Nazarbayev University
Ph.D. in Education

Astana, Kazakhstan

DEGREE TYPE

PhD

DURATION

4 years

LANGUAGES

English

PACE

Full time

APPLICATION DEADLINE

EARLIEST START DATE

STUDY FORMAT

On-Campus

Key Summary

About: The Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education Ph.D. in Education combines intensive coursework, a semester at a partner university (the University of Cambridge or the University of Pennsylvania), and advanced research methodology training to develop independent scholars and researchers. Based in Astana, Kazakhstan, instruction and research are in English and admission and progression are merit-based. The full-time four-year program centers on a substantial independent Ph.D. dissertation and aims to prepare graduates to drive education reform and policy development in Kazakhstan. Research receives internal and external funding and benefits from strategic international partnerships in education and public policy and practice.

Career Outcomes: You could pursue academic and applied roles in education, including university faculty (assistant professor), educational researcher, and postdoctoral fellow; policy and government roles such as education policy analyst and government advisor; and practitioner or leadership roles like curriculum developer, teacher educator, school leader, or educational consultant. Graduates also fit roles in research institutes, NGOs, international organisations, and think tanks focused on education reform, policy analysis, program evaluation, and capacity building. Keywords: educational research, pedagogy, curriculum studies, policy development, evaluation, leadership.

The Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education Ph.D. program combines intensive coursework, a semester at one of the partner universities (the University of Cambridge or University of Pennsylvania), and in-depth exploration of advanced research methodology to develop scholars and independent researchers in the field of Education. It is a full-time four-year program.

Central to the NUGSE Ph.D. experience is the completion of a substantial piece of independent research, in the form of a Ph.D. dissertation. Graduates of the NUGSE Ph.D. program will be expected to act as key players in education reform and policy development in Kazakhstan.

General information

Campus: Astana, Kazakhstan
Language: English
Delivery mode: Full-time, on-campus
Duration: 4 years

"As educators, not only must we refuse to settle for easy consensus, to simplify, to neutralize, or to translate; we must also accept and assume the responsibility to ‘think, speak, and act’ within aporetic situations…. Most of all, we must engage students in a quest for knowledge which should take them way beyond the boundaries of their immediate socio-politico-cultural contexts in space and in time. We must encourage them to take risks in learning and discovering the other, the unknown while building a greater sense of responsibility."
Denise Egéa,
NUGSE Professor

Graduate School of Education

The Graduate School of Education (GSE) at Nazarbayev University aspires to become an influential, world-class graduate school of education, effecting change in educational thinking, policy, and practice at all levels of education through scholarly research, quality teaching, and persuasive argument. Through its research, teaching, and scholarship, the GSE is committed to working to improve education for all, sustaining a vision of education that enables individuals to maximize their own potential, free from the constraints of poverty and background, within the context of mutual understanding and global interdependence.

Strategic partner

The University of Pennsylvania (USA)
The University of Cambridge (UK)

Other strategic partners of Nazarbayev University

Duke University, Fuqua School of Business (USA)
The National University of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (Singapore)
Colorado School of Mines (USA)
The University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA)
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (USA)
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (USA)
The Oak Ridge Associated Universities (USA)