Educational Leadership, EdD

Note: This program description is for current students only. The program is being modified and will accept new students in academic year 2013-2014. Click here for an update.

The doctoral program is designed to develop educational leaders who possess the skills necessary to lead dynamic educational institutions in the 21st century. Advanced course work allows students to learn decision making; program planning, implementation and evaluation; human relations; research skills; and content knowledge in a constructivist, social justice framework. Taken together, these courses and the internship experiences represent classic and current thinking regarding leadership. Designed for educational leaders who desire challenge and the superintendent credential, the program allows students to continue full-time employment while pursuing the degree as part of a cohort group. The cohort goes through the program as an intact group and functions as a community of learners and researchers throughout the program.

Requirements

The program requires a minimum of 45 semester hours of coursework beyond the master’s degree. At least one 3 semester-hour course is required for the dissertation. No credit from any institution is acceptable for transfer. Most students will take three years to complete the course work and between one and five years to complete the doctoral dissertation. Students are allowed no more than one grade of C+ or C in the program and must maintain a grade point average of 3.25. Students will be dismissed from the program if the GPA standard is not met, more than one grade of C or C+ is earned, or a grade of C- or lower is earned. In addition, any student found guilty of plagiarism or violating the code published in the Student Handbook, or lacking in professional dispositions, will be dismissed from the program.

Candidacy
To achieve the status of doctoral candidate, students must have completed all courses with a grade point average of 3.25 or higher, have demonstrated professional dispositions in their course work, and passed the qualifying examination and the dissertation proposal. Three semester hours of registration are required upon approval of the dissertation proposal. Thereafter, students must register for one credit hour of dissertation work every semester (except summer) until the final defense of the dissertation. A student who has been admitted to the status of doctoral candidate must complete a dissertation and successfully defend it before the student’s doctoral committee in order to be recommended for the Ed.D. degree. Only eight years of study are allowed. If a student does not complete the dissertation within eight years from the first semester of registration, the student is automatically dropped from the program.

Certification
If the Type 75 Administrative Certificate is already held, the candidate qualifies for the Superintendent Endorsement upon the completion of doctoral coursework and all other state requirements for the endorsement, including evidence of two years of supervisory or administrative experience and a passing score on the required content exam. Please contact the Certification Officer for more information about this endorsement.

If the Illinois Administrative Certificate (Type 75) is unearned, then all Illinois State Board of Education requirements in effect at the time of application must be met, including satisfactory scores on the ICTS Basic Skills Test and Principal Examination, evidence of an initial certificate, and a minimum of two years of successful teaching or school service personnel experience.

A student who has not passed the dissertation proposal or has not completed a dissertation or other final project must maintain continued registration during fall and spring semesters until the completion of the proposal or project by registering for the appropriate zero-credit course (course number followed by “P“ or “Y“). Students who have not maintained continuous registration for the proposal, dissertation, or other final project will be required to register for all intervening fall and spring semesters prior to graduation.