<p>Hello All,</p>
<p>I'm thinking about applying for a PhD in education and I was just browsing through the websites of some local schools. For me, UCB/Cal happens to be local and a "reach" school.
I was looking at the profiles of current students and I was shocked!</p>
<p>Most had previous work experience before entering the program. It seems like no one got in straight out of undergrad. Is previous work experience an unstated requirement for most "top" schools or is it a way to distinguish yourself from the crowd?Also, most of the work experience was stellar...teaching kids in Africa...that kinda stuff.</p>
<ul>
<li>I was shocked mainly because I thought most PhDs come straight from undergrad.If that's not the case then that changes everything (for me). </li>
</ul>
<p>Any advice/comments from folks in the humanities/social sciences would be great...but all comments are welcomed! :)</p>
<p>if you want to go to the better schools, more will be expected from you. My aunt went for her PhD a few years out of school. As for her extracurriculars, she was head of her dorm, manager at a business, and got a good GRE score. She recieved a full tuition waver for education at UMinnesota</p>
<p>Granted, I don’t know what field your aunt went for, but isn’t this example contradictory?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Her experience sounds like a better fit for a professional masters. </p></li>
<li><p>PhDs are academic degrees. According to you she didn’t do any research. But according to the advice on here, research is uber important, moreso than being the head of a dorm. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>So, have PhDs become like Master’s Degrees? O_0</p>
<p>Most folks pursuing a PhD in Ed have taught for several years prior to entering a doctoral program. Lack of actual teaching experience is the most common reason for denial of admission in Ed.</p>
<p>Managerial experience can also be relevant for folks who are looking at Admin areas within Ed.</p>
<p>I wish we had a quote function but:</p>
<p>Thanks Professor X…this clears it up for me.</p>
<p>to help clarify, i’m telling you what she actually did and what she actually received regardless of what people here say.</p>
<p>She got her PhD in Education
undergrad: english
undergrad at Concordia Moorhead
good GPA</p>
<p>good GRE (or something, i dont remember what test it was exactly)</p>
<p>two years after graduating, she was a loan shark and manager of business</p>
<p>for her masters degree (i dont remember what aspect of english it was in)
received full tuition waver from some OK school in minnesota
kept a good GPA
good test score (i keep forgetting what test she took)</p>
<p>received full tuition waver from university of minnesota for a PhD in english education</p>
<p>hope this helps…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>We do…</p>
<p>
[quote=username ]
stuff
[/quote ]
</p>
<p>Just remove the spaces.</p>
<p>I would honestly say the more professionally-oriented doctorates (e.g., education, social work, librarianship, human resources) prefer applicants to have years of work experience in their relevant field. I am not referring to medicine or law.</p>