Featured School

University of Phoenix More Info

Online PhD in Curriculum and Instruction

Students who are seeking an online PhD in Curriculum and Instruction are passionate about education and are always seeking way to improve it. That’s exactly what you will learn to do with your online curriculum and instruction PhD. This course of study will teach you to analyze and evaluate instructional practices, as well as creating new, creative practices that will make education in your community more influential. A degree from an accredited online program will make your leadership invaluable to those who benefit from it.

Online PhD in Curriculum and Instruction Requirements

Students pursuing an online curriculum and instruction PhD at a top school should have classroom experience, be licensed in their state, and have a commitment to improving education in any circumstance. They should also be willing to change careers within the educational system, as an online PhD in Curriculum and Instruction will open up many doors. You may find yourself designing curricula, evaluating teachers and educational practices, filling a top administration position in your school or school district, or advocating for the children and schools in your community.

Almost all online PhDs in Curriculum and Instruction require the applicant to have a master’s degree in a related field from an accredited school. Some qualifying master’s degrees include:

• Education
• Special Education
• Educational Administration
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Early Childhood Education
• Educational Assessment and Evaluation
• Educational Psychology
• Instructional Design
• Reading and Literacy
• Instructional Leadership
• Education Leadership
• Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Like many people who pursue an education-related online PhD, curriculum and instruction students often come from a teaching background. Many are teachers or other school administrators who are seeking ways to improve and support classroom education in their community.

Online PhD in Curriculum and Instruction Education

Students who commit to the online curriculum and instruction PhD should expect to learn both theory and practice. In these virtual classrooms, you’ll learn what expert opinions, contemporary research, but you’ll have to take those ideas and apply them to real situations, including classrooms, students, and teachers, to see how they work in the real world.

Information on Curriculum and Instruction Courses

An online curriculum and instruction PhD will offer both theoretical and hands-on knowledge of how to plan and teach students. Some of the classes where those things will be taught include:

• Leading Innovation
  This class will teach you not only how to formulate innovative educational practices for your community, but how to present new ideas to your colleagues in such a way that they will greet them with an open mind. Change is hard for people, but as an educational leader, you should be prepared to guide people through it. Online doctoral programs in Curriculum and Instruction teach you how to do that with classes such as “Leading Innovation.”
• Educational Research Methods
  Every doctoral program, including online PhD programs in curriculum and instruction, have an intensive research component. This class will teach you different methods of approaching your research topic and help you discern which methods will be most effective for your particular area of interest.
• Teacher Supervision and Evaluation
  After completing one of the nation’s best online PhD programs in curriculum and instruction, it is very likely that you will find employment in an administrative or supervisory position within a school system. This class will teach you how to supervise and evaluate teachers in such a way that classroom teaching is supported and classroom learning is strengthened.
• Education and the Law
  Schools must follow a complex array of laws, and it’s up to administrators and supervisors to make sure they are implemented and obeyed. This class will inform you of the laws that apply to education and how to make sure your school stays on the right side of them.
• Advanced Practicum in Research Design
  This class will show you how to set up a major research project, not only for your dissertation, but also for future research needs in the actually practice of your job.

Specializations and Concentrations

Different concentrations within the online doctorate in curriculum and instruction allow students to focus on different aspects of teaching and curriculum design. In many cases, this is a natural extension of whichever subject you taught as a classroom teacher. An online doctorate in curriculum and instruction allows you to be even more involved with what goes on in the classroom, since you, in many cases, will develop the curriculum and even supervise the teachers.

Some of the different specializations available in online doctoral programs in Curriculum and Instruction include:

• K-12 Studies in Education
• Leadership in Educational Administration
• Special Education Leadership
• Curriculum Development and Supervision
• Educational Psychology
• Elementary Education
• Instructional Technology
• Reading/Literacy Education
• English and Language Arts Education
• Middle Grades Education
• Social Studies Education

Careers in Curriculum and Instruction

An online doctorate program in curriculum and instruction will qualify you to take leadership in education in many different ways. You will be qualified to lead, administer, supervise, and to formulate the policies that others adhere to. The following careers are only a few of the ways online doctoral degrees in Curriculum and Instruction can benefit your career.

• School Principal
  The principal is the chief administrative authority in any given school. They are responsible for student and teacher support and discipline, and for making sure their school is in compliance with all applicable laws and policies. If the school is big enough, such as with high schools, there may be an assistant principal or vice-principal. School principals earn between $85,907 and $97,486. Assistant principals make between $71,192 and $79,391.
• School district superintendent
  The superintendent is the administrative authority in a school district or school system, and is the main authority of individual school principals. Superintendents earn between $89,331 and $152,218 per year.
• Education Professor
  Online doctorate degrees in curriculum and instruction qualify you to teach those subjects at the highest levels in almost any university or college. It’s a great way to use your education and to stay in the classroom. Education professor earn between $58,366 and $106,809 a year.
• Dean of Students
  At every university and many high schools, one administrator is assigned the task of being available to the students and advocating for them when necessary. A higher education doctorate such as a PhD in curriculum and instruction will qualify you to speak to both sides of the educational endeavor—the teachers and the students. The dean of students in any college setting earns from $60,253 and $96,342.

Education is a constantly growing field, and an online PhD in curriculum and instruction can qualify you to be on the leading edge of that growth. With training and knowledge, you can expand your own career and income, while benefiting the teachers and students who look to you for leadership.