Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development: Tufts University

M.A./Ph.D. and Ph.D. Programs

Doctoral Course of Study: Doctoral Program Guidelines - The Plan of Study

There are four major components to the Ph.D. program:

Students are expected to pursue a rigorous course of theoretical study in general child development, which will become part of the documentation required for the Preliminary and Qualifying Reviews of student progress.
Students choosing a concentration are expected to complete its requirements.
Students are required to develop their ability to transfer theoretical knowledge to applied problems. They may do this by gaining expertise in any of a wide range of applied skills, including assessment techniques and evaluation methods, curriculum design, social policy development, and program development. The development of this expertise will culminate in a supervised internship in an applied setting.
Students must demonstrate their ability to conceptualize, plan and produce scholarly research, culminating in the preparation of a doctoral dissertation.
Requirements for the Ph.D. Program

Each student is required to complete a minimum of 22 course credits as part of them fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. in Applied Child Development. These include:

16 credits for course work (See below for listings);
4 credits for Internship;
2-4 credits for Dissertation Work.

The specific course requirements for each of these are as follows:

A minimum of 16 courses taken from Department or University offerings. These include 9 required course credits: Courses

1 & 2 Graduate Proseminar (Students are required to take this course for 1/2 credit for each semester during the first and second years of the doctoral program, for a total of 2 credits. Students are encouraged to participate in the seminar during subsequent semesters.

3 & 4 Research Methods* (2 courses) Problems in Research: Methods and Design (CD 142)
Qualitative Research Methods (CD144)
Program Evaluation (CD247)
Applied Developmental Science: Theoretical Foundations (CD248)

*Note: Student must choose 2 courses from the 4 listed above. As is the case for other required courses, if the student has this competency, this requirement may be filled by taking another course in the research methods area, selected in consultation with the advisor.

5 & 6 Statistics* (2 courses)
Statistics (CD140)
Applied Data Analysis (CD143)
Advanced Statistics (CD 243)

Students may select alternative statistics courses to be approved by their advisor. Approved alternatives may be taken outside the dept. (e.g. Psychology) or outside the university (e.g. the New England Consortium Schools; Boston University, Boston College, and Brandeis University).

7, 8 & 9 "Theory Courses" in content areas

Students must complete 3 courses in the core "developmental content" areas. These areas are:

(a) intellectual development (CD151, 251, 253 or approved alternative),
(b) language development (CD155 or approved alternative),
(c) personal/social development (CD161, 261, or approved alternative),
(d) Either CD 211 , Contemporary Perspectives on Child Development or CD248, Applied Developmental Science: Theoretical, Methodological, and Empirical Foundations may count as one of the 3 developmental content courses.

The 7 remaining course credits may be selected from a variety of offerings, including directed research courses and independent studies. Students should meet with their Program Advisors to select a concentration (if desired) and plan their course of study. Courses which are strongly recommended are: Community Field Placement and other applied courses; Directed Research; and Independent Study.

Four (4) course credits of Internship are required. The duration of the internship may vary, but it typically will extend for two consecutive semesters, and it must involve at least 20 hours per week. (One course credit is awarded for each 10 hours per semester of internship experience.)
A minimum of two (2) and maximum of four (4) course credits are allowed for Dissertation Study. In general, the dissertation work is begun after completion of the course work and internship. After completion of the course work students must register for CD 298 for 1-2 credits for the following semester. If the dissertation is not completed at the end of the semester in which a student has enrolled in CD 298, a "Y" grade will be assigned. Doctoral students continuing beyond this time must complete a petition to enroll in CD 502 FF Doctoral Continuation.

Transfer Credit
Students may receive up to one year (or eight courses) of credit for graduate work completed prior to admission to the Ph.D. Program. Acceptance of transfer credit is dependent upon approval by the student's Program Adviser who will assess the relevance of the courses to the student's plan of study and the student's performance in the courses. Each of the courses must be approved by the faculty member who teaches the course most similar to the course for which credit is sought, by the student's Program Adviser, and by the Director of Graduate Studies before, or at the time of, the Preliminary Review. Students seeking to transfer credit must provide the relevant faculty member with appropriate documentation, including course syllabi, letters from instructors, and transcripts of grades for the courses. Students may receive transfer credits for required courses. However, to fulfill the requirement, they must take an advanced course in the same content area.

Program Advisers
Each student is assigned a Program Adviser upon entry into the program. Advisers assist in making choices regarding courses, concentrations, field placements, internships and in the early planning of dissertation research. Students may change advisers by following the procedures outlined in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development Graduate Student Handbook.

By the end of the first year (or second semester) of the student's program, each student is required to select a second Program Adviser. Students may request assistance in identifying a second adviser from the Director of Graduate Studies and from their first adviser. One of the two advisers will be designated the Primary Program Adviser. Formal notification of the selection of the second Program Adviser must be made to the Director of Graduate Studies before the end of the second semester and before the Preliminary Review is scheduled.

The Program Advisers will advise the student on program matters until dissertation work is begun. At that time, the student will identify a Chairperson and members for his/her dissertation committee. A student may ask one or both of the Program Advisers to serve on his/her dissertation committee, or may select other faculty members depending upon the dissertation topic and availability of faculty for dissertation supervision.
Teaching

Students are strongly encouraged to acquire teaching experience while in the program. Teaching experience is essential for those students expecting to work in a university setting after completion of the doctorate. Most of our doctoral students serve as Teaching Assistants for one or more years during their doctoral program. Serving as a T.A. can provide valuable experience as well as opportunities for observation of faculty teaching and supervision from faculty. The extent and type of involvement of T.A.s in teaching will vary with instructor and course. Experiences may include conducting small study groups or review sessions with students, planning and conducting supplemental experiences for students, such as field trips, or other special events, and preparing and offering lectures, development of quizzes or examinations, as well as grading student work.

Students may also consider teaching courses in the Tufts Summer School or Experimental College. To apply for Summer School teaching, students must prepare a course proposal and submit it to the Chair of the Child Development Department no later than October 1 for the following summer. Students may also consider teaching courses at other area colleges and universities.

Course credit may be received for teaching, provided that there is extensive supervision by a faculty member.

Research
Research is an important component of a doctoral student's program in Applied Child Development. Students are encouraged to participate in Departmental research activities early on in their program. Opportunities for working on faculty projects and on advanced doctoral student research projects are posted on Department bulletin boards throughout the semester. In addition, the Department and faculty members with research funding have available a limited number of paid Research Assistantships.

Students are also strongly encouraged to engage in supervised independent research activity with faculty or to plan and conduct small-scale research projects with other graduate students. All research plans must be approved by the Department's Committee for Review of Research with Human Subjects. Forms for requesting human subjects approval are available at the front desk.
Review of Student Work

There are two reviews (other than the dissertation) of a student's progress in the doctoral program. The Preliminary Review is scheduled after the student has completed at least 4, but not more than 6, courses within the doctoral program. These courses may have been taken at Tufts or at one of the Consortium colleges or universities, but may not include those transferred from previous graduate study. The purpose of the Preliminary Review is to review the student's performance in courses, research initiatives and future directions of study, including possibilities for the internship and qualifying papers.

The Qualifying Review is scheduled upon completion of formal course work and the internship, and customarily takes place before work is begun on the Dissertation. Samples of other students' review materials are available from the Department Manager, and can be signed-out overnight.

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