This is a five-year program, divided into two stages.

Stage A

During this stage, lasting up to 36 months, students must complete writing the doctoral proposal. The proposal is evaluated by two experts (in addition to the supervisor), including at least one from another academic institution. Once the proposal has been approved from both the experts and the departmental committee, as well as the institutional committee, students proceed to Stage B. The research proposal submitted for external review must be accompanied by the approval of the ethics committee. Without this approval, the proposal will not be considered or forwarded for external review.

Guidelines for Submitting a Doctoral Research Proposal

Courses

Students are required to complete at least four courses. The list of courses is composed by the doctoral candidate, together with the supervisor, and is submitted for approval by the doctoral committee of the field.

The course list should include the two mandatory courses listed below and at least two additional courses from the relevant course offerings.

Mandatory courses:

• Doctoral Students Seminar A + B – annual course – 2 credit hours per semester, 4 credit hours total
• Advanced Issues in Research – Semester course (offered in semester A) – 4 credit hours

We recommend that students complete these courses during the first year. In any case, they must be completed within two years from the date of acceptance to Stage A of the program.

Students are subject to the academic requirements of each course. Some courses include on-campus guidance sessions at the Open University's Ra'anana campus.

Stage B

This stage is dedicated to research, under the guidance of the supervisor(s), plus writing of the dissertation or a compilation of three articles. This stage typically spans two to four years.

The total duration of the PhD studies, starting from the date of acceptance into Stage A of the program, cannot exceed five years. Extensions of up to one year may be granted by the institutional committee at its discretion.

During this stage, students are required to write an annual progress report for approval by the supervisor, which is then submitted to the program coordinator. The departmental committee reviews the report and forwards it with its recommendation to the institutional committee for final approval. If insufficient progress is made during the year, the institutional committee will establish objectives for continuing in the program. In exceptional cases of insufficient progress, the institutional committee may decide to terminate studies.

Supplementary Studies

Students who have not completed a degree in education and/or learning technologies will be accepted to the program on the condition that they complete 3-4 supplementary courses from the following list: 1-2 courses in general education and 1-2 courses in learning technologies, as determined by the departmental committee.

Courses in General Education:

• Theories of Learning and Instruction (14003)
• Quantitative Research in Education (14009), or Qualitative Research in Education (14031)

Courses in Learning Technologies:

• Digital Technologies in Learning and Instruction Systems (14027)
• Learning and Education in the Information Society (14016)

Supplementary studies must be completed within one year.

To be accepted to the program, all supplementary courses must be completed with an average GPA of at least 90 (not less than 80 in each course).