Ph.D. Curriculum (59 credit hours)

The Ph.D. in Technology consists of a minimum 59 semester hours beyond the master's degree. The exact number of hours are determined by the student and their dissertation adviser based on a review of previous graduate transcripts, the student's professional and personal aspirations, and Ph.D. degree requirements.

The Ph.D. curriculum consists of:

NOTE: Click the division title below to expand and click again to collapse.

Ph.D. Core courses (9)

Three Ph.D. core courses must be taken to provide a common knowledge base for all students.

• COT 700 -- Introduction to the Interdisciplinary Study of Technology (3 credit hours)
  This course introduces the interdisciplinary study of technology by acquainting students with science, technology and society studies, and with technology philosophies and theoretical paradigms such as social constructivism, scientific rationalism, technological determinism, appropriate technology, technology ethics, and socio-technical systems theory. Students will apply these theoretical and analytical concepts to the study of technological systems

• COT 704 -- Legal and Policy Aspects of New Technologies (3 credit hours)
  This course examines the legal and policy issues raised by new technologies, nationally and globally. These issues include information privacy, biotechnology, technology transfer, executive responsibility, intellectual property, software protection, and national and international technology policy development processes. The course utilizes a seminar format, which includes case study analysis and examination of information on the World Wide Web.

• COT 705 -- Technology Design, Development, and Transfer (3 credit hours)
  This course examines the processes involved in designing and bringing new products to market, and the engineering, cultural, political and business factors that influence those processes. Special attention is paid to the concepts of human-centered and gendered design, the structure and functioning of product development teams, and the philosophy of concurrent engineering. Also covered in this course is the role that governments and agencies play in supporting technology transfer from research laboratory to marketplace, and from country to country.



Ph.D. Research Skills Courses (11)

Ph.D. research skills courses provide advanced design and methodology training for the dissertation. Each course requires basic statistical competence.


• COT 710 -- Introductory Research Design and Applied Statistics in Technology (3 credit hours)
  An application of introductory research design and statistics in technology. Emphasis is on the relationship between descriptive research design, methods, and associated statistics. Students begin the process of developing a research proposal, formulating research questions, selecting data gathering methods, and interpreting appropriate statistical procedures.
  Prerequisite: Graduate or undergraduate course in statistics taken within five years.

• COT 711 -- Advanced Research Design and Applied Statistics in Technology (3 credit hours)
  This course extends the subject matter considered in COT 710. It is an application of experimental research design and parametric statistics to scholarly inquiry in technology. Emphasis is on the relationships between true and quasi-experimental research designs, methods and associated statistics. Students continue to refine their research proposals.
  Prerequisite: COT 710

• COT 712 -- Qualitative Research Methods and Design in Technology (2 credit hours)
  This course will describe how to use qualitative research methods and for conducting technology research. Students will acquire an understanding of the inherent differences between quantitative and qualitative research. Specific qualitative approaches for collecting, coding, and analyzing data will be presented. Students will transpose qualitative data into quantitative data and utilize various computer programs within qualitative research.
  Prerequisite: Graduate or undergraduate course in statistics taken within five years.

• COT 795 -- Research and Design Capstone Seminar (3 credit hours)
  Students will refine possible dissertation research topics by critically analyzing how the study of technology is approached in the research literature. By exploring the nature of inquiry in technology, students will be able to identify the conceptual framework for a dissertation, write a research problem statement, and design and defend their research proposals
  Prerequisite: COT 711 and COT 712



Ph.D. Elective courses (3)

The students must complete one elective course out of a list of elective courses that are offered by the Ph.D. program. Currently, the following courses are offered:

• COT 701 -- Technology Trends and Issues (3 credit hours)
  This course examines the many factors that influence bringing a product to market. Human-centered and gendered design, product development teams, and concurrent engineering philosophy receive special attention. The course covers the role of government in supporting technology transfer from laboratory to marketplace, and between countries.

• COT 702 -- Planning for Technological Change (3 Credit Hours)
  The course discusses technology planning for organizations and society. For organizations, principles of strategic planning are reviewed, the business strategies of select companies are studied, and a case is made for the needed linkage between strategic business planning and technology planning. The "life cycle" concept and effective utilization planning are covered.

• COT 715 -- Implementing and Managing Technological Change (3 credit hours)
  This course covers technology management as a field of study, the rationale for technology introduction, the value of partnership approaches to introduction and implementation, the role of organizational culture, and the importance of training and competency building. Students will study best-practice scenarios, apply those principles to case studies, and critically analyze technological change practices at their workplaces or an organization of their choosing.

• COT 780 -- Technology Impact and Assessment (3 credit hours)
  This course presents frameworks for assessing the impact of technology on society, institutions, organizations and individuals. It examines the mutual interaction of technological and human systems, and the social institutions engaged in technology impact analyses.


Ph.D. Concentration Courses (15)

Students are required to take at least 15 credits of graduate course work related to their area of concentration. Specific concentration course requirements are determined in consultation with each student's dissertation chair.

Please see the course catalog for complete list of available courses.



Ph.D. Cognate Courses (6)

This is a planned program of coursework beyond the Ph.D. core courses and Ph.D. concentration courses that contributes to the student's intellectual and professional development. Ph.D. cognate courses should together constitute a unified experience in a particular subject or discipline area. Specific graduate courses are selected in consultation with the dissertation chair. The cognate courses must be taken outside of the student's concentration area. Examples of cognate areas are business, management, education, public policy/administration, etc.

Please see the course catalog for complete list of available courses.



Ph.D. Dissertation Research (15)

COT 894 -- Candidacy Seminar (2 credit hours)
A candidacy qualifying examination seminar for eligibility to form a dissertation committee and begin work on the dissertation research proposal. The student will write and present three research paper prospecti to their candidacy examination committee on possible dissertation research topics. One must utilize a qualitative research design, one a descriptive research design, and one an experimental research design.

Prerequisite: COT 795

COT 896 - Dissertation Research (1 credit hour)
Prerequisite: COT 894

COT 898 - Dissertation Research (4 credit hours)
Prerequisite: COT 894

COT 899 - Dissertation Research (8 credit hours)
Prerequisite: COT 894