HIGHER EDUCATION Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education
Doctor of Philosophy, Concentration in Higher Education
The Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education offers a 66 credit hour graduate program leading to a Doctor of Philosophy for experienced administrators and qualified scholars. Graduates develop the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for investigating, understanding, and shaping the dynamic relations among students, institutions of higher education, and society. Graduates pursue careers as scholar-practitioners in areas such as student affairs, community college leadership, and general higher education administration.
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Program Emphasis
- Student Development and Student Affairs Administration - Prepares scholar-practitioners to advance knowledge and understanding of theory, policy, and knowledge related to the development of college students, the professional preparation of student personnel administrators, the impact of college on students, and organization and administration of student affairs. Graduates hold advanced leadership positions in offices such as housing and residence life, judicial affairs, family and orientation programs, and enrollment management, among others.
- Community College Leadership - Prepares scholar-practitioners to advance knowledge and understanding of community college policy, practice, and theory with an emphasis on the leadership competencies identified by the American Association of Community Colleges. Graduates hold positions as community college presidents, vice-presidents, deans, directors, department chairs, and faculty.
- General Higher Education Administration - Prepares scholar-practitioners to advance knowledge and understanding of policy, practice, and theory related to college and university leadership, organization and governance, institutional diversity, and historical analysis. Graduates hold leadership positions as vice-chancellors, deans, and directors in functional areas such as financial aid, technology administration, business affairs,
Curriculum Information
A. Required Core Courses (12 hours minimum)
HED 749 – Doctoral Proseminar in Higher Education
HED 661 – Higher Education in the US
HED 662 – Curriculum in Higher Education
HED 745 – Higher Education: Equity, Inclusion, and Learning
B. Research Requirements (21 hours minimum)
Graduate learners are expected to acquire a deep understanding of the concepts of research and inquiry as they relate to higher education. The knowledge base should include understanding of various research paradigms, criticisms of these paradigms, and expertise in the conduct of scholarly research. The research component must include ERM 681 – Design and Analysis of Educational Experiments and one doctoral-level qualitative methods course. The research component must also include at least 6 hours of applied research. This requirement may be satisfied by completing HED 775 - Directed Doctoral Research, which may be repeated once for credit. The remaining research courses will be selected with advice and approval of the doctoral committee. Often, research courses include the following:
HED 730 – Qualitative Research Design
ERM 680 – Intermediate Statistical Methods in Education
ERM 681 – Design and Analysis of Educational Experiments
ERM 642 – Evaluation of Educational Programs
ERM 668 – Survey Research Methods in Education
C. Higher Education Concentration Courses (21 hours minimum)
Graduate learners take 21-27 hours of coursework to be determined during consultation with the doctoral advisory committee. Doctoral students without previous coursework in the field of higher education or student affairs should expect to take additional, foundational courses such as HED 602 – Theoretical Foundations of Higher Learning and HED 606 – Administration in Higher Education or other courses as recommended by the doctoral advisory committee. Course work in the concentration area typically includes the following courses, among others:
HED 751 - Higher Education: Economics and Finance
HED 752 - The Law of Higher Education
HED 663 - Planning Programs in Postsecondary Education
HED 600 - The Community College
HED 612 - Current Issues in Higher Education
HED 627 - Enrollment Management
Each candidate for the doctoral degree is required to successfully pass oral and written comprehensive examinations. Dates for these examinations are determined by the student and the doctoral advisory committee chair.
E. Dissertation
Each candidate for a doctoral degree must prepare and present a dissertation that focuses on some aspect of higher education—typically student affairs administration or college and university leadership, shows independent investigation, and is acceptable in form and content to the student’s committee and The Graduate School.
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*Note – Information in the Graduate Bulletin supercedes any information provided on this website. This information is subject to change without notice.