Comparative and International Education

Admission Requirements

Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements listed in GCAC-208 Dual-Title Graduate Degree Programs.

For admission to pursue a dual-title degree under this program, a student must apply to:

1. the Graduate School;
2. one of the participating graduate major programs; and
3. the Committee on Comparative and International Education.

Students must apply and be admitted to their primary graduate program and The Graduate School before they can apply for admission to the Comparative and International Education dual-title degree program. After admission to their primary program, students must apply for admission to and meet the admissions requirements of the Comparative and International Education dual-title program. Doctoral students must be admitted into the dual-title degree program in Comparative and International Education prior to taking the qualifying examination in their primary graduate program.

In addition to materials submitted for admission to the major program, candidates to the dual-title degree program will be required to provide a writing sample, and to submit a written personal statement indicating the career goals they hope to serve by attaining a Comparative and International Education degree.

Degree Requirements

Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements listed in GCAC-208 Dual-Title Graduate Degree Programs.

Master's Degrees

To qualify for a dual-title degree, students must satisfy the requirements of the graduate major programs in which they are enrolled, in addition to the minimum requirements of the Comparative and International Education program.

For the M.A., M.S., or M.Ed. dual-title degree in Comparative and International Education, the minimum course requirements are:

• 3 credits in the required Proseminar in Comparative and International Education CIED 500;
• 6 credits in advanced Comparative and International Education courses;
• and 3 credits in Comparative and International Education content courses.

A master's thesis or master's paper, if required by the student's graduate major program, must include one reader who is a member of the Committee on Comparative and International Education.

Doctoral Degrees

To qualify for a dual-title degree, students must satisfy the requirements of the graduate major programs in which they are enrolled, in addition to the minimum requirements of the Comparative and International Education program.

The minimum course requirements for the Ph.D. or D.Ed. dual-title degree in Comparative and International Education are:

• 3 credits in the Proseminar in Comparative and International Education CIED 500;
• 6 credits in advanced Comparative and International Education courses;
• 12 credits in Comparative and International Education content courses or courses with comparative or international content;
• and 6 credits in research methods.

Students are expected to be fluent in reading, writing, and speaking English, and must demonstrate competency in reading a language other than English, preferably a language relevant to a country or geographic area they propose to study. (This foreign language requirement can be satisfied by passing the appropriate ETS Language Achievement Test, or by passing the appropriate Penn State foreign language course.) A minimum of 18 credits must be 500-level course, and particular courses may satisfy both the graduate major program requirements and those in the Comparative and International Education program.

The qualifying examination committee for the dual-title Ph.D. degree must include at least one Graduate Faculty member from the Comparative and International Education program. Faculty members who hold appointments in both programs’ Graduate Faculty may serve in a combined role. There will be a single qualifying examination, containing elements of both the primary graduate degree program and Comparative and International Education. Dual-title graduate degree students may require an additional semester to fulfill requirements for both areas of study and, therefore, the qualifying examination may be delayed one semester beyond the normal period allowable.

In addition to the general Graduate Council requirements for Ph.D. committees, the Ph.D. committee of a Comparative and International Education dual-title doctoral degree student must include at least one member of the Comparative and International Education Graduate Faculty. Faculty members who hold appointments in both programs’ Graduate Faculty may serve in a combined role. If the chair of the Ph.D. committee is not also a member of the Graduate Faculty in Comparative and International Education, the member of the committee representing Comparative and International Education must be appointed as co-chair. The Comparative and International Education representative on the student’s Ph.D. committee will develop questions for and participate in the evaluation of the comprehensive examination.

Students in the dual-title program are required to write and orally defend a dissertation on a topic that is approved in advance by their Ph.D. committee and reflects their original research and education in both their primary graduate program and Comparative and International Education. Upon completion of the doctoral dissertation, the candidate must pass a final oral examination (the dissertation defense) to earn the Ph.D. degree. The dissertation must be accepted by the Ph.D. committee, the head of the graduate program, and the Graduate School.

Minor

Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements for minors in Graduate Council policy GCAC-218 Minors.

A doctoral minor program in Comparative and International Education is available to doctoral students who find it desirable to include the perspectives and methodologies of Comparative and International Education in their programs and have been approved to do so by their dissertation committees. To qualify for a minor in Comparative and International Education, students must satisfy the requirements of their graduate major programs, and meet the following minimum requirements:

• 3 credits in the Proseminar in Comparative and International Education CIED 500;
• 3 credits in a Comparative and International Education course;
• and 9 credits in Comparative and International Education content courses (or advanced courses) or in courses with comparative or international content offered outside the College of Education.

Student Aid

Graduate assistantships available to students in this program and other forms of student aid are described in the Tuition & Funding section of the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School’s website. Students on graduate assistantships must adhere to the course load limits set by the Fox Graduate School.

Courses

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 699 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

Comparative and International Education (CIED) Course List

Learning Outcomes

Master's Degrees

1. Demonstrate mastery of the student’s specific program emphasis area, which includes knowledge of primary and secondary literature related to research methodologies, programmatic research priorities, and implications of that research for professional practice. Assessed through methods and theory coursework.
2. Students will design and carry out a research project that includes articulating an important and original question, analyzing appropriate literature, demonstrating conceptual and methodological creativity, and carrying out an original inquiry. Assessed through master’s thesis/paper.
3. Demonstrate critical thinking about selected recent research in the program emphasis area through the description of an emerging scholarly theme/area, identification of specific publications that reflect it, and assessment of its strengths and weaknesses. Assessed through coursework and master’s thesis/ paper.
4. Demonstrate standards of field in written and oral communication by requiring research presentations in several courses. In addition, presentations at CIES are strongly encouraged. 
5. Demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of research ethics issues including knowledge of ethical principles related to authorship, research reporting, data fabrication, plagiarism, conflicts of interest, peer review, data sharing and other areas of misconduct. Assessed through SARI examinations and participation in CIED 500.
6. Participate in conducting research with faculty, working on the boards of professional journals, or other significant professional engagement as identified by the master’s adviser.  

Doctoral Degrees

1. Demonstrate mastery of the student’s specific program emphasis area, which includes knowledge of theoretical and methodological literature, programmatic research priorities, and implications of that research for professional practice. Assessed though the appropriate course work and dissertation proposal.
2. Students will design and carry out a research project that includes articulating an important and original question, analyzing appropriate literature, demonstrating conceptual and methodological creativity, and carrying out an original inquiry. Assessed through dissertation proposal and defense.
3. Demonstrate critical thinking about selected recent research in the program emphasis area through the description of an emerging scholarly theme/area, identification of specific publications that reflect it, and assessment of its strengths and weaknesses. Assessed through dissertation proposal.
4. Demonstrate standards of field in written and oral communication by (a) preparing a research grant proposal for an award competition or an internal or external funding opportunity, and (b) presenting the results of dissertation research in clear, concise oral presentations to an audience of peers. Assessed through research/award proposal and dissertation defense. In addition, presentations at CIES are strongly encouraged.
5. Demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of research ethics issues including knowledge of ethical principles related to authorship, research reporting, data fabrication, plagiarism, conflicts of interest, peer review, data sharing and other areas of misconduct. Assessed through SARI examinations and participation in CIED 500.
6. Participate in conducting research with faculty, working on the boards of professional journals, teaching an undergraduate or graduate course, or other significant professional engagement as identified by the doctoral adviser. Assessed through faculty written evaluation, standardized assessment instruments, and/or other appropriate and clearly defined means.

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