Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education
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
The PhD in educational studies with a concentration in higher education requires 63 semester hours and is intended for experienced administrators and qualified scholars. Students 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.
Core Course Requirements (18 credit hours)
- HED 744 - Higher Education: Finance and Political Economy (3)
- HED 745 - Higher Education: Equity, Inclusion and Learning (3)
- HED 746 - Theories of College and University Organization (3)
- HED 747 - Advanced Student Development Theory (3)
- HED 748 - Law of Higher Education (3)
- HED 749 - Seminar in Higher Education Research (3)
Concentration Course Requirements (15 credit hours)
Students should work with advisors to select a coherent set of concentration courses focusing on a specific problem of theory, policy, or practice in higher education.
Research Methods (21 credit hours)
- ERM 680 - Intermediate Statistical Methods in Education
- ERM 681 - Design and Analysis of Educational Experiments
- HED 775 - Directed Doctoral Readings (6 credit hours)
- One course in qualitative or interpretive research methods
- One advanced course in research methods
- One elective research methods course
Academic Portfolio
Students will compile a portfolio consisting of the following:
- Four literature reviews, one for four of the five content courses in the doctoral core.
- Documentation of attendance at one national professional organization in higher education, including NASPA, ACPA, ASHE, or CSCC. This documentation must also include a reflection paper on the value of professional associations and the quality of research presented at the conference attended.
- Evidence of a presentation proposal submitted to one of the conferences listed above.
- A qualifying paper addressing a significant problem of policy, practice, or theory in higher education. Completed during HED 749, this paper amounts to a literature review directly related to the student's intended dissertation research.
- A written plan, developed in consultation with program faculty, highlighting the research skills required for investigating this problem as well as a list of specific courses addressing these skills.
- An approved doctoral committee and an approved plan of study.
Preliminary Oral Examination
Upon completion of the doctoral core and the academic portfolio, students will sit for the preliminary oral examination. During the preliminary oral exam, the student will respond to two categories of questions: (a) follow-up, clarifying, or in-depth questions related to one or more literature review papers presented in the academic portfolio, and (b) questions requiring the student to situate the qualifying paper within the broader literature in the field of higher education. The latter type of question will require the student to elaborate the relationships between the major area of interest and student development, law, finance, organization and governance, and equity (core courses). The preliminary oral exam may be waived if, by unanimous decision, the full-time program faculty agree that the portfolio demonstrates superior quality scholarship.
Students whose performance on the portfolio, the preliminary oral exam, or both is deemed "not passable" by one or more committee members may revise and resubmit the portfolio, sit for a second round of oral exams, or both as determined by the doctoral committee. This second round of exams must take place during the semester immediately following the original preliminary oral exam. If by the second round of exams, the portfolio, the preliminary oral exam, or both is deemed unacceptable by a two or more committee members, the student will exit the program.
Comprehensive Examination and Oral Examination
The comprehensive examination will require students to demonstrate advanced competence with a set of inquiry skills. As evidence of this competence, students will design a dissertation research project, explain the contribution the proposed program will make to the extant literature, and defend the research methods selected. The student will present to the committee a written proposal and will sit for an oral defense of the research project. Upon successful completion of the comprehensive examination, students will enter into candidacy for the degree.
Dissertation (12 credit hours)
Degree candidates will complete an original research project and sit for the final defense of the dissertation to complete the degree requirements.