Skip to Main Content

The University of Tennessee

Enter the name of your College, Department, or Unit Here

Frequently Used Tools:



 


Doctor of Philosophy - Education Major

With a concentration in Literacy Studies - ESLSpecialization

The College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences has the distinction of having a nationally-ranked Teacher Education program, and is NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education) accredited. Consequently, prospective applicants for a specialization in ESL Education, follow both NCATE and TESOL standards for its students. http://www.gisd.k12.nm.us/standards/esl/4-8tesol.html

Prospective applicants for the Ph.D. in Education, who wish to focus on ESL Education as a specialization, are expected to have the following credentials:

  • A master’s degree in English, ESL,TESOL, Linguistics, or a World Language
  • Superior (ACTFL standards) proficiency in English listening, speaking, reading, writing skills http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3318
  • A GPA of 3.2 (required) or higher (preferred) in the master’s degree
  • A minimum of 3 years of full-time formal classroom teaching experience (preferably with a linguistically and culturally-diverse population)

Admission Procedures
Submit an application for admission to The University of Tennessee’s Graduate School: Domestic students:http://gradstudies.utk.edu/gradforms.shtml
International students:http://web.utk.edu/~gsinfo/intl.htm

In addition, the FL/ESL Education faculty require the following to be submitted with the TPTE departmental application:

  • Four academic letters of reference: http://web.utk.edu/~tpte/apply.html
  • A formal research paper (in English)--- APA ’01 format, preferred
  • A statement of career goals and research interest(s)
  • A personal interview with the FL/ ESL faculty (for local applicants) or a DV/DVD of the applicant describing his/her academic background, tutoring/teaching experiences, career goals and research interest(s)

Admission Criteria
The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required for all domestic students, with a minimum score of 1100. A TOEFL score of 550 is required for general admission to Graduate School at The University of Tennessee.

All prospective students are encouraged to apply as early as possible, and preferably one year in advance to ensure sufficient time for the processing of all application materials. International students should begin this process even earlier, if at all possible.

Contact information
Prospective students seeking additional information on the ESL Education specialization in the Literacy Studies concentration, should contact: Dr. Patricia Davis-Wiley, pdwiley@utk.edu

 

Contact CEHHS

335 Claxton Complex 1122 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996

Phone: 865-974-2201
Fax: 865-974-8718