Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, (Ph.D.) - Teacher Education and Professional Development Specialization
Great schools have great teachers. If we want great schools, we must prepare teachers to be great. That is the work of teacher educators.
As the field of teaching has developed more complex ideas of high-quality education, teacher education has become more complex. Teacher educators need to prepare pre-service and in-service educators for equitable and justice-oriented practice. This program leads to a PhD in Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership with a specialization in Teacher Education and Professional Development (TEPD).
Courses examine:
- research on approaches to pre- and in-service teacher education;
- connections among teacher development, student learning, teacher leadership, curriculum, and school improvement;
- the sociopolitical contexts in which teacher education and professional development are embedded;
- humanizing and equity-oriented pedagogies used in different subject areas and in preparing teachers for multilingual and special needs students; and
- scholarship on teacher learning for minoritized and underserved populations in urban schools.
TEPD graduates become researchers, educational leaders, teacher educators, and change agents who forge innovative directions in the education of teachers for universities, state departments of education, school districts, and other research and learning organizations.
To complement the TEPD program requirements, students are encouraged to work with their advisors to tailor their coursework to their interests. Students are encouraged to take courses from other specializations within the department, including:
- Education Policy and Leadership;
- Language, Literacy and Social Inquiry;
- Mathematics and Science Education;
- Urban Education; and
- Technology, Learning and Leadership.
Courses may also come from other areas of study from within and outside the college including international education, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, urban studies, and women’s studies.
For information on graduate admission please see the Graduate School's Admission requirements. We accept both full-time and part-time doctoral students.
Select an area of interest from the various offerings in the College of Education to determine the admission requirements and deadlines.
Applicants who wish to apply to the PhD program with specialization in Teacher Education and Professional development should select Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership (TLPL) as their “Intended Program of Study,” and TEPD as their “Area of Interest.” Special consideration is given to candidates who have PK-12 teaching experience and/or who have led professional development programs or activities in schools, school systems, and other learning organizations.
Applicants to the PhD program need to submit the following:
- A statement of purpose describing your professional background, research interests, faculty you have interest in working with, and other relevant experiences;
- Official transcripts from undergraduate and graduate work;
- Letters of recommendation from people who can address your academic strengths and abilities as an educator or leader (3);
- CV/Resumé;
- A strong academic writing sample; and
- TOEFL/IELTS/PTE (for international graduate students). The requirements are available here.
Please refer to the Guide to Applying for instructions on how to apply for graduate admission. If you have questions or concerns, we ask you to first review our list of Frequently Asked Questions. International applicants should visit the International admissions webpage for additional information.
INFORMATION SESSION about our Ph.D. and M.A. programs will be held on October 13, 2023, by zoom. Please email Kay Moon (kmoon@umd.edu) to receive updates.
A typical course sequence for the TEPD specialization is below. Your individual experience may vary and we strongly encourage you to work with your advisor on crafting a course sequence that fits your needs and interests.
Course Sequence: Teacher Education/Professional Development Specialization
Year 1
| Fall | spring |
|---|---|
| TLPL 788Q: TEPD Seminar (1 cr.) | TLPL 788Q: TEPD Seminar (1 cr.) |
| TLPL 794: Foundations of Education Inquiry: Core I (3 cr.)* | TLPL 795: Foundations of Education Inquiry: Core II (3 cr.)* |
|
TLPL 771: Pedagogy of Teacher Education (3 cr.)† (odd years only) OR TLPL 788: Teacher Cognition (3 cr.)† (even years) |
TLPL 772: Teaching, Professional Development and School Change (3 cr.)† (even years only) OR Elective |
| One more course (Doctoral, Elective, or Research Methods) (3 cr.) | One more course (Doctoral, Elective, or Research Methods) (3 cr.) |
|
* Required for all TLPL doctoral students. † Required for all TEPD doctoral students. Only offered alternating years. |
|
Year 2
| Fall | Spring |
|---|---|
| TLPL 788Q: TEPD Seminar (1 cr.) | TLPL 788Q: TEPD Seminar (1 cr.) |
|
TLPL 771: Pedagogy of Teacher Education (3 cr.)† (odd years only) OR TLPL 788: Teacher Cognition (3 cr.)† (even years) |
TLPL772: Teaching, Professional Development and School Change (3 cr.)† (even years only) OR Elective |
| Two more courses (Doctoral, Elective, or Research Methods) (3 cr.) | Two more courses (Doctoral, Elective, or Research Methods) (3 cr.) |
| † Required for all TEPD doctoral students. Only offered alternating years. | |
Year 3
| Fall | Spring |
|---|---|
| TLPL 788Q: TEPD Seminar (1 cr.) | TLPL 788Q: TEPD Seminar (1 cr.) |
|
TLPL 898: Pre-Candidacy Research Comprehensive Exam (1-6 cr.) |
TLPL 898: Pre-Candidacy Research Comprehensive Exam (1-6 cr.) |
| Two more courses (Doctoral, Elective, or Research Methods) (6 cr.) | Two more courses (Doctoral, Elective, or Research Methods) (6 cr.) |
Years 4 & 5
| Fall | Spring |
|---|---|
| TLPL 899: Doctoral Dissertation Research (1-6 cr.) | TLPL 899: Doctoral Dissertation Research (1-6 cr.) |
| Dissertation defense | |
The program provides competitive financial support packages for all full-time students.
