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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Admission Requirements

In addition to meeting standard Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements, applicants to the Doctoral Program in Language, Culture and Teaching will have undertaken a masters level Program (with a B+ average) including a component based on original research at a recognized university. Applicants must submit evidence of relevant professional preparation and/or personal and career experience.

Applicants are required to submit a file of their academic, career, and life experience for admission to the doctoral Program. This file shall consist of:

Applicants of interest to the Program may be interviewed in the final stages of selection. This interview will be arranged at the convenience of both the Program and the candidate. The purpose of the interview is to assess the overall suitability of candidates and to determine if there are faculty members available in their area of research interest.

Final admission will be offered to candidates only if faculty supervisorship is available.

Program Description

Candidates will undertake a Program of studies of a minimum of 21 credit hours plus a doctoral dissertation as detailed below.

  1. Required Courses

    • a compulsory Seminar on Research and Issues in Language, Culture, and Teaching (EDUC5100) weighted at 6.0 credit hours. This seminar covers the conceptualizations of educational inquiry, theory and practice in relation to ongoing issues in holism, critical thought and the return to the humanities and arts as a way of informing human studies.
    • a compulsory research methods course beyond the introductory graduate level of at least 3.00 credit hours (students lacking pre-requisites must enrol in an introductory graduate level course as an addition to their Program requirements. Equivalence of previous methods courses will be determined by the faculty pro-tem supervisor in consultation with the Graduate Executive Committee)

  2. Elective Courses

    A minimum of four half courses (12.0 credit hours) or equivalent chosen from among the following:

    • the formal course offerings of the graduate Program in Education
    • courses in allied disciplines chosen from among the offerings of other graduate Programs at York University
    • courses in allied disciplines, to a maximum of one full course or equivalent, at other institutions
    • negotiated studies courses: Student Initiated Collaborative Inquiry, Directed Reading, Practicum Seminar (the content and weighting of negotiated studies courses must be determined by the faculty pro-tem supervisor and approved by the Graduate Executive Committee).

Comprehensive Examination

The Comprehensive Examination consists of a public defence of the dissertation proposal.

A Comprehensive Examination is set at the completion of all required course work, typically, held within six months of, and no more than one year from, the end of the candidate's course work.

Additional details on the Comprehensive Examination are available in the Graduate Program in Education Handbook.

Doctoral Dissertation Proposal & Dissertation Defence

For regulations on the Dissertation Defence, please consult the Faculty of Graduate Studies calendar for more details.

Enrolment & Residency Regulations

Candidates will normally be enrolled, at different periods of their Programs, in part-time and full-time study. The time limit for completion for the PhD Program is six years from a candidate's entry into the Program.