Ed.D. in Educational Sustainability Program Schedule
Procedural Process and Timeline
- All cohorts start late May
- Applications open in fall, decisions made in spring
Note: This timeline is based on the standard 6-credit enrollment per term (summer, fall, winter). This is just meant as a guide and is subject to change based on individual circumstances.
Summer-Fall -Spring of Year 1
- Learn a lot! Pick a research topic before summer.
Summer – Year 2
- Start your literature review in EDSU 918
- Learn about the IRB process
Fall Year 2
- Complete CITI Training for IRB – the training is part of EDSU 905 – Research Methods I
- Pick a Committee Chair by November 1st and complete the Chair Selection Form
Spring Year 2
- Pick your full committee by March 1 and complete the Supervisory Committee Selection Form
- Complete your IRB proposal with survey/interview questions approved by your committee and submit it for review by IRB board by May 1.
- Have a FULL COMMITTEE MEETING. Prior to this full committee meeting, send your full committee a draft of your IRB proposal and your Chapters 1-3 (even if they are rough).
- Complete your first three chapters for your Dissertation Proposal and submit to committee prior to the proposal meeting with your full committee.
- Set a date for your Prospectus Defense and have a full committee meeting in which you share your proposal and prospectus materials.
- Establish bi-weekly meetings with your Dissertation Chair
- Complete your Prospectus and Proposal Defense Form after successful completion of defense
Summer Year 3
- Collect data for your study
Fall Year 3
- Analyze data in EDSU 906 – Research II
- Continue to revise literature review, research methods (if appropriate)
- Continue to write on the data and findings of your study
- Continue to have bi-weekly meetings with your dissertation chair
- Have a minimum of one all committee meeting in which you present your early findings
Spring Year 3
- Complete Dissertation
- Continue regular meetings with your chair and a minimum of one all committee meeting, in which you provide a full draft of your dissertation prior to your full committee meeting.
- Complete Dissertation Announcement Form and submit to graduate office 2 weeks prior to defense
- After your defense, your chair submits the Complete Dissertation Defense Form, with a unanimous decision by the committee.
- Your dissertation warrant is signed by your Chair, who passes it on to the Director of the program, the Chair of the department and the Dean of the College.
Year 1
- Summer 1
- EDSU 919
- EDSU 900: Complete Artifact #1; Graduate Student Biography
- Fall 1
- EDSU 908: Complete Artifact #2
- EDSU 820
- Spring 1
- EDSU 810
- EDSU 904: Complete Artifact #3; First Year Experience Concept
Year 2
- Summer 2
- EDSU 918: Complete Artifact #6; Qualifying Literature Review
- EDSU 919: Competency #1: Present Concept Poster & written narrative
- Fall 2
- EDSU 905: Complete Artifact #4 & Artifact #5; Problem Statement Paper & Significance of Study
- Elective or EDSU 920
- Spring 2
- EDSU 920: Complete Artifact #7; Dissertation Proposal (Ch. 1-3) & Committee Approval
- Elective
Year 3
- Summer 3
- EDSU 919: Competency #3: Dissertation Prospectus Presentation
- Elective
- Fall 3
- Spring 3
- Complete Artifact #8; Dissertation and Competency #4; Dissertation Oral Presentation
- Elective
Required Artifacts
- Artifact #1: Graduate Student Biography (EDSU 900)
- Final biography will be posted on the UWSP website.
- Artifact #2: Process Paper (EDSU 908)
- Process paper that will be graded as part of EDSU 908, a version of which will be included in your dissertation.
- Artifact #3: First Year Experience Concept Poster (EDSU 904)
- Not included in your dissertation, however concepts expressed in this poster should lead into your area of focus for the remainder of your studies and track your first-year experiences and learning.
- Presented at the summer residency (EDSU919) during SUMMER 2
- As part of this artifact, you will write a narrative explanation of your poster for EDSU 919.
- Artifact #4: Problem Statement Paper (EDSU 905)
- Process paper that will be graded in EDSU 905 and revised/published as part of your dissertation.
- Artifact #5: Significance of Study Statement (EDSU 905)
- Part of your dissertation; the completed artifact should reflect a relatively polished understanding of the significance of your study.
- Artifact #6: Qualifying Literature Review Paper (EDSU 918, EDSU 920)
- Part of your dissertation; your qualifying literature review (with at least one strand or theme) will be included in your dissertation’s overall literature review.
- A passing grade in EDSU 918 indicates successful completion of a first draft, that will be revised and published as part of EDSU 920.
- Artifact #7: Dissertation Proposal (EDSU 905, EDSU 920)
- Components/a version of your proposal will be integrated into your dissertation where appropriate (e.g., Chapter 1-3).
- Chapter 1 will be completed in EDSU 905, with Chapters 2 and 3 completed as part of EDSU 920 and your proposal draft completed by SPRING 2.
- Artifact #8: Dissertation (EDUC 920)
- Your final dissertation is five chapters.
- Your final dissertation will go through a publication process, either through UWSP or ProQuest
Required Professional and Scholarly Competency Demonstrations:
- Competency #1: First Year Experience Concept Poster Presentation, with written explanation of poster submitted as part of EDSU 919 (EDSU 919, SUMMER 2)
- Competency #2: Dissertation Prospectus Oral Presentation (EDSU 919, SUMMER 3)
- Competency #3: Dissertation Proposal Defense, Ch. 1-3 (via telepresence to committee)
- Competency #4: Dissertation Oral Defense (via telepresence to committee & public defense)
Key Terms and Definitions
- Prospectus Presentation: Public presentation in which the student articulately presents an overview of their research agenda to their peers and faculty. Only the instructor of EDSU 919 needs to sign off on the presentation.
- Proposal Defense: Meeting with your full dissertation committee. This should occur 1-year prior to your planned dissertation defense. Your full committee should receive Chapters 1-3 a minimum of 2-weeks prior to your proposal defense and your chair should receive chapters 1-3 a month prior, provide feedback and see that feedback reflected in the chapters sent to the full committee.
- Principal Investigator (PI): This is typically your dissertation chair, although for UWSP IRB proposals, it should be a faculty member at UWSP. The PI on your IRB proposal needs to have an up-to-date CITI training certificate to include with the IRB proposal.
- Dissertation Oral Defense: This is a public defense in which peers, faculty, and your full committee are present. Your chair and committee members should have seen numerous drafts and revisions of your full dissertation prior to the defense.
- Program Advisor: This person is NOT your committee chair or even necessarily on your dissertation committee. Rather this person is reviewing your plan of study and making course recommendations. This person is not responsible for reading or guiding your dissertation.
- Dissertation Chair: This person is in charge of your dissertation process. If they want additional revisions, meetings, or qualifying papers, they are allowed to ask for them. Your dissertation is guided by your dissertation chair.
- Research Questions: These are the two or three questions that guide your dissertation research. Your goal is to be able to answer these questions by the end of your dissertation. These questions should be written in Chapter 1 of your dissertation.
- Survey/Interview Questions: These are the questions that you ask to the participants in your study. These questions are submitted in your IRB proposal.