Conditional Admission

If the standard for admission is not met, a conditionally admitted student may enroll in up to 12 semester hours. Upon completion of 12 semester hours in the program, the reading faculty will review the work completed to that point by the applicant as part of the overall admissions application to determine if the student will be granted regular admission to the program.

Admission to regular status will be contingent upon the student successfully completing 12 hours of the following coursework with a minimum 3.5 GPA.

• READ 8320 - Phonology, Orthography, and Linguistic Processes in Reading
• READ 8330 - Cognitive and Social Theories in Literacy Learning
• READ 8348 - Scholarly Writing in Literacy
• READ 8349 - Research Practicum in Literacy
• EDFN 7373 - Qualitative Research Methods
• EDFN 8305 - Intermediate Statistics
• EDFN 8306 - Advanced Educational Research

Residence Requirements

Residence is defined as a full-time registration for a given semester on the UALR campus. The summer term is included in this period. Two consecutive semesters of residence are required with a minimum of six semester hours taken each semester.

Ph.D. Program Requirements

The Ph.D. in Reading requires a minimum of 108 hours (72 hours beyond the master’s degree) as determined by student and student’s coursework advisor. The program of study is organized under four curricular areas:

1. Literacy Core;
2. Research Core;
3. Specialty Area; and
4. Dissertation.

The literacy core includes 15 hours of course work that provides candidates with an integrated exploration of seminal theories, key research studies, and historical contributions in reading instruction. The research core includes 15 hours of course work that addresses current information about research design and methods for quantitative and qualitative studies, including statistics and data management.

The specialty area includes 24 hours of course work that provides candidates with a range of options for deepening their knowledge in concentrated areas. The dissertation courses include a minimum of 18 hours of course work that provides candidates with the knowledge and experiences for designing and conducting scholarly research in literacy education. Additional requirements include the successful completion of an electronic portfolio in Chalk and Wire, a passing score on a comprehensive written examination, and the successful defense of the dissertation research.

Prerequisite Requirements

Reading Prerequisites: If the candidate does not hold a reading license or a Master’s in reading, the candidate will be required to complete nine hours of foundational reading coursework, including Foundations of Teaching Reading, Reading Diagnosis (or equivalent courses), and three hours of Reading practicum prior to enrolling in any 8000-level reading coursework. These hours can be applied as electives in the degree plan.

Research Prerequisites: If the candidate did not complete a statistics or entry-level research class in the Master’s or Educational Specialist program, the candidate will be required to complete EDFN 7304 - Basic Statistics  and EDFN 7303 - Introduction to Educational Research  prior to enrolling in any 8000-level research or statistics courses (some courses may have other prerequisites, as well). If the candidate did not complete a qualitative research class in the Master’s or Educational Specialist program, the candidate will be required to complete EDFN 7373 - Qualitative Research Methods  prior to enrolling in EDFN 8383 - Advanced Qualitative Research Methods .