Doctoral Program
For the 2025-2026 academic year, the Faculty of Education will only consider applicants to the PhD program with full-time status if they meet one of the following conditions:
- Remains professionally employed at or above .5 FTE (this includes four over five arrangements) during their studies.
- Has a supervisor who has expressed in writing the ability and intention of funding the student to $25,000 for each of the first two years (this includes financial co-sponsorship with another faculty member).
- Is applying as an Indigenous student (1 studentship) or a member of an equity-denied group (1 studentship).
- Is sponsored by an external agency at or above $25,000 per year or has an external scholarship at or above $25,000.
Program Requirements
Students interested in pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Measurement, Evaluation, and Data Science (MEDS) must have completed a thesis-based Master's degree in MEDS or in a related field. In addition to completing a thesis-based Master's degree, students should contact one of the faculty members in the MEDS program to discuss their research interests and program goals before applying. Students in the doctoral program can only enroll in a full-time program.
If you have any questions regarding the doctoral program or the application process, please contact the MEDS program coordinator. In addition, prospective students are expected to contact the faculty members they are interested in working with before applying for the MEDS program.
Students must complete the following courses:
A minimum of seven three-credit courses, including the following three required courses:
• EDPY 604 Mixed Methods Approaches to Educational Research *3
• EDPY 605 Quantitative Methods II (formerly EDPY 605 Multivariate Statistics) *3
• EDPY 607 Measurement Theory II (formerly EDPY 508 Item Response Theory) *3
The remaining four courses are determined, in conjunction with the dissertation supervisor, based on the student's research interests. Required coursework is typically completed by the end of Year 2. Following the completion of a first-year probationary period and coursework, the student must pass an oral candidacy examination, and then conduct, write, and defend a dissertation.