Educational Leadership, Research, and Policy, PhD

The PhD program in Educational Leadership, Research, and Policy is a 60-credit hour program. It is designed to meet the personal and professional needs of educational leaders in school districts, higher education institutions, and non-governmental organizations through rigorous courses in leadership development and practice, advanced quantitative and qualitative research methods, and policy analysis and evaluation. This innovative program combines challenging coursework with collaborative faculty and student research labs that prepare students for successful completion of the dissertation and professional application of skills and knowledge.

The three-year program for working professionals prepares graduates to:

Engage in scholarly inquiry and promote equitable and culturally competent educational practices
Synthesize diverse research perspectives in facilitating educational excellence
Lead others in continuous improvement from the implementation to the evaluation stage
Communicate successfully through oral and written professional discourse

Application and Admissions Process

Visit our website for requirements.

Course Requirements

Leadership and Policy Content (9 Credit Hours)

Research Content (51 Credit Hours)

Dissertation Credits

During coursework, students complete 10 dissertation credits under the guidance of their assigned advisor. Following coursework, students must be continuously enrolled with a minimum of one dissertation credit hour per semester (excluding summer) during the completion of the dissertation under the direction of their dissertation chair. A total of 30 hours of dissertation credit is required for program completion.

See the PhD Student Handbook for detailed information on dissertation guidelines.