Learning Objectives
The doctoral program will provide students with the knowledge and skills to

1. re-construct, appropriate, and develop mathematical knowledge;
2. explore different approaches that emerge from the study of the research literature in the field of mathematics education and related disciplines; and
3. write original research that represents their own contribution to knowledge.

The PhD program is designed to build the intellectual skills that our graduates will need in order to utilize new and future technologies and communication infrastructures. It will provide students with multiple opportunities to enhance traditional scholarly training through participation in such practical academic endeavors as publishing and organizing lectures and colloquia. It will prepare students to use critical thinking skills to deal with the adaptation, adoption, and transformation of knowledge and information and to formulate and design solutions to complex educational problems.

The program is designed to create a focused track of study over 4 years to build skills in the following critical areas:

1. the nature of scientific inquiry in mathematics education and related disciplines, including the cognitive sciences and the learning sciences,
2. appropriate methods of research design regarding data collection and analysis, particularly focused on contemporary qualitative and quantitative methods,
3. the production of new researchable questions, especially on the boundaries of particular disciplines (e.g., learning sciences), and
4. the ability to design and conduct a research study with unique findings to advance the field of mathematics education.