DOCTOR OF EDUCATION (Ed.D.) PROGRAM
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE DEPARTMENT
The Department of Educational Leadership & Policy, a division of the College of Education, emphasizes the application of theory and research to the practice of administration in PreK-12 schools or in higher education colleges and universities. As a result of the department's strong national reputation (consistently ranked among the top twenty Educational Administration Departments in the country) and faculty members' leadership in national organizations such as the University Council for Educational Administration, the American Educational Research Association, and the Association for the Study of Higher Education, students are kept abreast of the latest theory, research, and programmatic advancements within the field.
The department provides research and professional development opportunities through liaison with many local and state education agencies and associations such as surrounding school districts, the Utah State Office of Education, the Board of Regents, and the Utah Consortium for Educational Leadership. The department also is the home of the Utah Education Policy Center and the editorial office home of Educational Administration Quarterly, the leading academic journal in the field of educational leadership.
2.INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM
The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) Program is designed to provide advanced preparation to individuals with experience working as administrators in schools, colleges and universities, or related educational organizations. Based on a model of professional inquiry, the Ed.D. Program emphasizes the use of theory in directing its field-based approach to problem solving. Students will study theory and research in the core domains of organization, leadership, inquiry methods, and in selected areas of specialization. They will use the knowledge gained in these areas of study to frame problems of administrative practice and to seek, critically examine, and apply information to solve problems.
3.PROGRAM OF STUDY AND SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE GUIDELINES
All doctoral students must submit a program of study to the graduate school as approved by the student's supervisory committee. An Ed.D. student's program of study is supervised by the ELP Director of Graduate Studies (Years 1 and 2) and a committee chair and a supervisory committee (Years 3 and 4), as indicated below:
a. Years one and two: Director of Graduate Studies -- plus an assigned faculty review committee to conduct the first year review (see Ed.D. evaluation guidelines);
b. Years three and four: a five-person supervisory committee, with membership as follows:
i. four ELP tenure-track faculty members, including a supervisory committee Chair, the ELP Department Chair, and the ELP Director of Graduate Studies;
ii. and one additional committee member who may be a U of U faculty member or a field representative who holds a terminal degree in Educational Leadership and who is approved by the Graduate School.
Note: If a student seeks to change from one doctoral program to another (e.g.,
from the Ed.D. to the Ph.D.), the student’s program of study meeting will be the
point at which this request should be made. Decisions regarding this request will
be made by the student’s supervisory committee.
4.COURSE WORK REQUIREMENTS - (see the table on last page for course sequence)
The Ed.D. Program includes four major dimensions: a) research & inquiry course work, b) the ELP core required course work, c) academic specializations course work, and d) field-based capstone project. Throughout the program students will progress through a series of courses aimed at developing knowledge and skills needed to analyze and solve problems encountered by educational administrators and to prepare them to conduct a capstone field-based project.
a. Research and Inquiry – to be taken during the initial year of study
i. ELP 6030 or equivalent (3) Research Prerequisite to courses
below
ii. ELP 7040 (3). Quantitative Research Methods
iii. ELP 7060 (3). Qualitative Research Methods.
b. ELP Academic Core – to be taken during the initial year of study
i. ELP 6210 (3) Leadership in Ed Organizations (pre-requisite to courses below
ii. ELP 7220 (3) Leadership Theory
iii. ELP 7240 (3) Organizational Theory
c. Academic Specializations – 18 credit hours (including any relevant
prerequisite coursework) to be taken during the second year of study
i. During the second year of study, students will complete coursework in selected areas of specialization. Specifically, students must complete six credit hours of doctoral (7000-level) coursework (including any corresponding 6000-level prerequisite coursework) for each of three consecutive semesters --- Summer, Fall, and Spring of their second year of study.
ii. Under special circumstances, students may substitute courses from another relevant area of study outside the ELP department with the approval of their supervisory committee.
5.EdD FIELD-BASED CAPSTONE PROJECT – to be completed during Years 3 and 4
a. During the third and fourth years of study, students will complete an EdD field-based capstone project under the supervision of a supervisory committees. (See guidelines above regarding supervisory committee membership).
b. The EdD Field-based Capstone Project provides EdD students with an opportunity to apply leadership and inquiry knowledge and skills to problems of practice or policy issues. The project is intended to develop and apply students’ academic and administrative skill set. The project should focus on a timely and significant problem or policy and make a meaningful contribution in the candidate’s school, district, college, university, or other relevant organizational setting.
c. The capstone project would result in a written document that meets both relevant academic standards as well as having utility to field organizations. Additionally, an oral presentation is required. The written document and oral presentation are reviewed and approved by the student’s supervisory committee (described above). The capstone project is considered a “non-thesis” degree completion requirement and thus is not subject to the Graduate School dissertation requirements or thesis editor review process. Illustrative examples of appropriate EdD capstone projects include:
i. Policy Report or Inquiry Brief – an assessment of the effectiveness, equity, or efficiency of some organizational policy, program, or practice. For example, this brief could focus on a state-level policy, such as student retention, that has implications for state, district, or school practice. The policy brief would include a brief but tight review of literature on this policy issue to provide background to the local situation. The student would also conduct abbreviated descriptive research using local data to examine, for example, retention rates, retention trends, characteristics of students who have been retained, long term performance of retained students, and other effects of retention. These local descriptive data and findings would be compared with national data and research to permit the student to identify specific recommendations for state or district level policies.
