Doctoral Program Planning Form. The program must include an earned master’s degree of 30 credit hours, minimum, an additional 45 credit hours of course work (typically, of which, at least 30 must be in the College of Education), and 12 credit hours of dissertation course work. A maximum of 15 credit hours (earned in the completion of the master’s degree, possibly in combination with doctoral electives transferred in from other units/institutions) may potentially be applied to the doctoral program requirements. Acceptance of these credits, on a case-by-case basis, is contingent on the approval of the adviser and the director of graduate studies based on a comparable level of rigor as Marquette courses and benefit to the student’s program.

• EDPL Graduate Policies and Procedure Handbook 2023-2024

Required Course Work

Recommended Electives

Students may also create a customized set of electives with the approval of their adviser. Please see the Doctoral Program Planning Form for more details.

A doctoral student must pass all three parts of a written and oral qualifying exam prior to the advancement to candidacy. DQE Component 1: Critical Analysis and DQE Component 2: Foundations of Research are completed during coursework. DQE Component 3: Proposal, both written and oral defense, is taken after the completion of course work. A student’s DQE Component 3 committee and the dissertation committee (typically the same members) and should include at least two faculty from the EDPL Department. The remaining members may be from outside the department with no more than one coming from outside the university. Students should select all committee members in consultation with their adviser. 

The doctoral dissertation must represent an original research contribution and show high attainment and clear ability to do independent research. Students must successfully defend both their dissertation proposal and the final dissertation.

EDPL Doctoral Admissions

Requests for admission to the doctoral program are considered once per year. Deadline for submission of materials is January 15. Applicants will be notified by March 15.

Application for admission should be submitted online at the Graduate School website.

*Be sure to inform the individuals you choose for recommendations that filling out the online assessment is not enough. They must upload their letter online.