Educational Studies: Educational Leadership Ph.D.

The Ph.D. in Educational Studies: Educational Leadership is a research-intensive 66-hour degree designed to equip graduates to engage in high-quality original scholarship. Degree recipients will have the knowledge and skills to assume positions as tenure-track college faculty tasked with engaging in research and with teaching graduate education courses, as experts with policy organizations responsible for producing or overseeing education-related research, and as high-level leaders in K-12 or high education-related organizations with oversight and/or responsibility for research oriented functions. Within the degree, students may opt to focus some course selections around a concentration in PK-12 leadership or higher education contexts. Students may also opt to work with an advisor to craft a program with PK-20 perspective.

The Ph.D. in Educational Studies: Educational Leadership requires a minimum of 66 hours beyond the master’s degree. While the Ph.D. encompasses a minimum of 66 hours of coursework, including fieldwork and a dissertation, additional courses may be required if prerequisites have not been met.

Admission

For admission into the program, an applicant must hold a master’s degree in educational leadership or a related field. Applicants must present a strong academic record (GPA of 3.0 in either the last 60 hours of college credit or undergraduate GPA). Applicants to the Educational Studies: Educational Leadership PhD program must submit transcripts of all prior collegiate work, a statement explaining the applicant's interest in earning the PhD and how the applicant sees the PhD fitting with personal and professional goals, an equity statement, a current resume, and a writing sample, and must complete either a video or in-person interview.

Additionally, applicants who wish to seek certification as a public school principal in Texas in conjunction with the PhD must have completed at least two years of full-time teaching at an accredited school, and must hold a valid teaching certificate, at the time of application to the PhD program. Applicants who wish to pursue principal certification in conjunction with the PhD must also complete two to three courses in addition to the 66-hour PhD program (as non-degree seeking students, or in connection with another graduate program at TCU) prior to beginning coursework with the doctoral cohort. These courses are:

--EDLE 60043 (Instructional Supervision-Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment)*

--EDLE 60053 (Instructional Supervision-Supervision, Evaluation, and Coaching)

--EDLE 60083 (Data Use for Educational Leaders)

*EDLE 60043 may be waived as a prerequisite for those seeking principal certification in conjunction with the PhD in the event the applicant holds a Master's degree, earned within 10 years of application to the PhD program, that is in an area of emphasis directly related to PK-12 pedagogy (e.g., curriculum and instruction, assessment, mathematics education, social studies education, science education, literacy education, special education).

Applicants seeking superintendent certification in conjunction with the Educational Studies: Educational Leadership PhD must hold a valid principal certification at the time the superintendent certificate is sought in addition to meeting coursework and practicum requirements, or must hold a TEA waiver of the principal certification requirement at time of application.

Applicants for the superintendent certificate must have accrued at least three years of principal or school-related managerial experience by the time application for superintendent certification is sought.

Program of Study

A minimum of 66 credit hours is required for the degree. Students work closely with their academic advisor to draw from courses in the College of Education and, if appropriate, from other areas on campus that relate to the students’ area of inquiry. Students should use the approved program of study course selection, with the assistance of the advisor. Each student will work with an assigned advisor to plan and, where needed, adjust the plan of study to meet both student needs and programmatic requirements.

For both areas of emphasis (Focus in PK-12 Contexts and Higher Education) requirements for the qualifying examination and dissertation are identical, as is the typical sequence of activities.

Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination is taken when students have completed approximately 45 hours of coursework and prior to beginning work on the dissertation research. The purpose of the qualifying examination is to assess the student’s readiness to begin dissertation research. The qualifying examination requires students to demonstrate their ability to critically discuss theory, research and practice as related to a topic within educational leadership. The exam consists of a series of questions developed by the student’s qualifying exam panel. These questions are designed for two purposes: (1) to examine the student’s knowledge of a body of literature in depth and (2) to examine the student’s breadth of understanding of the field of educational leadership. The qualifying examination consists of two parts: a written examination and an oral examination. All committee members will read and give feedback to the student on the written product. The student’s committee will determine by consensus if the student “passed”; “passed with conditions,” which the student must meet prior to passing; “revise and resubmit” (necessitating major revisions and/or actions prior to committee reconsideration); or "failed" the examination (necessitating a restart of the entire qualifying exam process). When all committee members are satisfied with the quality of the written product, an oral examination will be scheduled. In alignment with university policy, a doctoral student is limited to two attempts to pass the qualifying examination. Students may not move beyond EDAD 70073, propose the dissertation, or enroll in further dissertation coursework until they have successfully passed the qualifying examination.

Dissertation (12 hours)

The College of Education is committed to helping students establish their own research interests and agenda. To this end, the students will work with a committee of faculty to propose a research study, conduct the study and defend the results of the study. All students will take a minimum of twelve hours of dissertation proposal and research (including EDAD 70073 the Capstone/Dissertation Seminar), but some students will have to take more than 12 hours, depending on the number of semesters that are needed for full completion of all requirements. Students enroll in EDUC 90980 until such time as the dissertation committee has approved the proposal, and EDUC 90990 thereafter until a successful defense. Students may not begin dissertation data collection without the approval of their full advisory committee and, as appropriate, the TCU Institutional Review Board.

