Doctor of Philosophy in Education Policy and Equity

Education Policy and Equity (EPE) is an in-residence, interdisciplinary doctoral degree program at Saint Louis University focused on advanced training in education and social science research methods where students learn to evaluate educational practices and analyze issues in education policy from a social justice perspective. Students take core courses in educational history, philosophy, policy, and practice; interdisciplinary electives from economics, sociology, political science, and law; and advanced-level quantitative and qualitative research courses. As a result, students develop a specialization and conduct research that combines education policy questions with equity frameworks.Defining features of SLU's education policy and equity Ph.D. program include methodological rigor, opportunities for firsthand experiences in schools, student-faculty research collaboration, and commitment to the goal of creating a more equitable system of education for all students. The Ph.D. in Education Policy and Equity is a 66-credit hour (54 credit hours of coursework plus 12 hours of dissertation research) degree program beyond the bachelor’s degree. As such, we accept students into the Ph.D. in Education Policy and Equity directly from bachelor’s programs. For students admitted with master’s degrees, we follow SLU’s advanced standing policy and allow students to petition for advanced standing.

A viable applicant must possess, minimally, a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent from an institution that is accredited by one of the six regional accreditation agencies.

English Language Proficiency Requirements

To ensure a successful academic experience at Saint Louis University, we require international applicants to demonstrate they are proficient in the English language by submitting scores from any one of the following standardized tests:

IELTS minimum score of 6.5; Internet-based TOEFL (IBT) minimum score of 80; Paper-based TOEFL (PBT) minimum score of 550; PTE minimum score of 54; Duolingo minimum score of 125.

Application Deadlines

International students should apply by May 1 for the fall semester.