School of Education Doctoral Research Program

Rewards and Benefits

• Enriched, collaborative preparation. DRP offers students greater faculty attention to their program planning; extra and broader-based work with colleagues and peer support through the shared experiences of the seminars; support for early experience with original research; and opportunities to present their work multiple times (in the various seminars, in student-organized mini-conventions, and with financial support at professional meetings).
• Active and ongoing participation in a community of active researchers. The development of a sense of community begins during Year 1 as students participate in the year-long DRP Pro-seminar. Students continue to work together across all cohorts of the DRP in subsequent years as they are asked to plan and participate in a Lecture Series that represents the SoE’s intellectual community.
• Eligibility for a pool of funds to support professional activities. DRP Fellows are eligible to apply for $650 in funds to support professional expenses associated with research. Examples include costs for software, transcription of research interviews, or travel costs to attend a professional meeting.
• A formal program that identifies and challenges students seeking a career in educational research. The DRP is a formal entity that faculty may refer to in recommendations, stating that their students have had particularly rigorous and thorough preparation for careers that emphasize research in education.
• A formal connection to broader research community at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The DRP is co-sponsored by the School of Education and the Wisconsin Center for Education research, providing DRP fellows with a formal connection to educational researchers and research training opportunities throughout the School of Education and across the University.

Guiding Principles

• Breadth of Vision
• Methodological Rigor
• Orientation to Research Guided by Theory
• Concern with Role of Practice in Guiding and Interpreting Research
• Varied Experience in Research

Academic Requirements

• Systematic training in methods and theory. All students take course work designed to develop a high level of expertise in at least one research perspective. They are also expected to take sufficient course work to become informed consumers of at least one additional paradigm.
• Paper based on original research. All Fellows in the program write a paper based on original research before qualifying as dissertators. Examples include a master’s paper, an expanded seminar paper, or a paper connected to work on a project with a faculty member. The paper must report original research in which the student clearly was a major contributor to all aspects of the research and writing.
• Pro-seminars. In their first year in the DRP, all students enroll in a 3-credit Fall Pro-seminar that broadens students’ research knowledge and offers an opportunity to form intellectual and social ties with peers in other departments and other traditions. The Fall Pro-seminar is led by two faculty members from different research traditions and departments. Students read, discuss, and critique research from different traditions. They seek to understand the assumptions, questions, purposes, procedures, and criteria for establishing findings in these traditions. The staff and specific content of the DRP Pro-seminar varies from year to year. The 1-credit Spring Pro-seminar allows first-year DRP Fellows to present their work to a group of colleagues and to develop conversations across departmental boundaries.
• Advanced seminar. During year 2 in the DRP, students participate in a Lecture Series that highlights the intellectual work of the SoE and related UW faculty and advanced graduate students. Second-year DRP Fellows plan and facilitate the lectures.
• Annual reports of professional development. Each spring students and advisors revise their doctoral program plans and send them, together with documentation of their accomplishments in the DRP, to the DRP Director. The Director’s role is to facilitate participants’ fulfillment of program elements.
• Work with faculty on research. Apprenticeship with faculty engaged in research is desirable. We strongly encourage students and their committees to obtain such opportunities for students. If they cannot find paid project assistantships, we urge both faculty and students to consider voluntary arrangements where circumstances permit. DRP staff can facilitate faculty internships.

Faculty Responsibilities

Advisors who recommend students for participation in the DRP agree to assist and mentor those students as they progress through the program. In most cases, these activities will require little beyond the responsibilities of good doctoral advising. If students change advisors, the new advisor picks up the work with the DRP.

The DRP provides rich opportunities for students in their professional development as educational researchers. It does, however, come with a set of commitments made by advisors to contribute to that development. In nominating a student, you are indicating your willingness to take on these commitments, which include the following:

• Supervise DRP Fellow’s research education. Although this is a basic aspect of doctoral education, it is a particular focus of the DRP. Sometimes this is done by having the student participate in your ongoing research, or you may need to assist the student in finding other appropriate experiences. The program provides funds for DRP Fellows to participate and present at professional meetings.
• Mentor satisfactory progress of DRP Fellow. Mentoring is vital to success in graduate study and is a complex process of collaboration and oversight. We ask that you discuss, read, and sign your DRP Fellow’s Annual Report. Satisfactory progress toward the doctorate is indicated when the advisor signs the DRP Annual Report.

• Assist DRP Fellow in making appropriate use of Professional Expense Funds. All DRP Fellows are eligible to apply for up to $650 of DRP Professional Expense Funds to support their development as an educational researcher. The Professional Expense Funds may be requested to cover expenses incurred between September 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. We ask that you discuss with your Fellow how the funds should best be used. This is one of the perks of the program, and should be used wisely. Almost anything (except books and journals) related to the Fellow’s research or research education is appropriate.