Prepare for a career in which you will help college students learn science, share your excitement of science with adult learners, and be involved in research in your field through one of our two science doctoral degrees:

Doctor of Education (EdD) in Science
Learn how to teach students at the college or university level. In this program, you will plan a broad-based major course of study in one science field and take supporting courses in education and a second science.

• Program Requirements 
• Course Listing

Doctor of Education (EdD) in Science Education
Learn how to be a science education leader at the university level or in grades K through 12. The program consists of fairly equal components of education and one field science with supporting work in additional science fields.

• Program Requirements 
• Course Listing

In our programs, you will

• Study broadly in your chosen concentration area.
  We will prepare you to teach comprehensive introductory courses in your major field/concentration as well upper division, undergraduate courses in your sub-discipline (e.g., analytical chemistry) and courses outside of your core discipline. For example, in a small college a physics professor may teach a mathematics course or an interdisciplinary science course.)
• Learn how to teach.
  All science doctoral students will complete a core of education and science education courses; however, the depth and breadth of teaching coursework will vary from student to student, according to their career goals. Historically Ball State has emphasized teaching; and we immerse our doctoral students in that scholarship of teaching culture.
• Practice teaching a college science course with a faculty mentor.
  You will complete a supervised, extended internship teaching under the mentorship of a faculty member. First you will have teaching opportunities within your capabilities, usually as a teaching assistant in a laboratory portion of an introductory course. Then you will progress to teaching a small, and then a significant, part of a course. Finally you will have full responsibility for teaching an entire course which often occurs in a community college or other real-world setting. Our students typically teach in some capacity their programs, steadily sharpening their skills.

Current grade K to 12 teachers
With Ball State's emphasis on college teaching, classroom teachers find our doctoral programs particularly attractive to their needs. Contact individual departments to explore how classroom teachers can pursue a degree.

Part-time students
With careful planning, you can complete our program as a part-time student within the degree's seven-year limit, including the residency requirement. In fact, pursuing the degree part-time will allow you not only work to full time, but also to gain valuable experience in support of your doctoral studies. For example,

• Students pursuing a science doctorate might work at an environmentally-oriented public- or private-sector job that supports their studies in field biology, geology, or natural resources.
• Students with a concentration in physics or computer science might work as a programmer.
• Students employed as full-time in the health care field might pursue a concentration in physiology.
• Elementary, middle, and high school teachers or community college faculty teaching mathematics or chemistry might pursue a doctorate in their field.