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EdD in Educational Leadership

Program Description | Admission | Degree Requirements | Courses


Program Description

The doctoral program in Educational Leadership provides the highest professional degree available to students who aspire to leadership positions at the school or college/university level. The degree includes a prescribed curriculum of required and elective courses for a minimum of sixty hours of graduate credit. However, the doctoral degree is awarded both on the basis of successful completion this coursework and the completion of a major research project resulting in the presentation and defense of a dissertation.

Graduates of the doctoral degree in Educational Leadership will have the knowledge to apply administrative theory to the instructional leadership function; set goals, assign responsibilities, and verify how well resources are allocated and utilized in instructional improvement; plan and administer the curriculum of a school system; use appropriate communication and interpersonal skills in consultation, counseling, and evaluation; interpret the relationships among federal, state, and local education agencies and the laws applicable to the administration of the schools; design educational research and interpret results; and apply data to educational processing capabilities and leadership functions


Admission

Admission to the program requires devoting a significant amount of time to the program. The inability to devote the required time will require the individual to drop out of the program.

The Educational Leadership program follows a cohort model. This means that individuals are admitted to a specific group, called a cohort, and are required to take their coursework at the same time as the other individuals in the cohort. In the event of emergencies which require individuals to drop out of the normal schedule, they may be required to join another cohort with a different schedule.

Application Deadlines

Cohort Classes Begin Application Deadline
Higher Education Administration Spring (January) October 1
K-12 Administration Summer (June) February 1
     

Applicants seeking admission to the doctoral program in Educational Leadership must submit the following directly to the Office of Graduate Studies:

  1. A Graduate Studies Application with the application fee
  2. Official transcript(s) showing receipt of a baccalauarete degree and a master's degree from an accredited institution
  3. Official GRE scores
  4. Three Reference Forms, two from current or previous supervisors in schools or agencies where the applicant has been employed and one from current or previous graduate-level professors who hold terminal degrees
  5. Program application with fee
  6. Personal statement (1000 words maximum)

Applicants should hold a master's degree in a related field, and the student's graduate GPA should be 3.5 or higher. In addition, three years of full-time professional experience in a credible school or agency is required.

Applicants meeting the above criteria may be invited for an interview with the doctoral admissions committee. A writing sample will be completed on site at the time of the interview. A candidate who fails to meet one of the criteria may receive probationary admission if he/she is sponsored by a doctoral faculty member.


Degree Requirements

The program requires a minimum of sixty hours of graduate credit, successful passing of a comprehensive examination, and completion of a dissertation.

After the completion of twelve semester hours (two semesters) of doctoral level coursework in the program, each student will be considered for full admission to candidacy. A doctoral program committee will review his/her academic progress, interpersonal skills, and motivation to determine whether the student should continue with the program. After full admission to the program, the student’s doctoral dissertation committee will be assigned by the Director of Doctoral Studies and the Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling.

A comprehensive examination will be taken after the completion of forty-two hours of required coursework. Following the written part of the examination, an oral examination is scheduled with the student’s Doctoral Dissertation Committee. Students must be enrolled during the semester the comprehensive examination is taken. After successful completion of the written and oral comprehensive examination, the student may defend the dissertation proposal.

Plan 1 - EdD in Educational Leadership

Item
Requirement
Options
Hours
Required
1
Specified
Courses
Choose all from:
EDL 710 <EDLD 7110> Doctoral Studies in Educational Leadership1
EDL 731 <EDLD 7331> Leadership Theory and Applications
EDL 732 <EDLD 7332> Instructional Theory and Applications
EDL 737 <EDLD 7337> Academic Writing and Research
EDL 738 <EDLD 7338> Organizational Behavior and Theory
EDL 770 <EDLD 7370> Education Policy and Ethics
EDL 736 <EDLD 7336> Educational Leadership Internship
EDL 762 <EDLD 7362> Methods of Educational Research
EDL 763 <EDLD 7363> Application of Educational Research
EDL 772 <EDLD 7372> Qualitative Methodology
CNE 773 <COUN 7373> Statistical Methods for Counselor Education Research
CNE 774 <COUN 7374> Multivariate Methods for Counselor Education Research
36
2
Specialization
Choose five from2:
EDL 735 <EDLD 7335> Conflict Management for Contemporary Education
EDL 733 <EDLD 7333> Societal Factors Affecting Education
EDL 734 <EDLD 7334> Issues in Contemporary Education
EDL 787 <EDLD 7387> Doctoral Field Studies in Educational Leadership
EDL 761 <EDLD 7361> Accountability and Measurement for Contemporary Education
EDL 776 <EDLD 7376> Higher Education Curriculum
EDL 777 <EDLD 7377> Theory and Practice of Higher Education Leadership
EDL 774 <EDLD 7374> The College Student
EDL 775 <EDLD 7375> Higher Education Finance
EDL 778 <EDLD 7378> Higher Education Law and Governance
ASE 680 <EDAD 6380> Executive Leadership for Superintendents
ASE 681 <EDAD 6381> District Business and Financial Management
ASE 682 <EDAD 6382> Human Resource Management
ASE 683 <EDAD 6383> Practicum for Superintendents I
15
3 Dissertation Choose all from:
EDL 833 <EDLD 8333> Dissertation3
9
TOTAL
60
Notes:
1 EDL 710 <EDLD 7110> must be taken three times for a total of three hours.
2 Selections must be made in consultation with the Graduate Advisor.
3 EDL 833 <EDLD 8333> must be taken at least three times for a minimum total of nine hours. Once enrolled in this course, the student must enroll in it until graduation.

 


Courses

Educational Leadership (EDLD)
Counseling (COUN)
Education Administration (EDAD)

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