The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership is designed to offer K-12 educational administrators and other K-12 educational leaders a unique and research-based experience. The program combines authentic scholarly inquiry with exposure to site-based best practices. The Ed.D. requires commitment to the pursuit of four ambitious goals:

• In-depth inquiry and research on issues and topics related to educational administration and leadership,
• Leadership for improvement in teaching and learning,
• Equity and social justice for all students, and
• The development of schools as democratic communities.

For information regarding deadlines and requirements for admission, please see the Guide to Graduate Admissions.

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

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
Foundational Course Work (18 credits)
Select 18 credits		18
Major Focus Area Course Work (12 credits)
Select 12 credits		12
Research (12 credits)
Select 12 credits		12
Dissertation (12-24 credits)
ELC 799	Dissertation	12-24
Total Credit Hours		54-66

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

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
ELC 723	Urban School Organizational Leadership: Best Practices	3
ELC 731	Power, Politics, and Schools	3
ELC 734	Theories in Educational Administration	3
ELC 745	Contemporary Problems Seminar	1-3
ELC 754	Personal Leadership Assessment and Enhancement	3

Law, Policy, and Finance

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
ELC 733	Cases and Concepts in Educational Leadership	3
ELC 745	Contemporary Problems Seminar	1-3

Curricular and Instructional Leadership

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
ELC 709	Introduction to Critical Pedagogy	3
ELC 714	Curriculum Theory	3
ELC 715	Foundations of Curriculum	3
ELC 717	Technology and Administrative Leadership	3
ELC 718	Principal Leadership for Special Education	3
ELC 719	Schools as Centers of Inquiry	3
ELC 745	Contemporary Problems Seminar	1-3

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

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
ELC 711	Ethics and Education	3
ELC 716	Culturally Responsive Leadership	3
ELC 742	Engaging the Public in Education	3
ELC 745	Contemporary Problems Seminar	1-3

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:

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
ELC 765	Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry	3
or ELC 764	Introduction to Qualitative Inquiry: A Social Justice Approach
Select an additional 9 credits from the following: *		9
ELC 745	Contemporary Problems Seminar
ELC 766	Writing Preparation and Proposal Development
ELC 775	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:

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
ELC 745	Contemporary Problems Seminar	1-3
ERM 605	Educational Measurement and Evaluation	3
ERM 704	Methods of Educational Research	3
ERM 732	Hierarchical Linear Modeling	3
ERM 741	Evaluation of Educational Programs	3
ERM 750	Case Study Methods in Educational Research	3
ERM 780	Intermediate Statistical Methods in Education	3
ERM 782	Multivariate Analysis	3
ERM 788	Contemporary Problems Seminar	1-3