Educational Technology, D.E.T.
Minimum Totals for Graduation: 87 hours
(54 hours beyond a Master's degree)
The doctoral program in educational technology prepares educators in the study of integration of technologies supporting learning and teaching. Specific instruction revolves around the pedagogy, theory, and design and implementation of study of the latest educational technologies to increase learner achievement. Graduates are prepared for careers in educational technology support, higher education research and teaching, instructional design, learning engineering, research and development of instructional technologies, and private sector training, development, and assessment.
The Doctor of Educational Technology (DET) program at Central Michigan University offers students an opportunity to earn their doctorate degree and matriculate in three years of graduate study if they currently hold an accredited master's degree. A maximum of 12 credits may be transferred from additional graduate work beyond the master's degree.
Students take an additional 36 credit hours of coursework (12 classes) beyond the Master's level. Upon completion of the comprehensive exam, students will enroll in 18 dissertation credits.
Admission Requirements, Retention & Termination Standards
Admission Requirement Snapshot
GPA: 3.0
Entrance Exam: Departmental Writing Assessment or GRE or MAT
Admission application reviews begin: April 1 and November 1
See Admission Requirement Details Below
Admission
In order to be considered for admission to the program, an applicant must have completed a master's degree with a minimum graduate grade point average of 3.0 or higher or be willing to enroll in the MA in Learning, Design, and Technology program. Three years of professional education experience is preferred. Applicants must complete a departmental writing assessment or the Graduate Record Exam or Miller Analogy Test.
Review of complete application begins April 1 and November 1 and continues until the cohort is filled. A completed application will include the following materials:
- a completed graduate application;
- transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work;
- resume of professional education experience;
- Departmental writing assessment or Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or Miller Analogy Test (MAT)
- short essay describing the relationship between the applicant's professional goals and the D.E.T. program; and
- three letters of recommendation that attest to the applicant's potential to succeed in the program.
After reviewing the credentials of the applicants, the Doctoral Program Committee will select those to be interviewed. The Doctoral Program Committee will make all decisions regarding admissions. The total application package will be evaluated holistically.
Proof of English proficiency is required for admission to any of CMU's graduate programs. Although most international applicants meet that requirement by having an official TOEFL score report sent to us, there are other acceptable methods of proof. Students can meet the requirement by submitting IELTS scores or MELAB scores, or by having completed an entire course of study (bachelor's degree, master's degree, etc.) at an institution where the language of instruction is English. Test score requirements are:
TOEFL:
Regular Admission: 79 ibt (550 pbt, 213 cbt)
Admission with stipulations: 61-78 (500-547, 173-210)
IELTS:
Regular Admission: 6.5
Admission with stipulations: 6.0 or 5.5
MELAB:
Regular Admission: 80
TOEFL Exempt countries list
Program Requirements
Progress through the program is based upon obtaining satisfactory grades (a 3.25 GPA average overall), passing written and oral comprehensive exams, and completing a doctoral dissertation. Students who have not earned a Master's Degree from an accredited university will be enrolled in the MA in Learning, Design, and Technology program.
Program Requirements
Requirements I - Research (9 hours)
The research component encompasses both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The competencies to be developed are essential to interpreting and evaluating research studies to be encountered in all course work as well as to completing the dissertation requirement.
| EDU 800 | Educational Technology Research | 3(3-0) |
| EDU 801 | Qualitative Research in Educational Technology | 3(3-0) |
| EDU 802 | Quantitative Research in Educational Technology | 3(3-0) |
Requirements II - Academic Core (12 hours)
The academic core component includes all of the critical areas of study for future educational leaders: foundations, organizational and leadership analyses, and the issues which change and dominate over time. The courses are designed to provide students with the underpinnings to understand and to act effectively upon the challenges confronting the educational organization.
| EDU 807 | Seminar: Learning Tools in Education Technology | 3 |
| EDU 808 | Blended and Online Learning | 3(3-0) |
| EDU 814 | Differentiated Instruction in Online Learning | 3(3-0) |
| EDU 853 | Evolving Internet Learning | 3(3-0) |
Requirements III - Cognate (15 hours)
There are multiple choices from which students may select a concentration. The specific courses will be determined in consultation between the student and the academic advisor. The cognate, to be determined jointly by the student and advisor, can be completed in one academic discipline or by taking a combination of courses from more than one academic discipline. Students could choose to take a "Leadership" cognate by taking 3 classes currently offered by Educational Leadership and two of the classes below as a cognate.
Educational Technology Cognate:
| EDU 810 | Grant Writing | 3(3-0) |
| EDU 811 | Motivation in Online and Blended Learning | 3(3-0) |
| EDU 842 | Mobile Learning | 3(3-0) |
| EDU 862 | Data Driven Decision Making | 3(3-0) |
| EDU 870 | Higher Order Learning and New Literacies | 3(3-0) |
Comprehensive Exams
Students will be expected to take written qualifying exams upon the completion of their academic core classes. Comprehensive exams will be administered in the fall and spring of each year. Upon successful completion of the comprehensive exam, students are advanced to candidacy.
Dissertation
The candidate will complete three steps in the dissertation process:
- the proposal review stage in which there is a formal review of the literature and a journal article submitted for publication; The proposal of the candidate’s research, the research question and methodology for conducting the research will be proposed and approved by the candidate’s dissertation committee;
- conducting the research, analyzing the results, and writing the final document including a minimum of one journal article submitted for publication after successful defense; and
- oral defense of the research.
Total: 87 semester hours (54 semester hours beyond a Master’s program)