Program Overview
The Qualitative Research graduate certificate provides advanced training in research methods, data analysis, and theoretical approaches to qualitative research across disciplines. It prepares graduates for careers in research, education, and other fields requiring qualitative research skills, such as education, social sciences, and epidemiology. The program requires a minimum of 18 credit hours, including introductory, research design/analysis, and certificate electives. Students may substitute courses with program coordinator approval and must maintain a minimum 3.000 GPA.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
The Qualitative Research graduate certificate provides advanced training in research methods, data analysis and theoretical approaches to qualitative research across a variety of disciplines. Whether you are a graduate student seeking to enhance your research skills or a professional looking to expand your expertise, this program will help you achieve your goals. The program is designed for students who wish to improve their ability to design, conduct, analyze and quality-assess qualitative approaches to research used in the context of funded research, educational assessment, program evaluation, critical, creative, exploratory or theoretical endeavors or other applications. The courses in this program offer students inter- and trans-disciplinary opportunities to learn and develop skills in qualitative methodologies, including grounded theory, phenomenology, ethnography and descriptive approach; as well as methods, including observation, interviewing, transcription, data analysis, use of software, analytic memoing and others.
Outline:
The program requires a minimum of 18 credit hours and is structured as follows:
- Introductory Elective (3 credit hours): Choose one course from the following:
- COMM 65040 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS IN COMMUNICATION
- GEOG 60900 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS IN GEOGRAPHY
- POL 60010 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
- SBS 63010 QUALITATIVE METHODS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH
- SOC 62219 QUALITATIVE METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY
- RMS 65516 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN
- Research Design/Analysis Electives (6 credit hours): Choose two courses from the following:
- COMM 65040 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS IN COMMUNICATION
- GEOG 60900 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS IN GEOGRAPHY
- NURS 70742 ADVANCED QUALITATIVE METHODS FOR HEALTH SCIENCES
- POL 60010 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
- RMS 65516 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN
- SBS 63010 QUALITATIVE METHODS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH
- SOC 62219 QUALITATIVE METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY
- SOC 62221 ADVANCED QUALITATIVE METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY
- Certificate Electives (9 credit hours): Choose three courses from the following:
- CULT 60050 HUMANITIES-ORIENTED RESEARCH IN EDUCATION
- GEOG 52053 GEOGRAPHIES OF MEMORY AND HERITAGE
- MUS 63283 RESEARCH IN MUSIC EDUCATION
- MUS 63285 PHILOSOPHY OF MUSIC EDUCATION
- MUS 63286 SOCIOLOGY OF MUSIC EDUCATION
- NURS 70742 ADVANCED QUALITATIVE METHODS FOR HEALTH SCIENCES
- RMS 65522 BASICS OF QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWING
- RMS 65530 PRACTITIONER INQUIRY
- RMS 68795 SPECIAL TOPICS IN EVALUATION AND MEASUREMENT
- RMS 85520 MIXED METHODS RESEARCH
- RMS 85540 GROUNDED THEORY AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH
- RMS 85550 ETHNOGRAPHY AND CASE STUDY RESEARCH
- RMS 85560 CRITICAL SOCIAL RESEARCH
- RMS 88795 SPECIAL TOPICS: EVALUATION AND MEASUREMENT
- SBS 60030 CODING FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
- SBS 60040 TRANSCRIBING INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP INTERVIEWS FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Careers:
The program prepares students for a variety of careers in research, education, and other fields where qualitative research skills are valuable. Some potential career paths include:
- Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary
- Education teachers, postsecondary
- Social sciences teachers, postsecondary, all other
- Social scientists and related workers, all other
- Sociologists
- Survey researchers
- Epidemiology investigator
- Rural sociologist
Other:
- Students declared in a doctoral degree should enroll in the doctoral-level version of these courses if offered.
- Prior coursework may be counted for all requirements, as long as it is substantially similar as judged by syllabi from the course and is less than six years old at time of earning the certificate.
- Students may substitute courses at the discretion of the program coordinators.
- Students seeking a graduate certificate must maintain a minimum 3.000 grade point average.
- A graduate certificate student who receives a combination of more than 8 credit hours of B- or lower grades, or more than 4 credit hours of grades lower than C is subject to dismissal.
- Students who are unable to maintain academic standards of the College are subject to dismissal for academic reasons.
- Grades of C- or below are not counted toward completion of the certificate.
- Certificates must be completed within six years after the first graduate enrollment.
- No more than 2 credit hours of workshop may be used toward a certificate.
- Before being eligible to be awarded a Certificate, students must be admitted to the Certificate program.
- Students currently in a graduate degree program may also apply to a certificate program. Their degree seeking coursework may be applied to the certificate coursework with advisor approval. The courses must be completed within six years and satisfy certificate course requirements.
- Students who have a previous graduate degree and are not currently seeking another graduate degree may transfer a maximum 6 credit hours with advisor approval. These credits may include hours from another KSU program, or from another accredited institution, if the following conditions are met: (1) courses were at the graduate level; (2) a grade of "A" or "B" was earned; (3) credit will be less than six years old at the time the certificate is conferred at Kent; and (4) student was admitted as a graduate student at the time the course was taken. Some program areas may be more restrictive. Students are advised to consult their program.
