In a globally connected and rapidly changing world, engineers need to work across national, domain, and disciplinary boundaries to effectively address complex, socio-technical challenges. To fully assume this expanding responsibility of the engineering profession, we must transform the ways engineering students are educated at the undergraduate level and also equip future engineers at the graduate level with the skills and orientations to become boundary spanners and change leaders. The emphasis area Engineering Education and Transformative Practice addresses these related challenges in a novel, interdisciplinary PhD program.
This emphasis area within our PhD in Engineering prepares graduates for broad practice and academic applications at the intersection of human and technical systems. Through an innovative fusion of methods of social inquiry, knowledge of human development, and tools for positive change embedded in a context of deep technical competence, graduates are enabled to provide transformative leadership in a variety of educational, technical, and organizational settings. Upon graduation, students will be able to apply their unique skill set to a diverse range of contexts, including formal and informal education environments, engineering practice, learning organizations, social entrepreneurship, customer discovery, leadership, and policy.
Engineering Education and Transformative Practice builds on disciplinary strengths in engineering education research, the interdisciplinary breadth of a broad graduate course offering in a major liberal arts university, and the technical context of being embedded in the innovative education and research mission of our College of Engineering. This unique setting provides students with access to a broad range of content, variety of faculty expertise, and diverse application settings as the foundation for shaping their individual programs of study and research trajectories.
The area of emphasis comprises two broad pathways that frame the flexible and context-appropriate development of the individual plan of study and research. Engineering Education focuses on the complex processes that underpin the learning and professional socialization of engineers across the k through gray spectrum. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, questions of teaching and learning in university, k-gray, and informal settings; development of technical competence and broad professional attributes such as creativity, empathy, and ethical reasoning; the innovative use of technology in education; and issues of underrepresentation and inclusiveness in engineering.
Transformative Practice focuses on investigating and understanding engineering knowing and doing in contemporary engineering practice settings. Areas of investigation include, but are not limited to, engineering work at the intersection of organizational practices, disciplinary domains, and cutting-edge technological developments; professional development in interdisciplinary and inter-professional spaces; and collaboration, innovation and cross-domain integration that characterize engineering work in the context of 21st century, grand challenges. Learn more about this program here: https://eeti.uga.edu/graduate-program/
Julie P. Martin, Ph.D. EETI Director and Professor of Engineering Education julie.martin@uga.edu
42 - 73 hours
All applicants must meet the admission requirements for the College of Engineering as specified in the “Admission to the College of Engineering” section of the Graduate Program Handbook, available at https://www.engineering.uga.edu/graduate-program-handbook. All applicants must possess a B.S. or M.S. degree in engineering, sciences, education, or a related field. Students with an M.S. degree may contribute up to 30 relevant credits of their M.S. degree toward their Engineering Education and Transformative Practice (EETP) Ph.D. degree, reducing the number of new credit hours needed for graduation. Students without an M.S. degree are expected to work with their advisor to complete a minimum of 72 post-baccalaureate credit hours to satisfy graduate school requirements for the award of a Ph.D.
Given that engineering education is an interdisciplinary field, the EETP Ph.D. program accepts applications from students with backgrounds in non-engineering disciplines. Students with degrees in non-engineering, natural sciences, or technical disciplines are expected to work with their advisor to complete coursework that provides the necessary engineering grounding to support their proposed plan of study and research. Such students must complete 12 credit hours from any of the following four areas: Engineering Design, Engineering Professionalism, Engineering Science, and Engineering Technology.
Identifying a major professor is one of the most crucial and formative steps in a student’s graduate experience. Hence, contacting a potential major professor should be the first step in the application process. Prospective students are encouraged to reach out to several faculty members to explore the alignment between their research interests and faculty members’ research programs.
Students who wish to apply to the EETP Ph.D. program should follow the application process detailed on the UGA College of Engineering Website, which contains all relevant application information, materials, and instructions: https://www.engineering.uga.edu/graduate-programs/admissions.
