Degree Requirements (60 cr.)

Major Requirements (27 cr.)

Core Courses (18 cr.)

• C620 Pro Seminar in Higher Education (3 cr.)
• C654 Higher Education in the United States (3 cr.)
• C664 Higher Education Organization and Administration (3 cr.)
• C788 Seminar in Research in Higher Education* (Inquiry Linkage) (3 cr.)
  • *C788 should be taken near the end of program of study.

Choose at least two courses from the following:

• C655 Higher Education and Public Policy (3 cr.)
• C661 Foundations of Institutional Research (3 cr.)
• C670 Problems in Financing Higher Education (3 cr.)
• C705 Legal Aspects of Higher Education (3 cr.)

Other courses (9 cr.)

• C655 Higher Education and Public Policy (3 cr.)
• C656 American Community Colleges (3 cr.)
• C661 Foundations of Institutional Research (3 cr.)
• C670 Problems in Financing Higher Education (3 cr.)
• C678 Capstone in Institutional Research (3 cr.)
• C680 Philanthropy in Higher Education (3 cr.)
• C695 Academic Problems in Higher Education (3 cr.)
• C705 Legal Aspects of Higher Education (3 cr.)
• C750 Topical Seminar: variable titles (3 cr.)
• U544 Introduction to Student Affairs Work in Higher Education (3 cr.)
• U546 Diverse Students on the College Campus (3 cr.)
• U548 Student Development Theory and Research (3 cr.)
• U549 Environmental Theory and Assessment in Higher Education (3 cr.)

The following arranged courses may also count toward the major requirement:

• C675 Supervised College Teaching (1-3 cr.)
• C690 Independent Study in Higher Education (1-3 cr.)
• C760 Internship in Administration (1-6 cr.)

Other courses may be included in the major with the approval of the Advisory Committee.

Inquiry Requirements (9 cr.)

Core Inquiry Courses (6 cr.)

• Y535 Evaluation Models and Techniques (3 cr.)

Choose one of the following courses:

• Y521 Methodological Approaches to Educational Inquiry* (3 cr.)
• Y520 Strategies for Educational Inquiry (3 cr.)

*Although either Y520 or Y521 can meet this requirement, Y521 is highly recommended because it is intended for doctoral students.

Other Inquiry Courses (3 cr.)

• Y525 Survey Research Methodology (3 cr.)
• Y527 Educational Assessment and Psychological Measurement (3 cr.)
• Y604 Multivariate Analysis in Educational Research (3 cr.)

Except for Y521/Y520, approved inquiry core courses may be substituted with the approval of the Advisory Committee. Core Inquiry Courses for the School of Education shall include all Y-prefixed courses offered in the School of Education EXCEPT Y500, Y502, Y510, Y590, Y660, Y690, Y795, and Y799.

Minor Requirements (9 cr.)

The minor must have integrity in its own right and must complement the major. The minor field must demonstrate wholeness within itself and contribute to the student's overall doctoral program. Minors are normally formulated within a single program area. However, an interdisciplinary or individualized minor is also possible. Interdisciplinary or individualized minors require a written description of the minor's underlying theme along with a rationale for each course's contribution to that theme through the Minor Justification form. This form should be submitted and approved by the Graduate Studies Office prior to enrolling in the minor courses.

Elective Requirements (6 cr.)

With Advisory Committee approval a student may use courses from the School of Education or other academic areas consistent with the student's particular professional objectives.

Y502 Intermediate Statistics Applied to Education (3 cr.) is required as a pre-requisite for the Ed.D., but may be taken post-admission and counted among electives, if it has not been completed prior to admittance to the Ed.D program.  Y502 does not count toward the Inquiry Core Requirement.

Dissertation Requirements (9 cr.)

• C795 Dissertation Proposal Preparation* (3 cr.)
  
  • *C795 should be taken near the end of program of study, after passing the qualifying exam.
• C799 Doctoral Thesis in Higher Education (6 cr.)

Students are required to design, conduct, and orally defend an original piece of research. Refer to the Graduate Bulletin checklist of doctoral program milestones and other program resources for further details.

Master's Degree Used For Admission

For the 60 credit hour program, a master's degree is a prerequisite for admission. Master's coursework may not be counted toward the 60 required credit hours, but graduate coursework beyond the master's degree may be, as long as it meets requirements and is approved by the committee.

Additional Program Requirements

First-Year Review

At the end of the first year (or after 18 credit hours of course work for those not enrolled full time), doctoral students must participate in the First-Year Review process. Instructions for this review can be found on the HESA web site. The advisor will assess performance to date and future program plans. The focus of the review is assessing a student’s ability to: 1) clearly articulate thoughts and ideas in an organized manner (written and oral), 2) analyze and synthesize research in order to formulate an opinion or argument, and 3) successfully complete program requirements, including the dissertation.

Advisory Committee

• Two faculty members from student’s major, one being the student’s faculty advisor
• One faculty member representing student’s minor