Sequence of Experiences
1. Completion of a minimum of 45 hours of coursework
2. Completion of the qualifying examination (and remaining coursework)
3. Successful proposal of dissertation research
4. Completion of original research and successful defense of the resulting dissertation

While most students will complete the dissertation within the 12-hours noted here, others may require additional time, and students who need to take more than 12 credit hours must continue to enroll in 1-3 hours of EDUC 90990 (Fall, Spring, and Summer terms) through the completion of the degree.

Ph.D. in Educational Studies: Educational Leadership (Focus in PK-12 Contexts)

Foundations (18 hours)

The program is committed to providing students with coursework that provides complex and in-depth context to the work of the educational leader, including a grounding in philosophical, historical, legal, ethical, and organizational influences.

Research (15 hours from the following)

The program and college are committed to helping doctoral students broadly understand research methodology while specializing in one or more methodologies. Students take a minimum of 15 hours of research coursework and work with a faculty member on a project toward presentation/publication in a scholarly venue in addition to completing the dissertation.

*EDUC 70823 may be repeated up the three times with different emphasis with consent of advisor.

*INSC 60010 is a 1.5 hour course; students opting to take it must exceed the 18 hour requirement in inquiry by taking another 3-hour course (i.e., will total 19.5 hours of inquiry), although they may take another 1.5-hour elective (in the specialization/electives section) to avoid exceeding the minimum of 66 hours for the degree plan.

Leadership Approaches, PK-12 Contexts (15 hours from among the following)

Additional course selections – aimed at equipping doctoral students with the in-depth and specialized knowledge needed to succeed in various areas of research and leadership – should be made with professional and research goals in mind; in some cases, this may mean electing coursework outside of the College of Education, with permission of the advisor.

*EDUC 70813 may be taken up to three times with different emphasis with consent of advisor

Module IV: Practicum or Internship Experiences (6 hours)

The program is committed to establishing authentic supervisory learning opportunities for students, and to doing so in ways that align with certification requirements established by the Texas Education Agency. Certification-seeking students will enroll in Principal or Superintendent Practicum, as appropriate; those who are not seeking certification or who already hold certification will engage in internship hours to explore a facet of educational leadership or policymaking, or they may elect up to 6 hours of additional coursework.

*For non-certification seeking students, an additional 3-hour internship may be substituted for one elective in the specialization section with approval of the student's advisor for a maximum of 9 hours of internship.

Dissertation (12 hours)

*Comprehensive exams must be completed prior to enrollment in EDAD 70073; in rare cases, a student may be allowed to enroll in EDAD 70073 while completing the comprehensive exam, but in no case will a final grade be assigned in EDAD 70073 until successful completion of the comprehensive exam.

Ph.D. in Educational Studies: Educational Leadership (Focus in Higher Education)

Foundations (18 hours)

The program is committed to providing students with coursework that provides complex and in-depth context to the work of the educational leader, including a grounding in philosophical, historical, legal, ethical, and organizational influences.

Research (15 hours from the following)

The program and college are committed to helping doctoral students broadly understand research methodology while specializing in one or more methodologies. Students take a minimum of 15 hours of research coursework and work with a faculty member on a project toward presentation/publication in a scholarly venue in addition to completing the dissertation.

*EDUC 70823 Inquiry Seminar may be repeated up the three times with different emphasis with consent of advisor.

*INSC 60010 is a 1.5 hour course; students opting to take this course must exceed the 18 hour requirement in inquiry by taking another 3-hour course (i.e., will total 19.5 hours of inquiry), though they may take another 1.5 hour elective (in the specialization/electives section) to avoid exceeding the minimum of 66 hours for the degree plan.

Leadership and Approaches: Higher Education Contexts (21 hours from the following)

Additional course selections – aimed at equipping doctoral students with the in-depth and specialized knowledge needed to succeed in various areas of research and leadership – should be made with professional and research goals in mind; in some cases, this may mean electing coursework outside of the College of Education, with permission of the advisor.

*Students may enroll in 9-12 hours of graduate coursework at TCU outside of the College of Education with advisor approval.

*EDAD 60133 may be taken up to twice for a total of 6 hours with different emphasis. Topics: Strategic Planning, Sustainability, Environmental Theory in Higher Education, Finance and Administration, Development in Higher Education.

*EDHE 70233 Comparative Higher Education may be taken up to twice for a total of 6 hours with different emphasis. Topics: Great Britain, Central and South American, Europe and Asia.

Dissertation (12 hours)

*Comprehensive exams must be completed prior to enrollment in EDAD 70073; in rare cases, a student may be allowed to enroll in EDAD 70073 while completing the comprehensive exam, but in no case will a final grade be assigned in EDAD 70073 until successful completion of the comprehensive exam.