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Timing and Requirements: PhD

PhD in Education (EDUC) Residency Timing

Residency Required or Optional Timing
Residency 1 (RESI 8401) Required face-to-face Complete residency 1 face-to-face as soon as you begin your program; should be completed within 90 days of completing your Foundations course (EDPD 8002/EDPD 8006/EDUC 8110).
Residency 2 (RESI 8402)

Required face-to-face OR virtual

 Complete residency 2 as face-to-face OR virtual after RSCH 8100/RSCH 8110.
Residency 3 (RESI 8403) Required face-to-face Complete residency 3 face-to-face after RSCH 8200/8210 and RSCH 8300/8310.
Residency 4 (RESI 8404)

Required face-to-face OR

virtual OR

dissertation intensive retreat (DRWI 8500)

Once you have an approved committee and prospectus and are enrolled in EDUC 9000 or EDPD 8990, complete residency 4 during your third year or beyond as:

  • a face-to-face or virtual residency (RESI 8404) OR
  • a dissertation intensive (DRWI 8500). Contact Student Success Advising to register. NOTE: Intensive Retreats are NOT included in Fast Track tuition.

Dissertation Intensive retreat

(DRWI 8500)

Optional face-to-face

Complete a PhD Dissertation Intensive retreat face-to-face during EDUC 9000.

Contact Student Success Advising to register. NOTE: Intensive Retreats are NOT included in Fast Track tuition.

PhD Residency Timing

Residency Required or Optional Timing
Residency 1 (RESI 8401) Required face-to-face

Complete residency 1 face-to-face as soon as you begin your program; should be completed in term 1 or term 2.

Focus: Socialization into Walden, community building, introductory skill and professional identity development, team building, scholarly writing, identification of potential research topics for your dissertation.
Residency 2 (RESI 8402)

Required face-to-face OR virtual

Complete residency 2 as face-to-face or virtual after completing RSCH 8100/8110.

Focus: Introduction to research skills, self-assessment, dissertation and research skill development as well as professional development.
Residency 3 (RESI 8403) Required face-to-face

Complete residency 3 face-to-face after completing RSCH 8100/8110, 8200/8210, 8300/8310. 

Focus: Prospectus writing and completion, proposal development, and dissertation processes.
Residency 4 (RESI 8404)

Required face-to-face OR

virtual OR

dissertation intensive retreat

Complete residency 4 after your prospectus is approved as follows:

  • a face-to-face or virtual residency (RESI 8404) OR
  • an approved professional conference (RESI 8900 for select programs only. Contact Advising for information.) OR
  • a dissertatioa dissertation intensive (DRWI 8500) during your 9000 course. Contact Student Success Advising to register. You must attend all sessions and advising throughout the entire intensive retreat in order to successfully complete the experience to satisfy residency 4 requirements. NOTE: Intensive Retreats are NOT included in Fast Track tuition.

Dissertation Intensive retreat

(DRWI 8500)

 Optional face-to-face

Complete a PhD Dissertation Intensive retreat  face-to-face during your dissertation.

Contact Student Success Advising to register. NOTE: Intensive Retreats are NOT included in Fast Track tuition.

View the PhD Residency Calendar

Email Academic Advising if you have questions.

International Students: Be sure to register for your selected U.S. residency 3-4 months before the residency start date in order to allow sufficient time to complete the required processes and approvals for you to be able to travel and attend. View the SEVIS/I-20 site for complete information about the requirement for travel to U.S. residencies.

PhD Residency Goals

Walden residencies are designed to prepare you for your doctoral journey. Key goals of the Walden doctoral residency experience include: 

  • Reflecting on academic direction and what it means to be a doctoral student and a scholar-practitioner.
  • Engaging students effectively within their academic and professional disciplines.
  • Supporting your doctoral journey with a variety of technical services, Student Success Advising, and faculty advising, using a combination of face-to-face and online best practices.
  • Using skills required for professional competence.
  • Building self-efficacy to conceptualize, design, and carry out scholarly research to solve problems related to professional practice that contributes to positive social change.
  • Rendering research and project study findings meaningful to multiple audiences.
  • Building relationships and networks (i.e., faculty, staff, and students) that foster academic and professional success.
  • Engaging faculty and students in peer review and scholarly discourse that reflects critical thinking.
  • Modeling appropriate professional behavior on the part of both students and faculty in scholarly discourse.
  • Ensuring that students understand the differences in program models and their requirements to determine the most appropriate academic fit.

PhD Residency Learning Outcomes

The following are key learning outcomes you will be expected to achieve as part of your residency experiences:

  1. Use critical-thinking skills expected of doctoral students.
  2. Engage faculty and peers in discourse that contributes to the collective advancement of scholarship in their discipline.
  3. Use university support services to contribute to the successful completion of the dissertation and doctoral degree.
  4. Analyze research ideas through engagement with faculty members and fellow students to formulate appropriate research questions to be pursued in the doctoral dissertation.
  5. Conceptualize, design, and execute dissertation research studies that reflect doctoral-level thinking and have the potential to contribute to positive social change.
  6. Conduct peer review to receive and provide critical feedback to shape the dissertation proposal and results that follow from the data analysis.
  7. Demonstrate proficiency in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis approaches to support what is learned in research courses and what is required for the dissertation.
  8. Articulate and demonstrate competency in professional practice skills required by student’s discipline.
  9. Write a plan for research dissemination (e.g., peer-reviewed journal article, conference presentation, book, workplace settings, or other venues).
  10. Identify strategies for continued professional development as scholar-practitioners.