Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education
Doctor of Philosophy, Concentration in Higher Education
The Ph.D. concentration in higher education prepares experienced college and university leaders, student affairs administrators, and other qualified scholars to provide administrative leadership of holistic, transformative, and integrated learning experiences in colleges and universities.
Please click on this link for answers for frequently asked questions related to the Ph.D. program.
Program Emphasis
The doctoral program in higher education offers a focus on two key emphasis areas. Doctoral students concentrate their studies and locate their doctoral dissertation research in one of the following two areas.
- Leadership and Organization Studies -- Current and future community college leaders typically select this emphasis. Theory and research in areas such as organizational behavior, organizational theory, institutional theory, and leadership theories applied to college and university settings. Key topics include organizational renewal, institutional mission, program planning, leadership in normative institutions, motivation, organizational culture, discourse processes, conflict management, policy, and critical organizational studies, among others.
- Student Development and Student Affairs Administration -- Current and future student affairs administrators typically select this option. Includes theory and research in the cognitive, intellectual, spiritual, leadership, moral, identity, and other areas of development of college students, including 'adult learners'; the professional preparation of student personnel administrators; the impact of college on students; and organization and administration of student affairs, among others.
Contact Information:
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
School of Education
University of North Carolina
P.O. Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
Telephone: 336-334-3437
If you have specific questions relating to admissions, email our Graduate Director Dr. Barbara B. Levin.
If you have specific questions relating to curriculum, email our Program Coordinator Dr. David Franklin Ayers.
For more information about Graduate Higher Education program, Visit Higher Education Website