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Literacy, Language, and Culture, Ph.D.

degree requirements

The Ph.D. concentration in Literacy, Language, and Culture prepares students to conduct research on literacy and literacy instruction with children, adolescents, and adults in culturally and linguistically diverse urban settings. Integral to our research on the processes of reading and writing is inquiry focusing on: 

• the stakeholders of literacy development & instruction (i.e., students, teachers, parents, and policy makers)
• the technologies of literacy - both conventional (e.g., books) and new (e.g., web-based)
• the purposes to which literacies are put (e.g., educative, functional, aesthetic, critical)
• the multiple in- and out-of-school contexts in which various literacies are practiced (e..g., the family, community, workplace).

 
Students who successfully complete the Ph.D. with a concentration in Literacy, Language, and Culture are prepared to assume research positions in colleges and universities, in state and local educational research agencies, and in various R & D settings in the private sector.

Progressing Through the Program 
Upon admission into the LLC doctoral program a student is assigned a temporary advisor who serves in that capacity until the student chooses a person to chair his/her Program Committee by the end of the first year of studies.  The student, in concert with this chairperson will select a minimum of two additional faculty members who together will constitute the student's Doctoral Program Committee.  A student’s Doctoral Program Committee serves four major functions: 

1. Design a course of studies compatible with both the LLC program and a student’s specific professional goals.
2. Provide guidance regarding the experiences and deliverables that best prepare a student for entry into the profession. A student’s Doctoral Portfolio (detailed below) serves an important function in creating a “roadmap” of both in- and out of course activities and products.
3. Write and evaluate questions comprising the “Specialization” portion (discussed below) of the Qualifying Exam taken toward the end of a student’s coursework (See The LLC Qualifying Examination discussed below).
4. Oversee and provide feedback in the annual review of a student’s progress.

Toward the end of formal coursework and upon successful completion of the Qualifying Examination (see details below) a student will choose a chairperson and committee to direct his/her Preliminary Examination (see details below). Prelims will consist of both a written component and an oral component. The written component of the Preliminary examination is a student’s dissertation proposal and the oral part is the oral defense of the proposal. Successful completion of both components of the Preliminary examination constitutes formal admission of candidacy for the doctoral degree. From this point forward in a student’s program the Prelim committee serves as members of the dissertation committee through the final defense of the completed dissertation.

Overview of Requirements 
The LLC program concentration requires a minimum of 96 semester hours beyond the baccalaureate degree or, depending on the focus and quality of a student’s master’s degree program, a minimum of 64 semester hours beyond the master’s degree. Specifically, this includes an 8-hour core in literacy, language, and culture; a 20-hour research methods core; 20 to 44 hours of “selective” and elective courses appropriate to their areas of specialization (depending on whether or not a student enters the program with an approved master’s degree); an 8-hour research project; and a minimum of 16 hours of dissertation research. Final decisions concerning specific courses and the number of semester hours required of a student entering with a master's degree are determined by a student's Doctoral Program Committee.

Literacy, Language, and Culture Core (8 hours) All students entering the Ph.D. program with a concentration in Literacy, Language, and Culture are required to take the yearlong sequence of two courses Proseminar in Literacy, Language, and Culture during the first year of their program.

• CIE 556 - Proseminar I (4)
• CIE 557 - Proseminar II (4)

 
Inquiry Core (20 hrs) 
The concentration in Literacy, Language, and Culture requires a core of course work focusing on research design, analysis of educational data, and different types of research in educational settings. These core courses provide the minimum skills that students will need to evaluate research literature and undertake their own literacy-related research. Students are encouraged to take core courses early in the program, especially ED 500, however students may take other courses in the program before they complete the entire set of Inquiry Core courses. A student may choose or be directed by his/her Program Committee to take additional courses in research methodology in order to meet personal scholarly or professional goals.

• ED 500 - Philosophical Foundations of Educational Inquiry (4)
• ED 502 - Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry in Education (4)
• ED 503 - Essentials of Quantitative Inquiry in Education (4)
• CIE 562 - Design & Conduct of Literacy Research (4)
• CIE 563 - Analysis of Research in Literacy (4)

 
Literacy, Language, and Culture Selectives (20 hours minimum) 
The LLC concentration requires completion of between 20 and 44 hours of selective and elective courses depending on whether a student has completed a masters’ degree approved by the program faculty.  Students with approved masters’ degrees are required to take a combination of at least three of the selectives and electives listed below.  More of these courses may be required at the discretion of a student’s Doctoral Program Committee.  Students with a master’s degree that is not approved and students with a baccalaureate degree are required to take 20 hours of selectives listed below and 24 additional hours of elective courses.Literacy, Language, and Culture selectives are focused seminars taught by LLC faculty in their respective areas of specialization.  These selectives include: 

