PhD Program Overview

The College of Technology’s PhD Program is based on best practices at Purdue and other leading institutions.

The PhD program’s primary purposes are to:

  • Prepare scholarly faculty for technology education programs throughout the nation and world, and advanced leader/researchers for public and private sector environments employing such levels of personnel
  • Develop the concomitant skills involved in technology-relevant knowledge development, synthesis and assessment.

By design, the programs also prepare candidates for leadership roles in fields such as technology transfer, technology human resource development/technology teaching, or supervision of technology in private and public sector agencies.

Plans of Study

PhD advisors, working interactively with each degree applicant, will consider all prior graduate coursework accepted for transfer into the program while developing the plan of study.

The College of Technology’s PhD program consists of four components:

21 cr minimum
12 cr minimum
  • Cognate
    (from any appropriate Purdue School other than Technology)
 12 cr minimum
  • Dissertation Research
15 cr minimum
Total Hours beyond the Master’s degree
60 cr minimum
Master’s degree
30 cr maximum
Total Graduate Study 90 cr minimum

Technology Major

This component develops 21st Century cognitive skills and an appropriate knowledge base. A set of core courses and elective courses are used to create a technology focus. Courses from any of the College’s departments may be used in this component. back

Discovery Foundations

The intent of the Discovery Foundations component is to develop a mastery of research, development and discovery skills sufficient to enable the candidate’s dissertation research project and the critical evaluation of other’s research. As a direct consequence of this degree component, College of Technology PhD candidates will be able to design, conduct and report research and knowledge/capability development activity and outcomes. back

Cognate

The Cognate component enables candidates to establish a supportive area of competence relevant to their career objective. Typically the cognate consists of 12 semester credit hours of coherent courses. The validity of the cognate is attested to by a doctoral level graduate faculty member who serves on the candidate’s PhD program committee. back

 

Audiences