The Ph.D. programs mainly prepare students with a solid general theoretical foundation and a systematic knowledge framework in their respective areas of study. Ph.D. students are also supposed to have a rich accumulation of knowledge in the fields relevant to their study and a good mastery of research methodology. The Ph.D. programs aim at training advanced specialists who are capable of independent academic research and teaching in their fields, or administrative work at higher education institutions or other related sectors.
   GSE has four Ph.D. programs, namely Higher Education Program, Educational Economics and Administration Program, Foundations of Education Program, and Educational Technology Program.Major research fields of Ph.D. programs are as below.
  I. Higher Education Program: public policy and higher education administration; Chinese higher education; international and comparative higher education.
  II. Educational Economics and Administration Program: economics of education; education finance; higher education administration.
  III. Foundations of Education Program: curriculum and teacher education; human development and education; sociology of education.
  IV. Educational Technology Program: theories and methods of educational technology; learning science and technology design.