Department of Educational Leadership
and Cultural Foundations
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)
Overview
The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership is a 66 semester hour doctoral program designed to prepare students for leadership and administration at the district office level and particularly as school district superintendents. The degree leads to a Level III administrator licensure (superintendent) in North Carolina. Potential students who do not have North Carolina Level I Principal licensure must first obtain such licensure by completing the Post-Masters (PMC) program (see http://www.uncg.edu/elc/pmc ). Students not interested in obtaining administrative licensure can design a flexible program of study t that enables them to pursue their own interests in educational leadership, organization, policy, and social/cultural analysis. The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership is committed to the pursuit of three ambitious goals for education: improvement in teaching and learning, equity and social justice for all students, and the development of schools as democratic communities.
Program Information/Requirements
The Ed.D. program consists of 48 credit hours of coursework, 6 hours of internship, and 12 hours of dissertation research. Courses are offered in the evenings during the Fall and Spring terms as well as during various times of day in the Summer. Some courses are offered off campus or as online courses. The time allowed for obtaining the degree is seven years after the first date of enrollment (or the first transfer course counted for credit, whichever comes first). Most students are part-time students and typically take two courses per term (including summer courses) until their coursework and internship are completed. It is advisable to reserve at least one year for dissertation work. We attempt to schedule classes so that some semesters students can take two classes in one evening (e.g., on Thursday night, a class from 4 to 6:50 p.m. and another class from 7 to 9:50 p.m.).
Program Requirements
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)
I. Ed.D. - Advanced Principal and Superintendent Concentration (66 hours)
Intended for students who desire doctoral-level Principal and Superintendent licenses.
- Administration & Leadership (18 hours)
- ELC 700 Critical Perspectives in Education, Leadership, & Culture (3 hours)
- ELC 701 The Superintendency (3 hours)+
- ELC 751 Cases & Concepts in Educational Administration (3 hours)
- Other courses in administration and leadership, such as: (9 hours)
- ELC 659 Education Finance
- ELC 683 Engaging the Public in Education
- ELC 750 Advanced Seminar in School Law Research
- ELC 752 Theories in Educational Administration
- ELC 754 Personal Leadership Assessment and Enhancement
- Internship (6 hours)
- ELC 790 Internship++ (2 semesters of 3 hours) 6 hours
Minimum of 15 hours in next two areas:
- Curricular & Instructional Leadership (6-9 hours)
- Courses in curricular & instructional leadership, such as:
ELC 686 Curriculum Theory
- Social & Cultural Foundations (6-9 hours)
- ELC 676 Educational Sociology: Race, Class & Gender OR,
- ELC 679 History of Education in the United States OR,
- ELC 696 Philosophies in Education (3 hours)
- Other courses in the social and cultural foundations
- Research (15 hours)
- ERM 517 Statistical Methods in Education OR another course in quantitative methods (3 hours)
- ELC 665 Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry or
- ELC 664 Foundations of Interpretive Inquiry
- Other courses in research (9 hours; please see Qualitative Research Sequence for guidance in selecting qualitative courses)
- Dissertation (12 hours)
- ELC 799 Dissertation (1-12 hours per semester) (12 hours)
- Total: 66 hours
+ To be taken during Spring Semester in conjunction with the second semester of ELC 790 Internship
++ The first 3 semester hours of ELC 790 should be taken during the Fall semester; the second 3 hours should be taken during the Spring semester in conjunction with ELC 701
II. Ed.D. - Non-Administrative Licensure Educational Leadership Emphasis (66 hours)
Intended for persons who desire to enhance their understanding of educational leadership but are not interested in administrative licensure.
- Administration & Leadership (15-21 hours)
- ELC 700 Critical Perspectives in Educational Leadership & Culture
- Internship (6 hours)
- ELC 790 Internship (2 semesters of 3 hours each) (6 hours)
Minimum of 18 hours in next two areas:
- Curricular & Instructional Leadership (6-12 hours)
- Social & Cultural Foundations (6-12 hours)
- ELC 676 Educational Sociology: Race, Class, & Gender OR,
- ELC 679 History of Education in the United States OR,
- ELC 696 Philosophies in Education (3 hours)
- Other courses in the social and cultural foundations
- Research (15 hours)
- ERM 517 Statistical Methods in Education OR another course in quantitative methods (3 hours)
- ELC 665 Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry or
- ELC 664 Foundations of Interpretive Inquiry
- Other courses in research (9 hours; please see Qualitative Research Sequence for guidance in selecting qualitative courses)
- Dissertation (12 hours)
- Total (66 hours)
Qualitative Research Sequence for EdD program
The following course sequence should be followed by Ed. D. students as they take qualitative research coursework.
Introductory Course:
* ELC 665 Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry, or
* ELC 664 Foundations of Interpretive Inquiry
Post-Introductory Courses:
After completing ELC 664 or ELC 665, students should select additional qualitative coursework from the following courses:
* ELC 767 Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis
* ELC 688 (temporary course number) Narratives of the Self
* Other qualitative research courses that may be developed in future (e.g., Case Study Research, Representation in Qualitative Research, Action Research, etc.)
* Qualitative research courses offered by other departments (with pre-approval of the student’s advisor)
Pre-Proposal Course:
Students may opt to take the following course after completing the other 12 hours of their research course requirements:
* ELC 666 (temporary course number) Writing Preparation and Proposal Development
EdD Course Grid
Check out the EdS/EdD Program Course Grid
Transfer Credits
Students may transfer credits from another institution to count toward Ed.D. requirements. Those credits must not have been used to satisfy requirements for another earned degree, and the seven-year time clock begins at the date the first transfer course was taken. The maximum number of transfer credits may equal no more than one-third of the non-dissertation credit hours in a program. Transfer requests will be reviewed by the student's committee and the Dean of the Graduate School.
Application Criteria & Procedures
Check out the application procedures
Financial Information
Check out the financial aid information
North Carolina Administrative Licensure Information
For licensure applications, please contact Carol Resch in the UNCG School of Education certification office (Curry 324, 336-334-3450, crwalke2@uncg.edu). Licensure questions can be directed to Ms. Resch; Dr. Rick Reitzug, the Ed.D./Ed.S. program coordinator (336-334-3460, ucreitzu@uncg.edu); or subsequent to admission, to your advisor.
EdS/EdD Program Completion Checklist
Check out the EdS/EdD Program Completion Checklist
Comprehensive Examination Procedures
Check out the Comprehensive Examination Procedures
Contact Information
For application forms for fellowships and assistantships, or for other basic information:
Dr. Rick Reitzug
EdS/EdD Director of Graduate Study (DGS)
EdS/EdD Admissions Coordinator
336-334-3460
336-334-4737 (fax)
ucreitzu@uncg.edu
346 School of Education Building