Education: PhD, EdD

The Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, which houses the School of Teacher Education and Leadership, ranks in the top 2% of all graduate colleges of education. The college was also ranked third in the nation in total research dollars received, according to "America's Best Graduate Schools" U.S. News & World Report.

The School of Teacher Education and Leadership administers an interdepartmental program leading to a doctoral degree in education with a required specialization in curriculum and instruction. These degrees are designed for educators who wish to prepare to become curriculum specialists, coordinators, or supervisors in public or private school systems or state departments of public instruction, and for those preparing to work as faculty members at the college or university level, generally in a teacher preparation area.

The PhD prepares candidates for academic careers in institutions that demand research expertise and an understanding of the theoretical foundations of a specific field. The EdD program prepares candidates to serve as curriculum and instruction leaders in public or private educational institutions and to teach in education and education-related programs in colleges and universities. These degrees are also the only distance-delivered doctoral degrees in the state.

Students must choose an area in which to focus their research. These areas are:

• Instructional Leadership
• Mathematics Education and Leadership
• Literacy Education and Leadership
• Career and Technical Education

Specialization(s):

Students must choose a specialization.

• Curriculum and Instruction:

• PhD -  Logan , Beaver, Bicknell, Blanding (USU Eastern), Brigham City, Castle Dale, Cedar City, Cortez, Delta, Ephraim, Grantsville, Heber City, Ignacio, Junction, Kanab, Kaysville, Milford, Moab, Montezuma Creek, Monticello, Monument Valley, Nephi, Orem, Panguitch, Price (USU Eastern), Richfield, Roosevelt (Uintah Basin), St George, Tooele, Tremonton, Vernal (Uintah Basin), Wendover
• EdD -  Logan

The EdD program prepares candidates to serve as curriculum and instruction leaders in public or private educational institutions and to teach in education and education-related programs in colleges and universities.

Graduates with the PhD generally pursue careers in academia.

Admissions Requirements

Applicants must have a master’s degree and two years of teaching experience. Generally, applicants have master’s degrees in education-related fields, but the department will accept those with degrees in other fields in certain circumstances if applicants have teaching experience.

Application Requirements:

• Complete the online application
• Pay the $55 application fee
• Score at or above the 40^th percentile on the GRE
• GPA of 3.0 or higher during most recent 60 semester hours
• Provide curriculum vita or resume
• Provide letter of intent
• Provide transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate credits
• Provide three contacts for letters of recommendation

International students have additional admissions requirements.

Admissions Deadlines

The department has the following deadlines:

• February 1 for Fall admittance
• February 1 of even-numbered years for Fall admittance into the Distance Doctoral program

Program Requirements

The EdD requires completion of an internship in curriculum or supervision. These internships take place in various educational settings. 

Qualifying Exam:

Students pursuing either the PhD or EdD must pass the comprehensive exam after their coursework is completed. They have the choice between a 72-hour take-home exam or an eight-hour exam on campus. Students will be tested on the subjects from their foundation courses, emphasis area, and research.

Financial Assistance

Graduate assistantships, both teaching and research, may be available for full-time graduate students. Qualifying students may receive doctoral and nonresident tuition awards, may be eligible for subsidized health insurance at only a small cost to the student, and receive a nationally competitive stipend.

A variety of additional funding opportunities are available, including fellowships, scholarships, and travel support.

• Education - EdD
• Education - PhD

Steven Camicia, PhD, University of Washington
Associate Professor
Area: Social Studies Education, Educational Foundations, and Qualitative Research Methodologies
Office: EDUC 390
Phone: (801) 518-3193
Email: steven.camicia@usu.edu

Sarah Clark, PhD, Utah State University
Associate Professor
Area: Literacy Education, Teacher Preparation, Teacher Development
Office: ECERC 313
Phone: (435) 797-0370
Email: sarah.clark@usu.edu

James Dorward, PhD, University of Oregon
Professor
Area: Mathematics Education, Program Evaluation
Office: EBLS 236
Phone: (435) 797-1471
Email: jim.dorward@usu.edu

Michael Freeman, PhD, University of Wyoming
Associate Professor
Area: Leadership, Adult Learning
Office: EDUC 396
Phone: (435) 797-1474
Email: michael.freeman@usu.edu

Scott Hunsaker, PhD, University of Virginia
Associate Professor
Area: Gifted and Talented Education; Advanced Readers; Assessment
Office: EDUC 399
Phone: (435) 797-0386
Email: scott.hunsaker@usu.edu