The doctoral curriculum typically requires at least three years of graduate study beyond the master’s degree. Most students admitted to the doctoral program already have a master’s degree. If a student does not have a master’s degree, an advisor develops an individualized plan that aligns master’s level and doctoral level coursework for the student.
Integrated Department Core: All new TLPL PhD students join a two-course sequence (6 semester hours) in foundations of inquiry and practice with other department specialization students (TLPL 794 and TLPL 795). Full-time students typically take the Core courses in their first year.
Specialization Core: Candidates take at least 9 semester hours in TEPD. An additional 21 semester hours (typically seven courses) is selected in consultation with the advisor. These courses generally take the form of doctoral seminars taught by program faculty and may include doctoral level courses from other departments.
Intermediate and Advanced Methods: Students are required to take at least 12 credit hours of research methods courses, including one qualitative and one quantitative methods course. Students may take research methods courses in TLPL, Human Development and Quantitative Methods (HDQM), or other academic departments.
Doctoral Seminars: Doctoral students in TEPD may enroll in the TEPD (or other) one-credit seminar with other students in their area of focus to explore topics of interest with faculty and other students, develop their knowledge of the field, explore policy issues that pertain to the field, and apprentice into the broader research community.
Specialization in Teacher Education and Professional Development
I. TLPL Department Core (9 cr)
- TLPL 794: Foundations of Education Inquiry: Core I
- TLPL 795: Foundations of Education Inquiry: Core II
II. Intermediate & Advanced Methods (12 cr)
Though not an exhaustive list, some example courses are below:
Qualitative (at least 1 course)
- TLPL 790: Seminar in Mixed Methods Research in Education
- TLPL 791: Qualitative Research I: Design and Fieldwork
- TLPL 792: Qualitative Research II: Analysis and Interpretation of Data
- TLPL 860: Seminar on Case Study Methods
- TLPL 762: Phenomenological Inquiry I
- TLPL 763: Phenomenological Inquiry II
Quantitative (at least 1 course)
- EDMS 646: Quantitative Analysis II
- EDMS 651: Applied Regression Analysis
- EDMS 657: Factor Analysis
- EDMS 722: Structural Modeling
- TLPL 765: Quantitative Applications for Education Policy Analysis
- TLPL 788 X: Special Topics in Education: Cost Analysis
- TLPL 790: Seminar in Mixed Methods Research in Education
- SURV 699K: Multilevel Analysis of Survey Data
III. Specialization Credits (30 cr)
Specialization Core (9 cr)
- TLPL 771: Pedagogy of Teacher Education
- TLPL 772: Teaching, Professional Development, and School Change
- TLPL 788: Teacher Cognition
Electives (21 cr)
Students work with their advisor to develop a program of study that includes at least one teacher education-focused course in another TLPL specialization, or another department in the College of Education.
IV. Comprehensive Exams
PhD students must complete comprehensive exams before starting their dissertation research. Students typically begin their comps near the end of their second year or beginning of their third year.
V. Dissertation Research (12 cr)
Before embarking on collecting and analyzing data for a dissertation, PhD candidates need to submit a dissertation proposal. The most standard format for a proposal is to write it as the first three chapters of your dissertation. Chapter 1 is an introduction, Chapter 2 is a literature review and theoretical framework, and Chapter 3 is the research methods. PhD students should work with their advisor and their dissertation committee to decide on the format that makes the most sense.
If you have questions about our admissions process, contact TLPL Graduate Coordinator Kay Moon at kmoon@umd.edu.
If you have questions about the program specifically, contact Dr. Donna Wiseman at dlwise@umd.edu.
Deadlines vary by degree and program. Please refer to the Graduate School's application information.
We encourage you to get in touch with any of the following faculty members who have an interest in teacher education and professional development, and are also affiliated with another specialization:
- Keisha Allen (she/her/hers): Education Policy and Leadership
- David Blazar (he/him/his): Education Policy and Leadership
- Andrew Brantlinger (he/him/his): Science, Technology and Mathematics Education
- Daniel Chazan (he/him/his): Science, Technology and Mathematics Education
- Daniel Levin (he/him/his): Science, Technology and Mathematics Education
- Megan Madigan Peercy (she/her/hers): Language, Literacy, and Social Inquiry
- Janet Walkoe (she/her/hers): Science, Technology and Mathematics Education
- Donna Wiseman (she/her/hers): Language, Literacy, and Social Inquiry
CATALOG AND POLICIES
Graduate students in the College of Education are responsible for meeting University and the Graduate School policy, and for meeting Program requirements. See the Graduate Catalog and Graduate Policies governing graduate education at the University of Maryland. The schedule adjustment policy is available from the Office of the Registrar and provides information on adding and dropping courses, penalties, and refund schedules.
FORMS
Graduate students are required to submit various forms at specific points in the program and as part of the degree clearance process. Please refer to Steps Toward Graduation to determine the steps and forms that are required. To access forms used by graduate students visit the Graduate Studies Forms page in Student Services.