Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy Program

I. Introduction to the Department

The Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, a division of the College of Education, emphasizes the application of theory and research to the practice of administration in K-12 schools as well as preparation for scholarly and administrative endeavors in higher education or other educational policy arenas. As a result of the department's strong national reputation (consistently ranked among the top ten Educational Leadership 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 training opportunities through liaison with many local and state education agencies and associations such as surrounding school districts and colleges, the Utah State Office

of Education, the Utah Board of Regents, the Utah Consortium for Educational Leadership (UCEL), and several Utah administrators' associations. The Department also is the home of the Utah Education Policy Center and the editorial home of Educational Administration Quarterly, the leading scholarly journal in the field of educational leadership.

II. Introduction to the Ph.D. Program

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) students are expected to develop expertise in theory and research related to educational leadership and/or policy. This program is designed especially for those who seek careers as university professors, researchers, or research and policy analysts in educational agencies. In pursuit of these aims, students will complete course work in four distinct domains: educational leadership, research

methods, and allied field C plus independent research in the form of a dissertation. Students must also meet a residency requirement which includes the Graduate Sch ool enrollment requirement (full-time enrollment – 9 credit hours – for two consecutive semester terms) plus the Departmental Immersion requirement (see Ph.D. Residency Requirements for details).

III. APPLICATION PROCEDURES

A master’s degree, or concurrent admission to a professional master’s degree program (for example, Master’s of Public Administration), is required for admission to doctoral study in the Department of Educational Leadership. Ph.D. student applicants are considered for admission every year during the Spring semester.

IV. PROGRAM OF STUDY

The student's supervisory committee helps develop a coherent program of study and has final approval of all doctoral study. Students are initially assigned an advisor upon enrollment in the program. At the beginning of the second year of study (upon completion of approximately 18 credit hours), students should identify a supervisory committee chair and committee members who will approve the student's planned program of study which must be submitted to the Graduate School. Students are allowed to individually tailor the selection of courses to meet their individual interests and career goals. Typically, a Ph.D. student's program of study will include 72 semester hours or more of total credit. Students must have a five-person supervisory committee, with the majority of committee members being regular full-time departmental faculty and at least one professor from their allied field.

Note: If a student seeks to change from one doctoral program to another (e.g., from the Ph.D. to Ed.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.

A. Educational Leadership Course Work: Students are required to take a Ph.D. Professional Seminar during their first year of study to orient and socialize them to doctoral study. The required course is:

ELP 7600 (1+1) Seminar: Ph.D. Professional Seminar - first year Ph.D. students

Additionally, students are required to take 30 semester hrs or more of 6000 and 7000 level ELP content course-work with one-half (50%) or preferably MORE of course-work at the 7000 level, including:

Required courses:

ELP 7240 (3) Organizational Theory - Prerequisite: ELP 6210

ELP 7220 (3) Leadership Theory - Prerequisite: ELP 6210

Note: No substitutions for 6000 level courses unless the same course or University of Utah equivalent course taken within the past 5 years.

Other typical ELP course options (see U of U Catalog for additional Departmental listings):

ELP 7260 (3) Critical Race Theory

ELP 7320 (3) Instructional Program Administration

ELP 7440 (3) Educational Policy

ELP 7550 (3) Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education

ELP 7110 (3) Organizational Change

ELP 7960 (3) Politics of Equity

ELP 7960 (3) Women and Educational Leadership

& Other ELP doctoral specializations aligned with ELP faculty expertise

B. Allied Field: 12 semester hrs or more outside the department - should largely include courses from outside the College of Education, but the supervisory committee may approve relevant course-work within the College of Education.

C. Research course-work: 18 semester hrs or more

Foundations (12 semester hrs or more)

ELP 7020 (3) Logic of Theory Development and Testing -Required

ELP 7040 (3) Quantitative Methods -Required

-Prerequisite: ELP 6030 (3) Introduction to Research Design or equivalent -Required

ELP 7060 (3) Qualitative Methods -Required

ELP 6050 (3) Program Evaluation

ELP 6010 (3) Analytic Methods for Decision Making

Specialization sequence (6 semester hours or more)

Qualitative Research (6) - e.g. ELP or out of Department qualitative course options

Quantitative Research (8) - e.g. EdPs 7010 (3) + EdPs 7020 (5)

            D. Independent Research - 14 semester hr minimum

Proposal Development (ELP 7980) – Faculty Consultation with Supervisory Committee Chair

Dissertation hours (ELP 7970) - 14 hours minimum required with Supervisory Committee Chair

V. PH.D. REVIEW POINTS AND PROCEDURES

Ph.D. students are reviewed at the following points of their program:

A. A Summative Review for doctoral students is held at the end of Year 1 or at the completion of core ELP doctoral course requirements:

1. Students who earn a B-(minus) or lower in any given required core ELP doctoral course* OR who are referred by an ELP faculty member are subject to a formal review to assess whether the student is eligible for program continuation.

2. Instructors of core courses constitute the review committee and use the cumulative evidence of student performance across the core required courses to make a professional judgment.

3. The review committee has the authority to decide one of the following:

a. The student is ineligible for program continuation.

b. The student is eligible for program continuation CONTINGENT UPON fulfilling specified supplemental learning experiences.

c. The student is eligible for program continuation without any contingencies.

*ELP 7220: Leadership Theory; ELP 7240: Organizational Theory; ELP 7040 (3) Quantitative

Methods and ELP 7060: Qualitative Methods and their corresponding prerequisite courses

B. Qualifying Exam - At or near the end of course-work, Ph.D. students must take a qualifying exam (which is evaluated by the student's supervisory committee) to assess if the student is eligible for advancement to doctoral candidacy. The qualifying examination is designed to test whether a student has achieved a level of scholarly knowledge and sophistication sufficient to conduct independent research. Examination questions will require students to integrate and apply what they have learned in doctoral program coursework. Mastery of research techniques and content knowledge in the student's specialties must be demonstrated.

C. Dissertation Proposal Defense – Following advancement to candidacy, a student must successfully defend the dissertation research proposal to his/her supervisory committee to proceed with his/her independent research. Note: Before commencing dissertation research a student must obtain approval from the University Institutional Review Board.

D. Dissertation Defense - At the completion of the dissertation research and writing, a student must successfully defend the dissertation study to his/her supervisory committee. The final oral defense must be passed at least one month before graduation, following the submission of a student's dissertation to the supervisory committee.

E. Final defense date deadlines - There is a date established each semester by which doctoral students must schedule their final proposal or final dissertation defense by. This is typically about 3 to 4 weeks prior to the last day of classes. The final draft of the student’s paper that will be defended must be distributed to supervisory committee members at least 1 to 2 weeks prior to the scheduled defense.

VI. AWARDING OF THE DEGREE

Degrees are awarded when students have completed the Graduate School Thesis Editor's requirements for release to the Registrar. Information regarding this requirement can be found in A Handbook for the Thesis and Dissertation, available at the office of the Thesis Editor or the University Bookstore.

VII. Academic Probation

A student earning less than a 3.00 cumulative GPA in the ELP graduate program in which they are enrolled will be put on academic probation for the next two consecutive semesters of enrollment and must maintain a 3.00 average during that time. If at the end of this probationary period the student does not have a cumulative 3.00 GPA in his/her program of study (i.e., courses associated with the completion/fulfillment of the degree), the student will be dismissed from the academic program.

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