Cindy D'On Jones, PhD, Utah State University
Associate Professor; Director, USU Literacy Clinic
Area: Literacy Instruction & Intervention; Relationship of Reading, Writing, and Discourse;
Office: ECERC 214
Phone: (435) 797-7027
Email: cindy.jones@usu.edu

Suzanne Jones, PhD, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Associate Professor
Area: Emotions & Learning; Collective Efficacy; Conceptual Change learning
Office: EDUC 380
Phone: (435) 797-1568
Email: suzanne.jones@usu.edu

Shireen Keyl, PhD, University of Arizona
Clinical Assistant professor
Area: Education of Girls and Women in Global Context, Subaltern Pedagogy, Multicultural Education
Office: 235 Ephraim
Phone: (435) 797-5647
Email: shireen.keyl@usu.edu

Jen Knight, PhD, Michigan State University
Assistant Professor
Area: Early literacy development, Reading Comprehension, and Teacher Education
Office: 216 Tooele
Phone: (435) 797-9925
Email: jennifer.knight@usu.edu

Ryan Knowles, PhD, University of Missouri
Assistant Professor
Area: Social Studies, Citizenship Education, Quantitative Research
Office: EDUC 335
Phone: (573) 514-5134
Email: ryan.knowles@usu.edu

Steven Laing, EdD, Brigham Young University
Clinical Associate Professor
Area: Educational leadership
Office: EDUC 386
Phone: (435) 797-3912
Email: steve.laing@usu.edu

Becki Lawver, PhD, University of Missouri
Associate Professor
Area: Teacher Professional Development, Teacher Recruitment & Retention, Career & Technical Education/Agriculture
Office: ASTE 111
Phone: (435) 797-1254
Email: rebecca.lawver@usu.edu

Ben Lignugaris-Kraft, PhD, Utah State University
Interim Department Head
Area: Effective Instruction; Instructional Design; students with Mild Disabilities
Office: EDUC 385A
Phone: (435) 797-2382
Email: ben.lig@usu.edu

Max Longhurst, PhD, Utah State University
Assistant Professor
Area: Professional Development/Learning & Science Education
Office: EBLS 239
Phone: (435) 797-7093
Email: max.longhurst@usu.edu

Kimberly Lott, PhD, Auburn University
Associate Professor
Area: Science education
Office: EBLS 241
Phone: (435) 797-1103
Email: kimberly.lott@usu.edu

Beth MacDonald, PhD, Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor
Area: Early Childhood Mathematics Education; Student Cognition and Learning
Office: EDUC 331
Phone: (435) 797-1097
Email: beth.macdonald@usu.edu

Anne Mackiewicz, PhD, Utah State University
Clinical Assistant professor
Area: Early Childhood, Children and nature, Elementary Education
Office: WIB 123
Phone: (435) 613-5206
Email: anne.mackiewicz@usu.edu

Sherry Marx, PhD, University of Texas
Associate Professor
Area: Qualitative Research, Multicultural Education, ESL Education
Office: EDUC 341
Phone: (435) 797-2227
Email: sherry.marx@usu.edu

Joseph Matthews, EdD, Brigham Young University
Associate Professor
Area: Instructional Leadership; Professional Learning Communities; Principal Mentor in Classroom Assessment and Instruction
Office: EDUC 386
Phone: (801) 592-6660
Email: joe.matthews@usu.edu

Eric Mohr, PhD, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Professional Practice Associate Professor
Area: Secondary Literacy, Curriculum Design, Assessment Design
Office: EDUC 398
Phone: (435) 797-0828
Email: eric.mohr@usu.edu

Kathleen Mohr, EdD, Texas A&M-Commerce
Associate Professor
Area: Language and Literacy Development, English-language Learners, Early Grades Instruction
Office: EDUC 339
Phone: (435) 797-3946
Email: kathleen.mohr@usu.edu

Patricia Moyer-Packenham, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Professor
Area: Math Education, Virtual Manipulatives, Mathematical Representations
Office: ECERC 318
Phone: (435) 797-2597
Email: patricia.moyer-packenham@usu.edu

Michael Pate, PhD, Iowa State University
Associate Professor
Area: Agricultural Systems Technology and Safety
Office: ASTE 139
Phone: (435) 797-3508
Email: michael.pate@usu.edu

Amy Piotrowski, PhD, Florida State University
Assistant Professor
Area: 21st century literacies, adolescent literacy and young adult literature, teacher education
Office: 221A Vernal
Phone: (435) 722-1751
Email: amy.piotrowski@usu.edu

