Educational Leadership, Ed.D.

For information regarding deadlines and requirements for admission, please see https://grs.uncg.edu/programs/.

In addition to the application materials required by the Graduate School, the applicant must submit a resume or curriculum vitae and a personal statement (see departmental website for topic and details).

Degree Program Requirements

Required: 54-66 credit hours

Foundational Course Work (18 credits)
Select 18 credits18
Major Focus Area Course Work (12 credits)
Select 12 credits12
Research (12 credits)
Select 12 credits12
Dissertation (12-24 credits)
ELC 799Dissertation12-24
Total Credit Hours54-66

Foundational Course Work (18 credits)

Course work from the areas of administration and leadership, curriculum and instruction, social and cultural foundations, or research that provides a foundation for the student’s in-depth inquiry in the major focus area (see below). Course work in this category may be counted from the Ed.S. program if courses meet Graduate School regulations and are approved by the student’s doctoral committee.

Major Focus Area Course Work (12 credits)

Course work in this category should be carefully selected to help the student develop scholarly expertise in her/his chosen area of focus within educational leadership. Focus areas and supporting course work include the following:

Organizational and Leadership Studies

ELC 723Urban School Organizational Leadership: Best Practices3
ELC 731Power, Politics, and Schools3
ELC 734Theories in Educational Administration3
ELC 745Contemporary Problems Seminar1-3
ELC 754Personal Leadership Assessment and Enhancement 3

Law, Policy, and Finance

ELC 733Cases and Concepts in Educational Leadership3
ELC 745Contemporary Problems Seminar1-3

Curricular and Instructional Leadership

ELC 709Introduction to Critical Pedagogy3
ELC 714Curriculum Theory3
ELC 715Foundations of Curriculum3
ELC 717Technology and Administrative Leadership3
ELC 718Principal Leadership for Special Education3
ELC 719Schools as Centers of Inquiry3
ELC 745Contemporary Problems Seminar1-3

Social, Cultural, Historical, and Ethical Foundations of Educational Leadership

ELC 711Ethics and Education3
ELC 716Culturally Responsive Leadership3
ELC 742Engaging the Public in Education3
ELC 745Contemporary Problems Seminar1-3

Research (12 credits)

Course work in this category should be carefully selected to help the student develop research expertise that facilitates the completion of a high-quality dissertation. Courses may be selected from a single or multiple methodological perspectives.

Students pursuing a qualitative track would typically complete the following courses:

ELC 765Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry3
or ELC 764 Introduction to Qualitative Inquiry: A Social Justice Approach
Select an additional 9 credits from the following: *9
Contemporary Problems Seminar
Writing Preparation and Proposal Development
Directed Doctoral Research **
Select other research courses pre-approved by the advisor committee
*

Selected by the student in consultation with her/his committee chair.

**

ELC 775 Directed Doctoral Research should not be taken until 9 credits of research courses have been completed.

Students pursuing a quantitative track would typically select, in consultation with their committee chair, from courses such as the following:

ELC 745Contemporary Problems Seminar1-3
ERM 605Educational Measurement and Evaluation 3
ERM 704Methods of Educational Research3
ERM 732Hierarchical Linear Modeling 3
ERM 741Evaluation of Educational Programs3
ERM 750Case Study Methods in Educational Research3
ERM 780Intermediate Statistical Methods in Education3
ERM 782Multivariate Analysis3
ERM 788Contemporary Problems Seminar1-3