Program Overview

The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Curriculum and Instruction prepares educators to assume leadership positions in institutions of higher education and in local, regional and independent school districts at multiple levels. The Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction at UTRGV provides school districts throughout Texas and nationwide individuals with sufficient and specific expertise to formulate and lead P-16 programs. In addition, the degree enables successful candidates to teach in colleges and universities, many of which are faced with a shortage of qualified faculty. To this end, the degree provides a qualified pool of teacher educators for institutions of higher education throughout Texas and the nation.

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The program offers courses in the following areas of emphasis:

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• Bilingual Studies

• Early Childhood

• Educational Technology

• Higher Education Teaching

• Literacy

• Mathematics Education

• Science Education

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However, you are not limited in any facet to these areas of emphasis, but instead are encouraged to see them as starting off points to create your individual professional brand and area of expertise. The program offers an enormous inventory of courses in which students can move in different directions to make them more marketable for specific positions after graduation! The new class of doctoral students is intended to be a cohesive, supportive, interactive group of individuals engaged in intellectual inquiry with each other, their professors and selected educational practitioners. The courses, seminars, field experiences and other academic opportunities offered within the program are the vehicles through which this intellectual inquiry takes place. Each member is required to participate in activities and to contribute as a member of this community of scholars. The cohort proceeds as a group through a sequence of coursework, and research endeavors.