Nicole Pyle, PhD, Claremont Graduate University and San Diego State University
Assistant Professor
Area: Dropout Prevention; Adolescent Literacy; College Readiness
Office: EDUC 392
Phone: (435) 797-0392
Email: nicole.pyle@usu.edu

Sylvia Read, PhD, Utah State University
Associate Professor
Area: Writing instruction, teacher education
Office: EDUC 382
Phone: (435) 512-4929
Email: sylvia.read@usu.edu

Edward Reeve, PhD, The Ohio State University
Professor
Area: Technology and Engineering Education; STEM Education; Internationalization
Office: IS 112E
Phone: (435) 797-3642
Email: ed.reeve@usu.edu

Marla Robertson, PhD, Texas Woman's Univrsity
Assistant Professor
Area: Writing instruction; Teacher decision-making; Teacher Professional Development
Office: 114D Roosevelt
Phone: (435) 722-1752
Email: marla.robertson@usu.edu

Jessica Shumway, PhD, Utah State University
Assistant Professor
Area: Early childhood mathematics education; Instructional strategies for promoting students' number sense development; Mathematics knowledge for teaching & teacher development
Office: EDUC 397
Phone: (435) 797-2501
Email: jessica.shumway@usu.edu

Tyron Sorensen, PhD, Oregon State University
Assistant Professor
Area: Teacher education, preparing highly effective teachers to meet agricultural and scientific workforce demands, Teacher retention
Office: ASTE 111
Phone: (435) 797-5741
Email: tyron.sorensen@usu.edu

Debra Spielmaker, PhD, Utah State University
Professor, School of Applied Sciences, Technology & Education - Graduate Program Advisor/Chair
Area: STEM, Career and Technical Education
Office: ASTE 109
Phone: (435) 213-5562
Email: debra.spielmaker@usu.edu

Courtney Stewart, PhD, Brigham Young University
Associate Professor
Area: Rural School Leadership, Online Learning, Learning Analytics
Office: EDUC 384
Phone: (435) 797-7145
Email: courtney.stewart@usu.edu

Gary Straquadine, PhD,
Vice Provost and Associate Department Chair
Area: Strategic Leadership, Research Methods, Diffusion of Innovations
Office: CWD 100
Phone: (435) 613-5223
Email: gary.straquadine@usu.edu

Colby Tofel-Grehl, PhD, University of Virginia
Assistant Professor
Area: Science education, Technology and Making in STEM, gifted education
Office: EBLS 242
Phone: (435) 797-1432
Email: colby.tg@usu.edu

Susan Turner, PhD, Brigham Young University
Clinical Professor
Area: Leadership Theory; Adult Development; Instructional Leadership
Office: EDUC 388
Phone: (435) 797-3947
Email: susan.turner@usu.edu

Windi Turner, PhD, Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor
Area: Family and Consumer Sciences Education
Office: FL 303B
Phone: (435) 797-4476
Email: windi.turner@usu.edu

Brian Warnick, PhD, Oregon State University
Professor and Associate Dean
Area: Agricultural Education, STEM integration, teacher education
Office: AGRS 415
Phone: (435) 797-0378
Email: brian.warnick@usu.edu

Amy Wilson-Lopez, PhD, University of Georgia
Associate Professor
Area: Adolescent Literacy, Disciplinary Literacy, Engineering Education
Office: EDUC 333
Phone: (435) 797-0376
Email: amyalexandra.wilson@usu.edu

Professional Organizations, Honor Societies, and Clubs

American Education Research Association: AERA is concerned with improving the educational process by encouraging scholarly inquiry related to education and evaluation and by promoting the dissemination and practical application of research results. The broad range of disciplines represented by the membership includes education, psychology, statistics, sociology, history, economics, philosophy, anthropology, and political science.

Labs, Centers, Research

Edith Bowen Laboratory School: EBLS is one of Utah’s charter schools, offering services to more than 300 students grades K-5. The school, in cooperation with Utah State University, trains more than 200 pre-service teachers preparing to become professional educators, as well as supporting several other departments/colleges on campus, including special education, physical education, music, psychology, and business. Because the school is funded through state funds and donations, no tuition is charged to students.

InTech Collegiate High School: InTech Collegiate High School is a public charter high school located on USU’s Innovation Campus. The school focuses on math, science, and engineering and seeks to provide academic opportunities to all students, particularly at-risk and minority students. InTech maintains its student body size below 300, and its average class size below 25.