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 The doctoral program in Higher Educational Leadership prepares
ethical, visionary, informed, and competent programmatic
and institutional leaders for increasingly diverse and technologically
advanced colleges and universities.
Through its structure and content, the doctoral degree in
Higher Educational Leadership provides mid-career professionals
with the theoretical and practical frameworks to understand
colleges and universities as complex organizations within
the American social context including foundations in leadership,
law and policy, socio-cultural identity differences/diversity,
ethical professional practice, historical context, research,
and technological competence. Students develop advanced
research skills to explore critical questions related to
these areas through coursework, evaluating existing
scholarship, and by conducting original research.
Graduates of the Higher Educational Leadership program will
provide leadership characterized by:
- High-level analytic thinking
- Advanced research design and analysis skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Ethics-based decision making
- Understanding of the dynamics of socio-cultural identity
differences
- Historical perspective
- Understanding of colleges and universities as complex
organizations
- An understanding of professional responsibilities,
networks/communities, and ethics in the field
- Effective, persuasive, and inclusive written and oral
communication skills
- Understanding the social context and complexities of
higher education
- Comprehension of the impact of social, economic, political,
and legal trends
- Computer literacy and technological innovation
- Flexibility and confidence to provide leadership in
times of change
The structure of the program entails 90 credit hours past the
bachelor’s degree. Admission requires a master’s
degree for which 45 to 60 credits may be applied to the doctoral
degree, upon approval of program faculty. The master’s
need not be in Education. The student’s program
consists of a variety of group and individualized experiences
culminating in the dissertation including:
- The Professional Core: a broad,
common strand of doctoral level course work required
of all students in the Higher Educational Leadership
program (18 credit hours)
- Research Foundation: a set
of courses to provide expertise in evaluating and conducting
research in educational settings including basic statistics
and introductory qualitative research, research design
and either advanced statistics or advanced qualitative
research (a minimum of 12 credit hours)
- Professional specialization: a
set of interdisciplinary courses tailored to the individual
professional goals, needs and interests (a
minimum of 18 credit hours which may include master’s
work and work transferred from other institutions)
- An applied internship or field
research, and
- Dissertation research structured
to solve problems or produce knowledge with direct
applicability to higher educational practice (a minimum
of 6 credit hours)
Coursework connects theory with practice employing case
study methods, experiential learning, writing, interpersonal
interaction, and analysis. A common core of seminars
related to higher educational leadership provide a base
of knowledge, theory, analysis skills, and leadership
skills related to higher education and leadership. Core
emphases in written and oral communications, ethics,
technology and its applications in teaching, learning
and administration, collaboration, problem-solving, political
and organizational analysis, the dynamics of diversity,
conflict resolution, collaboration, critical thinking
and problem solving will be addressed in streams across
courses as well in individual courses. Consideration
of dissertation research begins in the first semester
of doctoral study so that subsequent coursework can more
effectively build toward this culminating effort.
A selection of professional specialty courses tailored
to the individual student's research and professional
aspirations build on the professional core courses. Research
courses further prepare the student for doctoral level
research and provide analysis skills for the professional
setting. Finally, students are encouraged to pursue
internships, practica and/or independent studies that
will provide practical exposure to the concepts they
are studying.
Download
a PDF Handbook for the Doctoral Program
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