About the Literacy Education Doctoral Program

Program Overview

The Literacy Education major within the Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. program at Virginia Tech prepares scholars, teacher educators, literacy teachers, and literacy coaches to be leaders in their fields who can respond to the dynamic literacy needs of students in contemporary education. Grounded in reading science, faculty guide doctoral students to conduct original, empirical research that positions learning as an inclusive and generative act driven by the unique needs and cultural contexts of students, schools, and their communities. Doctoral students develop specialized knowledge of the interrelationships between theories and research methods, language and literacy processes and practices, and literacy development that is grounded in an understanding of cognitive, linguistic, cultural, social, and affective factors related to literacy teaching, learning, and research. 

In our program, students will: 

• Be taught and mentored by faculty who are actively engaged in scholarly research, teaching, and service endeavors within and beyond the field of literacy. 

• Develop comprehensive knowledge of literacy development and deep knowledge of a chosen area of interest.

• Become integral members of collaborative research teams engaged in the systematic study of issues related to literacy teaching and learning.

• Develop knowledge and pedagogy related to face-to-face and online teaching in higher education settings. 

• Develop expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methods to explore topics related to literacy. 

The Literacy Education Doctoral Program is primarily designed to prepare literacy researchers, literacy teacher education faculty, and literacy curriculum coaches to be leaders in their fields. The program also serves literacy teachers (PK-12) who have a desire to take what they’ve learned back to their previous teaching contexts. 

The possible career paths include, but are not limited to, faculty positions in post-secondary education, research scientists, literacy leadership positions, and teachers in PK-12 education settings. 

What You'll Study

The School of Education at Virginia Tech offers a doctoral program in Curriculum and Instruction with a major in Literacy Education across the PK-12 levels. The doctoral program is made up of full time and part-time doctoral students. 

The program does require a one-year academic residency requirement (one year as a full-time, on-campus student). During residency, doctoral students have opportunities to work alongside faculty members in experiences that apprentice them into the community of literacy scholars and teacher educators. This may include either a research or teaching apprenticeship. Apprenticeships may occur as part of a graduate assistantship and/or as part of the doctoral student’s coursework.

For more information

Prospective students should contact (Dr. Heidi Anne Mesmer, hamesmer@vt.edu, or Dr. Dana Robertson, rdana@vt.edu) to discuss their application.

Coursework

The Plan of Study for Ph.D. students in the Literacy program will include the following courses: