Chung-Kai Huang
Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, 2012
Prior to attending the doctoral program at UT, I was a vocational high school accounting teacher and an adjunct language lecturer in college. As an education practitioner, the inquiry about technology application and training and development has always been a major interest of mine. Because of this strong interest, I decided to attend the Ph.D. program in Learning Technology at UT in order to prepare myself for a career as a researcher, as well as to apply the knowledge gained for the training and development of human capital as an educator.
The coursework in the doctoral program supported my endeavors toward gaining the skills needed for my current job of educating future business leaders and doing research in the field of business education. Drs. Joan Hughes, Min Liu and Paul Resta were all very committed to guiding the doctoral students in building our competence in order to ensure the transferability of our academic experiences to academic and non-academic contexts. To paraphrase something I often heard at UT: what starts here does change the world! I am confident that what we have done so far at UT will enable current and future students to see the possibilities of how being a UT student can help contribute to community development and outreach worldwide.
Why UT?
UT is one of the world’s leading research universities, supporting cutting-edge educational research and offering dedicated research projects. UT has a well-known reputation for academic excellence as well as a commitment to research and teaching. Our Ph.D. program prepares students to be professional instructional designers, corporate trainers, academicians and researchers, and offers a solid foundation for students to acquire interdisciplinary research and teaching competencies leading to a variety of potential career opportunities and development.
Life after UT
Austin is a historic and vibrant city that has much to offer UT students. UT’s dynamic and “making Austin weird” spirit, in particular, gives doctoral students meaningful opportunities to positively impact and be positively impacted by the local community. UT offered me many avenues to explore what I liked and what I was good at and to meet peers whose interests both align with and diverge from my own. This wide diversity of social, cultural, and religious activities on campus deeply enriched my life at UT. In addition to the mandatory coursework, my TA and RA work, I also participated in the FunWritr research team, Taiwanese Students Association, and the UT Buddhist Association. Life at UT deepened my understanding of American culture and enhanced my potential for cross-cultural communication skills, as well as my adaptability towards global diversity.
Advice for Students
It is important to find the program that best suits you, academically and socially. You can keep thinking about what you are looking for and what UT could offer for your academic plans. It’s all about finding the place that has the most positives for you. With a good mentality and attitude, you can do most everything that you aim to achieve and make each and every moment count at UT.
