Curriculum and Instruction - Doctor of Philosophy

The Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) are rigorous degrees requiring an intellectual and personal commitment. The academic course of study for both degrees is the same.  The PhD doctoral program requires students to demonstrate competency in the computer tools or second language sequence. (See below in program descriptions). For the PhD program 66 credit hours is only the minimum and students may be asked to complete additional hours as per their advisor and committee recommendations.

The degree require a dissertation based on original research, inextricably grounded with an array of primary and secondary sources. The degree has required courses of study, but are additionally individualized based on those scholarly and academic expectations set by the doctoral student in collaboration with their Dissertation Committee.

Options and Concentration

Currently there are four Options and one concentration for the Doctoral Program of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction. These are: 

Options:

1. Bilingual/TESOL
2. Critical Pedagogies
3. Early Childhood Education
4. Language, Literacy & Culture

Concentration:

1. Educational Learning Technologies

To Apply

• Apply to the NMSU Graduate School (Select Intended major "Curriculum and Instruction" and then concentration you will pursue);
• Apply to C&I by submitting your Application Portfolio by December 15th (via the Graduate School Application portal)
  • See the sections, “Applying to the Doctoral Program,” “Doctoral Intake Application Instructions” and the “C&I Doctoral Student Checklist” in the Doctoral Handbook.
  • NMSU Doc Portfolio Example – C&I (If the Sample portfolio does not open automatically, try a different browser or try saving the portfolio to your desktop before opening it.)

NOTE:  Potential students who have written successful portfolios will be invited to interview with the Doctoral Qualifying Committee (a committee of C&I faculty)

Once Applicants Are Accepted

• Attend the applicable Doctoral Orientation Meeting your first semester of classes
• Meet with your Interim Advisor during your first semester of classes
• Get to know our faculty
• Read the Doctoral Handbook and the sections of the NMSU Graduate Catalog that apply to you (this is your responsibility)
• Follow the Doctoral Program Checklist from the C&I Doctoral Handbook