Teaching & Learning

University Admission Requirements

A student applying to a doctoral program must:

• have earned a master's degree or equivalent in a discipline appropriate to the specific doctoral program
• have a minimum 3.0 GPA (on a scale in which an A is a 4.0) for the last 60 hours of undergraduate work (approximately the junior and senior years)
• have a minimum 3.0 GPA (on a scale in which an A is a 4.0) for all graduate-level coursework
• provide three letters of recommendation
• present unofficial transcripts from each college or university other than Illinois State at which graduate, undergraduate, or non-degree credit was earned. The unofficial transcript should be easily readable and clearly indicate degree(s) awarded, courses and course grades for each term. If accepted, official transcripts can be emailed from the university to GraduateAdmissions@IllinoisState.edu or mailed in a sealed envelope to: Illinois State University, Graduate School, 209 Hovey Hall, Campus Box 4040, Normal, IL 61790-4040.

International students can learn more about specific application requirements by visiting the Office of Admissions.

Additional Program Admission Requirements

A student applying to this program must:

• have a minimum of 3 years as an educator. Please submit a document that describes your experience as an educator. 
• submit a professional resume.
• submit three letters of recommendation within the online application. At least one letter should be from a reference that can discuss your academic background and potential.
• submit a professional goals statement of at least two pages that articulates your interest in earning an Ed.D. in Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University, your area(s) potential research interests, faculty that you would be interested in working with, and any future career implications of earning the Ed.D.
• provide an academic writing sample consisting of one of the following:
• A published article or conference paper
• A piece of writing (capstone project, action research paper, course paper, etc…) that demonstrates your ability to critically analyze research literature and/or synthesize data and draw on conclusions on the literature or data. 
• A chapter or relevant section of a thesis that demonstrates your ability to critically analyze research literature and/or synthesize data and draw on conclusions on the literature or data.
• if necessary, submit a statement describing the reasons why the application should be accepted despite not meeting all of the admission criteria
• The GRE isn’t required for admission to the program, however, if you’ve taken exam, you are welcome to submit your scores for review.

Application Deadlines

• Fall Term — March 1; applications submitted after March 1 will be accepted as space permits
• Spring Term — No spring admission
• Summer Term — No summer admission

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