Part of this process includes writing a Statement of Purpose, which should highlight the following: What are your goals for pursuing graduate study in the EETP program? What do you hope to do upon graduation, and how will the EETP program help you reach these goals? Describe your prior research experiences and how you believe these experiences impact your trajectory and fit in the EETP program. Name of at least one faculty member you would like to work with and why. Before applying, you should contact this faculty member(s) to determine their fit and availability as a potential advisor. If you are applying without a Master’s degree in an engineering or related field, please specify why you believe a direct-to-Ph.D. graduate school experience is a good fit for your goals and strengths.
EETI does not consider GRE scores important in determining a student’s readiness to pursue the EETP degree. However, students from countries where English is not the primary language of instruction are required by graduate school to demonstrate language proficiency through test scores (e.g., TOEFL). The admissions committee will evaluate your application based on the quality of the information you provide. Furthermore, the committee will prioritize your demonstrated strengths over your perceived weaknesses in deciding your acceptance into the program.
Candidates for the Ph.D. degree with an emphasis in Engineering Education and Transformative Practice are expected to acquire the skills, knowledge, and orientations that enable them to make creative and original contributions to their discipline at the national or international level. The philosophy of the area of emphasis is grounded in a diversity of possible pathways that rely on students' agency and initiative in seeking out relevant coursework and interdisciplinary faculty expertise to support their chosen research trajectory.
Requirements for the area of emphasis include a minimum of 73 credit hours in the student’s program of study beyond the B.S. degree as follows:
| ENGR 9300 | Doctoral Dissertation | 1-9 |
Choose a minimum of 33 credit hour(s) from the following:
| ENGR 9000 | Doctoral Research | 1-18 |
| ENGR 9010 | Project-Focused Doctoral Research | 1-9 |
Choose 6 credit hour(s) from the following:
Engineering Education Core (listed below): The core engineering education courses provide an understanding of the landscape of this globally connected discipline. Individual course offerings focus on theories of learning and human development in engineering; contemporary issues in engineering formation; and research and evaluation methods in engineering education and practice contexts.
Choose 6 credit hour(s) from the following:
Social and Educational Inquiry Methods (listed below): The research methods courses draw on the broad offering of courses across the University of Georgia, including the College of Education. In line with the student's research project, these courses can comprise offerings in the qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods areas.
Choose 6 credit hour(s) from the following:
Application and Context (listed below): Course selection in the Application and Context area draws on the full breadth of graduate course offering in technical and non-technical fields that provide specific content, theory, or methods to support and ground the students' chosen research trajectory.
Choose 18 credit hour(s) from the following:
Elective Course Work: Across selected courses a minimum of 16 hours of 8000 or 9000 level courses and an additional 4 hours of courses open to only graduate students is required.
A thesis master's degree from an accredited university may be accepted for up to 30 credit hours, in which case a minimum of 42 credit hours of approved course work, research and dissertation beyond the M.S. degree is required as follows:
| ENGR 9300 | Doctoral Dissertation | 1-9 |
Choose a minimum of 23 credit hour(s) from the following:
| ENGR 9000 | Doctoral Research | 1-18 |
| ENGR 9010 | Project-Focused Doctoral Research | 1-9 |
Choose 3 credit hour(s) from the following:
Engineering Education Core (listed below): The core engineering education courses provide an understanding of the landscape of this globally connected discipline. Individual course offerings focus on theories of learning and human development in engineering; contemporary issues in engineering formation; and research and evaluation methods in engineering education and practice contexts.
Choose 3 credit hour(s) from the following:
Social and Educational Inquiry Methods (listed below): The research methods courses draw on the broad offering of courses across the University of Georgia, including the College of Education. In line with the student's research project, these courses can comprise offerings in the qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods areas.
