Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction
The Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction received the 2023 Charlotte Excellence in Planning and Assessment from the Office of Assessment and Accreditation
The Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction is an interdisciplinary degree program involving faculty from across the UNC Charlotte campus, and primarily the Departments of English; Mathematics and Statistics; Middle, Secondary, and K-12 Education; Reading and Elementary Education; Educational Leadership; and many others across the UNC Charlotte campus. The Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction is designed to prepare teacher education faculty and other educational professionals for work in various agency, policy, non-profit, and educational settings.
The program offers the following six areas of concentration, all of which emphasize the context of urban education issues and perspectives related to curriculum and instruction.
Click here to learn more about each concentration
Upcoming Events
Prospective Student Information Session
Online Recruitment Session:
If you’re interested in attending this online session,
Please complete the form linked: https://forms.gle/Y4nBREmtNLDhtcdRA
Annual August Doctoral Mixer
Each August, the Cato College of Education hosts a Doctoral Program Open House look for a future announcement of a similar event in August 2026.
announcements
We’re excited to share that UNC Charlotte’s Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction program is well represented in this year’s NCTE ELATE Graduate Strand leadership team! We would like to take a moment and recognize Brandon J. Watkins, from the Urban Education Literacy concentration, who is serving as Co-Chair of the Graduate Strand.
Congratulations Brandon!
We’re excited to share that UNC Charlotte’s Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction program is well represented in this year’s NCTE ELATE Graduate Strand leadership team! We would like to take a moment and recognize Wendy Mueller, from the Literacy Research, Policy, and Practice concentration, who is serving as one of the Graduate Strand’s Newsletter Editor.
Congratulations, Wendy!
We’re excited to share that UNC Charlotte’s Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction program is well represented in this year’s NCTE ELATE Graduate Strand leadership team! We would like to take a moment and recognize Marsi Franceschini, from the Literacy concentration, who is serving as one of the Graduate Strand’s Social Media Directors.
Congratulations Marsi!
We are proud to share that Amira Khalile, a Ph.D. student in the CED concentration, has been selected to compete in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition at UNC Charlotte. She is the only finalist chosen from our Ph.D. program. In addition, Amira has also been elected as the President-Elect of Carolina TESOL, where she will have the opportunity to support and advocate for ESL learners and teachers across North and South Carolina.
Congratulations, Amira!
Contact the Office of Middle, Secondary, K-12 Education
Email: theafner@charlotte.edu (preferred)
Phone: 704-687-8875 or 704-687-8878
Fax: 704-687-1630