• CIE 581 - Perspectives on Reading Instruction Theory, Research and Practice (4)
• CIE 568 - Research in Children’s and Adolescent Literature (4)
• CIE 586 - Perspectives on Writing Instruction: Theory, Research and Practice (4)
• CIE 583 - Early Literacy: Theory, Research, and Practice (4)
• CIE 582 - Research Perspectives on Literacy in the Disciplines (4)
• CIE 558 - The Historical and Philosophical Bases of Literacy and Literacy Instruction (4)
• CIE 559 - The Social and Cultural Contexts of Literacy and Literacy Instruction (4)
• CIE 577 - Literacy In and Out of School (4)
• CIE 579 - Bi-literacy: Theory, Research, and Practice (4)
• CIE 561 - Genre Theory and Practices (4)
• CIE 584 - Semiotics, Literacy, and Learning (4)
• CIE 587 - Literacy Assessment:  Theory, Research, and Practice
• CIE 588 - Design Research in the Study of Literacy (4)
• CIE 589 - Literacy and Learning Technologies: Theory, Research and Practice (4)
• CIE 585 – Seminar in Literacy Studies (4)
• CIE 592 – Apprenticeship in the Teaching of Literacy, Language, and Culture

 

Electives (0-24 hours) 
Elective courses may be taken university-wide and with universities participating in the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (the Big Ten and University of Chicago). See http://www.cic.uiuc.edu/ for details 

Annual Reviews 
To effectively monitor student progress and to provide a vehicle through which students and their faculty advisors can reflect on their progress in a structured way, each student in this program is required to prepare and submit a formal review of progress each year.  Student progress is assessed on the basis of two sets of criteria: 1) the quality of performance in coursework and on other LLC benchmarks (see LLC Doctoral Portfolio Activities below), and 2) progress in completing coursework and other program benchmarks (i.e., research project, qualifying exams, dissertation) in a timely matter. At the end of each academic year students prepare a brief(1-2 pg) narrative summary of progress for that year.
The LLC faculty review and discuss each student summary along with other supporting documentation and then provide individual feedback regarding their progress in the program. It is the responsibility of a student’s Doctoral Program chair (or temporary advisor) to provide a prompt written summary of these proceedings and meet with the student to discuss his/her performance.

LLC Doctoral Portfolio Activities

 

Note₁ that by definition “negotiated portfolio activities” may be individualized and thus open-ended in nature.

Note₂ “Publishable” in the present context means that his/her doctoral committee evaluate a text to be of publishable quality. 

Teaching Internship  An apprenticeship in teaching is strongly recommended for those individuals intending to pursue a career in higher education.  The apprenticeship in teaching requires that you register for CIE 592 (up to 8 hours) and co-teach a university course under the direction of a faculty sponsor.  The course that you teach should be related to your interests and future career objectives.  A faculty member will be the instructor of record and will supervise you closely throughout the internship.  You will assume responsibility for course instruction, student interaction, and evaluation to the extent negotiated with the instructor.  In addition to this apprenticeship in teaching, students are also encouraged to seek opportunities to deliver guest lectures in other classes offered by the  Literacy, Language, and Culture faculty.

Ph.D Research Project (8 semester hours) 
The research project is an important beginning experience in conducting research on actual problems in one’s chosen area of study.  The research project may also give you an opportunity to explore and pilot ideas for your dissertation research.  All students specializing in Literacy, Language, and Culture conduct a research project in collaboration with a LLC faculty member or a team of faculty members and students. Students are required to receive IRB approval of a proposed research project before beginning the data collection process.  Each student will make a formal presentation, oral, and/or written, of the project findings. Students are encouraged to use this work as a basis for a manuscript to be submitted for a scholarly conference presentation and/or a publication.   

The LLC Qualifying Examination 
The Qualifying Examination serves as the first step in determining a student’s readiness to undertake dissertation research.  It is administered at or near the end of the time the student has completed most of the course work (but has not yet made a major investment toward the dissertation research).  A minimum of one year must elapse between passing the Qualifying Examination and the defense of the dissertation. Only students in good academic standing are permitted to take the examination.
 
The Qualifying Exam in Literacy, Language, and Culture is offered semi-annually, once prior to the beginning of the academic year and once during spring semester.  It is designed to be educative as well as evaluative.  The exam consists of two components: a Common Knowledge Component given to all students seeking doctoral candidacy and a Specialization Component focusing on a student’s area of specific inquiry in literacy.  The qualifying exam is taken over a four-day period, with three days devoted to the common component and one day to the specialization component.  

