The Ph.D. in Educational Leadership is designed to develop individuals who can provide leadership to educational practice in the 21st Century. Our graduates will be prepared to play roles in public and private schools, higher education administration, or research and teaching about educational policy and practice at the college or university level.
The Educational Leadership Doctoral Program is designed for the working adult. Upon entering, students become part of a cohort, that is, they take all department courses together. Leadership classes are almost always offered on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Higher Education cognate courses are offered on Tuesday evenings.
PROGRAM FEATURES
Theory & Practice: The Ph.D. in Educational Leadership is what you need if you are looking for a degree that combines deep theoretical exploration with practical and relevant examples from experienced professors.
Leadership Focus: The Ph.D. program has two strands, one focusing on K-12 and the other focusing on post-secondary leadership. However, the overarching doctoral level training addresses leadership issues impacting P-16 education.
Individualized Research: The Ph.D. program allows students a great deal of flexibility in determining their research focus and interests. Topics of past graduates have ranged from early childhood leadership to college program evaluations, from issues arising from ESL implementation to school reform initiatives, and from attitudes of middle school children on teacher caring to perspectives held by exemplary college instructors.
Faculty Support: Once admitted, each student is assigned a program advisor to assist him or her in their program decisions. As the student moves through the program, the advisor will be replaced by a research chair and a committee of faculty to support and coach the student through the process of conducting independent research.
Mentor Support: All students identify and work with a mentor, a practitioner in the area of leadership who might hold a position to which the student aspires. The mentor will provide a setting for analyzing and applying the research and theory presented in the program and will assist the student in assessing his/her professional development needs.
Deadline for applications is February 1 of each year. Candidates for the Ph.D. in Educational Leadership will be selected based on an analysis of several criteria:
- leadership experience, especially as reflected in the submitted vita;
- the content of three (3) references to be solicited by the student;
- the student's graduate level grade point average as indicated on official transcripts;
- the scores on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE);
- a goal statement
For some applicants, an interview with members of the department may be requested. The candidate's scores on the GRE should be submitted with the application materials. The selection committee will consider only the writing, verbal, and quantitative scores.
The Ph.D. in Educational Leadership requires a minimum of 76 credit hours beyond the master’s degree: 12 credits in the foundation core, 20 credits in the department core, 28 credits in the cognate, and a minimum of 16 credits for dissertation.
YEAR ONE
Fall
- Advanced Organizational Theory and Policy in Education (ED 802) 4 credit hours
- Doctoral Seminar (ED 730) 2 credit hours
Winter
- Philosophical and Ethical Issues in Leadership (ED 801) 4 credit hours
- Doctoral Seminar (ED 731) 2 credit hours
Spring
- Issues and Applications of Learning Theory (ED 804) 4 credit hours
- Mentorship/Field-based Issues (ED 901) 2 credit hours
YEAR TWO
Fall
- Research Methodology (ED 732) 4 credit hours
Winter
- Analytic Methods (ED 733) 4 credit hours
Spring
- Leadership Research Issues/ Proposal Development (ED 903) 4 credit hours
- Mentorship/Field-based Issues (ED 902) 2 credit hours
Note: In addition to the courses listed above, students may also begin taking cognate courses in their second year or wait until their third year.
Cognate (28 credits)
Master's level students may choose from among several cognates including: Higher Education, Educational Leadership, Reading, Instructional Systems Technology, Counseling, and Special Education. With the consent of their advisor, students may also combine courses from more than one cognate to meet their special areas of interest.
YEARS THREE & FOUR
Comprehensive Examination
The comprehensive examination provides an opportunity for the doctoral student to demonstrate mastery of skills related to advanced research, including problem definition, review of significant literature related to the problem, and research design. Students are allowed to use their dissertation area as a topic for their comprehensive exam, but final approval of all questions comes from the committee. Work on the dissertation may not officially begin until the student has passed the comprehensive exam. Students must complete all core courses before officially petitioning to initiate the examination process. Cognate coursework may continue during the period of examination, but should be substantially completed. Once initiated, students have one calendar year to complete the questions.
ED 999 Dissertation Research (16 credits)
The submission of a quality research dissertation is a requirement for a Ph.D. degree from the School of Education and Human Services at Oakland University. Students will register for 16 hours of dissertation credit. These credits may be broken up into smaller modules depending on the period of time each student expects to takes to complete the dissertation. The doctoral dissertation is an original piece of work that addresses an intellectually significant problem, makes a valuable contribution to the field of study, and is publishable. The final year of the student's program centers on the dissertation.