Please note:
The Ph.D. program courses are exclusively conducted in Hebrew. Furthermore, a portion of the program is exclusively available in Israel and does not support remote learning.
The program is open to candidates who have completed
their studies at an academic institution recognized by the Council for Higher
Education of Israel. Applicants must have achieved a master's degree studies
average of 85 or higher, with a thesis grade of 90 or higher.
The application process consists of two stages:
A. Initial Submission and Document Submission:
Students are required to submit applications online through the website. Registration fees should be paid according to the instructions in the registration process. Refer to the explanation regarding registration fees in the "Other Payments" section. These fees are nonrefundable.
The registration fee for the program is intended to cover the processing of applicants' documents. It is important to emphasize that after registration, the university does not guarantee that the candidate will be accepted into the program, nor does it guarantee finding a supervisor for the doctoral dissertation. Finding a supervisor is the sole responsibility of the candidate.
Documents and certificates listed below should be sent to the Academic Achievements Center at PhD_Edu_Cand@openu.ac.il. For information on document submission deadlines for document validation approval, please contact the program manager via email at sagitzil@openu.ac.il.
Required Documents:
- Transcripts and diplomas from undergraduate and graduate degrees, including certification studies, if applicable. Please note that original digitally signed transcripts and diplomas must be sent directly from your prior institution(s) to the following email address: PhD_Edu_Cand@openu.ac.il.
- A copy of thesis
- Curriculum vitae (CV) detailing research achievements, including conference presentations, a list of academic articles and chapters published in scientific texts, links to publications or published files, research grants awarded or received, grant details, research assistant positions, etc.
- Two academic recommendations, at least one of which should be from a thesis advisor. One professional recommendation may also be submitted (in addition to the two academic recommendations) attesting to expertise relevant to the program. Referees should send the recommendations directly to the following email address: PhD_Edu_Cand@openu.ac.il.
A checklist including all the aforementioned items – mark the submitted items and sign the checklist.
Confirmation of receipt and validation of the documents will be sent to applicants within two weeks of application submission. For inquiries, please contact the admissions office at *3500, extension 2.
B. Finding a Supervisor and Writing an Intent Statement:
Applicants who receive approval for document submission and validation, and meet the minimum criteria, will be asked to find a supervisor and schedule a meeting with them. For interdisciplinary research, two supervisors will be required – one from the field of education, and one from the additional field.
Contact details of supervisors are available in the following link:
List of Supervisors for Doctoral Studies >>>
After the meetings, the supervisors will select candidates for advancement to the stage of writing an 
intent statement. You can find the needed instructions here (Hebrew). Candidates who are selected will write and submit an intent statement for their research. The statement should be two pages or less and must include background, theoretical basis, research question, research methodology, and research contribution. The page limit excludes the title page, references, and figures. After the supervisor's approval of the intent statement, the document should be submitted to the program manager, Dr. Sagit Zilbergberg, at sagitzil@openu.ac.il. For information on the intent statement submission deadline, please contact the program manager via email.