The curriculum is ​​organized into 3 interconnected levels: 1) course compulsory disciplines; 2) optional theoretical foundational disciplines; 3) free electives (linked to research lines, to research groups and to the research projects of professors). Intrinsically linked to the research lines, the curriculum offers a knowledge base that grounds analysis of the current situation of Brazilian education, its organization, institutionalization, structure, problems and challenges; grounds training for empirical research, including the mastery of data collection methods and data analysis; supports the appropriation of theoretical-methodological references for research and the broadening of knowledge produced in different fields of study.

This curriculum matrix allows for an initial expansion of perspective for graduate students, temporarily taking the focus away from their research interests, so that they can understand the dimensions and complexity of the challenges imposed on Brazilian public education, in a context of many and profound social inequalities. This expansion is also present in research disciplines, whose main objective is to promote knowledge of the epistemological and philosophical principles of scientific research and to provide an analysis of the advantages, scope and limitations of the different research methods and procedures in human and social sciences, avoiding methodological monism and ensuring the appropriate object/method relationship.

Requirements for obtaining the Doctoral degree

The doctoral student is expected to complete 48 credits distributed as follows:

• Up to 24 credits can be transferred from the Master's Program in Education.
• 03 credits obtained from the course Questões Atuais da Educação Brasileira;
• 03 credits obtained from the course Educational Research, envolvendo um estudo preliminar do tema da tese, discussões teórico-metodológicas e produção de artigo científico;
• 06 créditos em participação em Trabalho Supervisionado de Pesquisa (grupo de pesquisa) durante 2 semestres;
• 06 credits obtained from foundational disciplines, chosen by the doctoral student.
• 06 credits obtained from elective courses, at least one of which is not from the area of Education, at the discretion of the Graduate Committee.

If the candidate does not have a master's degree, he or she must fulfill 24 credits corresponding to the Master’s Degree in Education of the Department. The candidate will be able to use the Master's credits obtained in other areas or institutions, according to the approval of the Graduate Committee and the general regulatory guidelines of PUC-Rio.

Upon completion of the regular academic credits, the doctoral student must complete the Qualification Exam I (thesis project defense) and the Qualification Exam II (defense of at least three chapters of the thesis).

The doctoral student must pass a proficiency exam in English and French, it being possible to substitute one of these two languages ​​by a third option (with the exception of Spanish) proposed by the doctoral candidate and accepted by the Graduate Committee. The language already tested in the Master's degree will be computed into the Doctoral Degree.

The doctoral student must defend and have his/her Doctoral thesis approved.

Curriculum matrix 

All other courses offered by the Department are elective, except for participation in research groups; elective courses respond both to core requirements of the thematic pillars, as well as to the needs emerging from research under development in the Program. The elective courses in the last semesters have discussed: Curriculum (Studies and Perspectives); School Life and Cultures; Theoretical-Practical Review of Current Quantitative Research; Teacher Training (Culture and History); The Culture Industry and Education; Reading, Writing and Culture; Concepts of Childhood and Education; Recent theories of cognition; Education and Aesthetics; Critical Themes in Education and Technology, etc.

The combination of emerging themes with periodic review of bibliographies ensures the updating, innovation and progressive internationalization of the program's curriculum. In particular, bibliographies are increasingly integrating resources of various kinds, such as classic texts in the field, recent articles published in international journals (in different languages), multimedia resources (such as videos, infographics, collaborative activity platforms, online debate forums, live and/or recorded lectures by professors from other Programs and from other countries), as well as the production of the program itself, such as studies and publications of national scope (for example, in the areas of Politics and Didactics) and international scope (for example, in the areas of Medias and Cultural Differences).