Choose 3 credit hour(s) from the following:
Application and Context (listed below): Course selection in the Application and Context area draws on the full breadth of graduate course offering in technical and non-technical fields that provide specific content, theory, or methods to support and ground the students' chosen research trajectory.
| ENED 8010 | Introduction to Engineering Education Research and Methodology | 3 |
| ENED 8020 | Current Issues as a Lens for the Integration of Engineering Education Research and Teaching Practice | 3 |
| ENED 8030 | Educational Research and Evaluation Methods in Engineering | 3 |
| ENED 8040 | Theories of Learning and Human Development in Contemporary Engineering Education Research | 3 |
| ANTH(GEOG)(SOCI) 8430 | Community-Engaged Research (Praxis) | 3 |
| EDHI 8200 | Institutional Research | 3 |
| EDHI 8910 | Quantitative Methods in Higher Education I | 3 |
| EDHI 8930 | Qualitative Research in Higher Education I | 3 |
| EDIT 8290 | Design-Based Research Methods | 3 |
| ERSH 4200/6200 | Methods of Research in Education | 3 |
| ERSH 4300/6300 | Applied Statistical Methods in Education | 3 |
| ERSH 7250 | Educational Program and Project Evaluation | 3 |
| ERSH 8610 | Theories of Educational Measurement | 3 |
| ERSH 9210 | Quantitative Design in Education | 3 |
| ETAP(QUAL) 8040 | Video Ethnography of Education | 3 |
| QUAL 8400 | Qualitative Research Traditions | 3 |
| QUAL 8575 | Mixed Methods Approaches to Research | 3 |
| SOWK 7106 | Evaluation of Community and Institutional Practices | 3 |
| AFAM(PSYC) 4500/6500 | Psychology of Prejudice | 3 |
| AGCM 8100 | Communication, Engagement, and Community Development | 3 |
| ALDR 8030E | Diffusion of Innovations | 3 |
| ALDR 8500E | Theories of Behavior Change for Sustainability and Innovation | 3 |
| BUSN 7500 | Business Ethics | 1.5-3 |
| COMM 8350 | The Rhetoric of Science | 3 |
| EBUS 5070/7070 | Contemporary Entrepreneurship and Management Practices for Educators | 3 |
| ECHD 8290 | Social Justice and Liberation Frameworks in School and Community Settings | 3 |
| ECHD 8310 | Social Justice Assessment and Program Evaluation in P-16 Settings | 3 |
| ECHD 9080 | Advanced Theories and Procedures of Group Work | 3 |
| ECHD 9320 | Teaching and Diversity | 3 |
| ECHD 9410 | Organizational Development and Consultation in Higher Education | 3 |
| ECHD 9420 | Advanced Theories of College Student Development | 3 |
| ECHD 9930 | Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Student Affairs | 3 |
| ECOL 8730 | Environmental Policy | 3 |
| ECON 8210 | Industrial Economics I | 3 |
| EDEL(EDEC) 8030 | Research Perspectives in Early Childhood and Elementary Education | 3 |
| EDHI 9040 | Using Technology in the College Classroom | 3 |
| EDIT 8400 | Games and Learning | 3 |
| EETH(JURI) 5870/7870 | Environmental Dispute Resolution | 2 |
| JURI 5580/7580 | Law, Science, and Technology | 3 |
| MNML 7947 | Social Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| PHIL(EETH) 4220/6220 | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| PHIL(EETH) 4250/6250 | Philosophy of Technology | 3 |
| WMST(AFAM) 4060/6060 | Black Feminism | 3 |
| GRSC 7001 | GradFIRST: First-year Research and Scholarship Training Seminar | 1 |
Requirements for the area of emphasis include a minimum of 73 credit hours in the student’s program of study beyond the B.S. degree. A thesis master's degree from an accredited university may be accepted for up to 30 credit hours, in which case a minimum of 42 credit hours of approved course work, research and dissertation beyond the M.S. degree is required. Select additional courses, as needed, in consultation with an advisor to meet the minimum number of required credit hours for this program.