Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. in Language, Literacy, and Culture requires completion of 12 hours of core curriculum; 12 hours of coursework in a major program of study or concentration; 3-6 hours of an internship; 12 hours of research methods courses; and 12 hours of dissertation research. In addition, students must successfully complete written comprehensive examinations, write and defend a dissertation, and, where appropriate, demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language.

Core courses consist of the following:
LLC 600 Introduction to Language, Literacy, and Culture (required for all students)
LLC 601 Intercultural Pragmatics
LLC 606 Social Inequality and Social Policy
LLC 610 Theorizing Identity in Multicultural Contexts
LLC 611 Constructing Race, Class, and Gender
LLC 616 Cyberspace, Culture, and Society
LLC 635 Socio-cultural Theories of Learning and Human Interaction
LLC 640 Multi-disciplinary Approaches to Race, Society, and Culture
LLC 641 Community, Literacy & Computer-Assisted Writing

Students develop their program of study in consultation with an advisor, in one of four major areas:
1) Language, Culture, and Learning;
2) Technology, Text, and Interpretation;
3) Cross-cultural Interactions in Professional and Disciplinary Contexts;
4) Language, Culture, and Power in Organizations and Communities.

The 12 hours of research methods courses include quantitative and qualitative research as well as a Research Proposal Seminar on Language, Literacy, and Culture (LLC 890), which is required. In the Proposal Seminar, students explore potential research areas related to their concentration and internship and begin development of a draft dissertation proposal.

The internship is an integral part of the Core Course of Study. It may be a specially designed project related to the organization where the student is employed or in another agency or organization that complements and extends the student's research and experiential background. Internships may take place in local, national, or international organizations, non-profit organizations, government agencies, businesses, educational institutions, or other community contexts.

Upon completion of the core courses and concentration, students take a combination of written and oral analyzing examinations on the core areas and the concentration. Students have two opportunities to successfully complete the comprehensives.

The dissertation is focused on preparing degree candidates to identify, research, and help resolve issues related to language, literacy, and culture. Candidates will be encouraged to link research to real world problems or issues related to helping ethnically and linguistically diverse populations in schools, organizations, colleges and universities, and businesses and industries.

Students must successfully defend their dissertation research proposal to their Dissertation Committee. They will also be expected to defend their completed dissertation.