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Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Research
with Specialization in Educational Technology

Louisiana State University

Mission

 

The Doctoral Program in Educational Technology is designed to prepare educational technology scholars and leaders, who will guide the practice of educational technology innovation and adoption at state, district, and university levels, conduct high quality empirical research, and make original theoretical contributions to the field.

Program Description

Doctoral students in Educational Technology are expected to develop comprehensive knowledge in three interrelated areas of educational technology and specialization in two.  The three interrelated areas are conceptual, practical, and empirical. 

Conceptual:  The conceptual area of the program addresses both the foundation knowledge and advanced work for theory development. Foundation knowledge includes cognitive theories and instructional design models. Advanced work includes the development of original theoretical contributions such as new instructional model development based on sound understanding of relevant theories, practices, and empirical research. Students will also be encouraged to develop expertise in related theories and pedagogy such as curriculum theories, collaborative learning, and science education models, and make unique cross-field theoretical contributions.

Practical:  This area prepares students to develop skills in designing, developing, and implementing educational technology initiatives in specific settings and contexts. Based on interests, students will develop knowledge and skills in specific areas such as educational technology integration in K-12 settings, higher education technology program management, educational technology in specific content or specialty areas, and technology and information literacy development. To help develop contextualized knowledge and skills, students will have opportunities to engage in pertinent service learning projects and internships.

Empirical: In addition to traditional classroom research and statistics courses, doctoral students will participate in faculty research projects or advanced-level doctoral students’ research for which they will receive 1-3 credit hours for a minimum of two consecutive semesters before starting on their dissertation work.  The purpose is for students to gain empirical research experience and skills by working with mentors on real research projects.

Career Opportunities

The program prepares technology leaders and change agents in a variety of educational institutions and organizations including: public and private schools, community colleges, universities, government agencies, and business organizations. Upon completion of the program, graduates may serve as

• University professor in educational technology programs or related fields
• Instructional designer or director at university or college faculty development centers
• Instructional designer or training director at business organizations
• Educational technology specialist, supervisor, or administrator at government agencies such as state department of education and educational technology centers.

Please see the Admission page for Application Procedures

Program Coursework and Suggested Sequence

Sequence (phases)	Course Numbers and Titles	Area	Hours
Prerequisite	ELRC 4006   Applied statistics in education (or equivalent)	Empirical
Prerequisite	ELRC 4249 Understanding and applying research in education (or equivalent)	Empirical
Prerequisite	ELRC 4535 Educational telecommunications and the Internet (or equivalent)	Practical
ETPP Department Core
Req. 1	ELRC 7299 Introduction to scholarship in education	Conceptual	3
Req. 2	EDCI 7910 Traditions of inquiry in education	Conceptual	3
Req. 3	ELRC 7006 Educational statistics or equivalent	Empirical	4
Req. 4	ELRC 7241 Educational research methodology or equivalent	Empirical	3
Req. 4	ELRC 7243 Qualitative methods in educational research or equivalent	Empirical	4
Educational Technology Specialty Area
Req. 1	ELRC 7503 Instructional design	Conceptual	3
Req. 1	ELRC 7500   Technology in educational leadership	Conceptual	3
Req. 2	ELRC 7505 Design and development of multimedia Instructional Units	Practical	3
Req. 2	ELRC 7550 Theory and research in educational technology	Conceptual	3
Req. 3	ELRC 7240 Critical analysis of current research	Empirical	3
Req. 3	Educational technology research internship, or ELRC 7515 Implementing and evaluating technology-supported instruction *	Empirical	2-3
Electives	To be selected in consultation with student’s major advisor		9
	Distributed Learning
2	ELRC 7502 Principles of distance education (3)	Conceptual
3	ELRC 7520 Technology and collaborative learning* (3)	All
3	ELRC 7535 Advanced telecommunications and electronic learning (3)	Practical
	Instructional Design and Development
2	ELRC7509 Authoring tools for educators (3)	Practical
3	ELRC 7555 Advanced instructional design* (3)	PracticalConceptual
	Professional Development
2	ELRC 7420 Administration of technology  programs (3)	Practical
3	ELRC 7525 Professional development for K-12 technology integration (3)	Practical
	Report and Grant writing
4	ELRC 7560 Grant Writing* (3)
4	ELRC 7570 Report Writing for Journal Publication* (3)
	Advanced Research and Statistics
4	ELRC7016 Advanced educational statistics (3)
4	ELRC 7280   Content analysis (3)
	Cognate area such as higher education, k-12 administration, science education, math, reading, or special education (3)
Req. 5	ELRC 7517 Seminar in Educational Media: Dissertation proposal development		3
Req. 6	ELRC 9000 Dissertation		9
	Total Beyond Master’s Level		55