The Common Knowledge Component assesses the breadth of a student’s knowledge in Literacy, Language, and Culture, knowledge that the LLC faculty believe any doctoral candidate, regardless of area of specialization, should be able to demonstrate.  Members of the LLC faculty identify major areas as well as seminal texts that delineate the reach of this common knowledge. This knowledge is not confined to that acquired through coursework. A Qualifying Exam Committee consisting of three LLC faculty members creates questions for the Common Component, which are then reviewed by the entire LLC faculty. The Common Knowledge Component consists of three integrative essay questions. Students receive these questions and have 72 hours to complete their answers.  They do so with the full benefit of whatever textual resources they have at hand.  Although students are free to work collaboratively in preparation for the Qualifying Exam, once presented with the actual exam questions, each student answers the questions without the benefit of any human interaction (including face-to-face, electronic, and other forms).  Students sign an honor statement acknowledging their agreement to these terms. 

The Specialization Component consists of questions created and graded by a student’s Doctoral Program Committee and is designed to evaluate the student's knowledge relative to his/her area of specialization. The student’s Program Committee determines the number of questions comprising the Specialization Component.  To insure equity, these questions are reviewed by the LLC Qualifying Exam Committee.  Students have 24 hours to complete the Specialization Component and are to abide by the same honor system described above for the Common Component.
 
Members of the Qualifying Exam Committee assess students’ answers to the Common Knowledge Component of the exam, and members of the student’s Doctoral Program Committee assess the student’s answer(s) to the Specialization Component.  A grade of "pass" or "fail" Is assigned to each component  Upon unanimous agreement of committee members, a candidate may “pass with distinction.’ Both components must be passed in order to pass the Qualifying Examination.  Each component of a candidate’s examination cannot be passed with more than one "fail" vote from the committee members.  The committee may require that specific conditions be met before the "pass" recommendation becomes effective.  On the recommendation of the committee, the head or chair may permit a second examination for a student who does not pass the exam.  A third examination is not permitted.   

The LLC Preliminary Exam 
The purpose of the Preliminary Examination is to determine the candidate’s readiness to undertake the dissertation; passing it constitutes formal Admission to Candidacy.  The examination serves as the last major step toward the PhD, degree except for the completion and defense of the dissertation.  
The Preliminary Exam consists of a written and an oral component.  The written component of the Prelim Exam is a candidate’s formal dissertation proposal; the oral component is the oral defense of this written proposal.  The committee for the Preliminary Exam is appointed by the Dean of the Graduate College upon receipt of Committee Recommendation Form three (3) weeks prior to the Preliminary Examination.  The faculty member chairing the student’s Preliminary Exam after consultation with the student requests committee appointments.  The committee consists of the at least five (5) members, of whom at least three (3) are UIC graduate faculty with full membership, and two (2) of whom must be tenured.  The chair of the committee must be a full member of the graduate faculty.  A minimum of two members from this committee must come from the Literacy, Language, and Culture faculty. Each member of the examining committee assigns a grade of “pass” or “fail” based on the student’s performance on both the written proposal and the oral defense of the proposal.  A candidate cannot be passed with more than one “fail” vote. The committee may require that specific conditions be met before the “pass” recommendation becomes effective. On the recommendation of the committee, the head or chair may permit a second examination.  A third examination is not permitted.  The results of the examination must be submitted to the Graduate College within two (2) weeks of the completion of the exam.  Once the student has passed the examination, the dean of the Graduate College will notify the student that s/he has been admitted to candidacy. 

Dissertation (16 hours) 
Successful completion of the dissertation is the penultimate experience in a candidates doctoral program.  The dissertation is based on original research and involves both a formal presentation of the proposed research and a find oral defense of the written dissertation.  A student may begin his/her dissertation research upon successful completion of the oral portion of the preliminary examination and receiving approval from the IRB.  A student must register for a minimum of 16 hours of dissertation credit during the time that the study is conducted and written up.  Having registered for the minimum of 16 hours of dissertation credit and passed both written and oral portions of the Preliminary Examination, a student may petition the Graduate College to be permitted to register for 0 (zero) hours of dissertation credit.  Even if a student is eligible and has successfully petitioned the Graduate College to register for 0 hours, s/he still must register for 0 hours each semester until having successfully defended the dissertation.  Failure to register continuously may result in being administratively dropped from the program.