ii. Program or Policy Evaluation – an evaluation of an existing educational program or policy in terms of desired or intended goals. For example, a student could conduct an evaluation of a school or district program, such as “Success for All” or “Colors of Success.” The evaluation would include a review of literature on the specific program—its uses and effects. The student would also conduct a local study of the development, implementation, or impact of the program or a national study of the program in other locales. The final product would include a written report that consists of the literature review, description of evaluation study, findings and recommendations tied to the findings, and an oral report to a school board.
iii. Implementation Project – a project in which a student facilitates the development and implementation of a new program, policy or organizational change to improve organizational effectiveness, equity, or efficiency– and documents this process in detail. The project could focus on the implementation of a specific program, such as a district extended learning program or English language learning program. The project would begin with a needs assessment and a literature review of the effects of similar programs. These would provide the background for the development and implementation of a program, which the student would document in terms of actors, actions, resources, etc. In addition to the report of the needs assessment, literature review, and description of the implementation, the student would develop a plan for evaluating the effectiveness of the program and implementing continuous improvement. The student would also actually evaluate the early stages of program implementation, including the processes involved.
iv. School or Organizational Improvement Plan (grounded in actual school or organizational data) – Using appropriate student, teacher, performance and/or other school data, the student would describe and analyze current school conditions in some detail and develop a school improvement plan to improve student or school outcomes, enhance the school climate, build a more collaborative culture, or other appropriate school improvement goal, including increasing effectiveness, equity, or efficiency of some organizational policy, program, or practice.
v. Other appropriate project as approved by a student’s supervisory committee
6.STUDENT REVIEW POINTS AND PROCEDURES - EdD students’ performance is reviewed at several points in their program of study:
a. At the end of Year 1, any student who has earned a B minus (B-) or lower in any EdD program course OR who is referred by an ELP faculty member must be reviewed by an assigned faculty review committee. The review committee will include instructors from first year program core courses. The committee will use the cumulative evidence of student performance across the core required courses to make a professional judgment. The review committee has the authority to decide one of the following:
i. The student is ineligible for program continuation.
ii. The student is eligible for program continuation CONTINGENT upon fulfilling specified additional preparation conditions or
iii. The student is eligible for program continuation with no contingencies.
b. Following the completion of Year 2 coursework, the student's chosen supervisory committee must approve a student’s proposed EdD capstone project.
c. At the completion of the EdD capstone project, the student’s supervisory committee must approve the student’s written capstone project document and his/her oral presentation of the project. The oral presentation audience may also include relevant practitioners from the field and/or peer students.
NOTES:
_ Students must complete their doctoral degree within 7 years of initial program enrollment.
_ Students should consult the General Catalog of the University of Utah for other rules and regulations pertaining to admission, enrollment, program, graduation requirements, etc. www.utah.edu
_ The University of Utah provides reasonable accommodation to the known disabilities of applicants. Students with disabilities should notify the faculty member in writing by the 2nd week of class and contact the University’s Center for Disabilities if accommodations are needed (voice/TDD: 801-581-5020 or FAX 801-581-5487). www.disability.utah.ed
_ The Department of Educational Leadership and Policy will expect all admitted students to follow the Ethical Standards of the American Educational Research Association www.aera.net/about/policy/ethics.htm and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Utah Educators of the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission. www.rules.state.ut.us/publicat/code/r686/r686.htm A copy of both of these documents can be obtained from the Educational Leadership & Policy office.
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Summer Term |
Fall Semester |
Spring Semester |
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Year 1 |
Leadership in Ed. Orgs. ELP 6210(3) |
Leadership Theory ELP 7220 (3) |
Organizational Theory ELP 7240(3) |
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Research Prerequisite ELP 6030 |
ELP 7040 (3) Quantitative Research Methods |
ELP 7060 (3) Qualitative Research Methods |
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Year 2
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Specialization #1 (3) Specialization #2 (3) |
Specialization #3 (3) Specialization #4 (3) |
Specialization #5 (3) Specialization #6 (3) |
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Year 3 |
EdD Capstone Project ELP 7700 (6) |
Students must enroll in 9 credit hours each semester during this year to fulfill the Graduate School residency requirement. |
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EdD Capstone Project ELP 7700 (9) |
EdD Capstone Project ELP 7700 (9) |
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Year 4 |
EdD Capstone Project ELP 7700 (6) |
EdD Capstone Project ELP 7700 (6) |
EdD Capstone Project ELP 7700 (6) |
ELP 7060 (3)
Specialization #6 (3)
ELP 7700 (6)
ELP 7700 (6)
EdD Capstone Project
ELP 7700 (6)
EdD Capstone Project
ELP 7700 (6)