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Ed.D. in Educational Leadership

Overview

Ed.D. in Educational Leadership is 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.

There is a crucial need for educational leaders who have deep understandings of the challenges facing schools and school districts and who have the skills to address those challenges by working collaboratively with others. 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.

The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership is a 66-84 semester hour doctoral program. It is intended for students seeking various types of North Carolina administrative licensure. Students not interested in obtaining administrative licensure can design a highly flexible program of study that enables them to pursue their own interests in educational leadership, organization, policy, and social/cultural analysis.

Program Information/Requirements

The Ed.D. program consists of 48-60 credit hours of coursework, 6-12 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), although one-year extensions are sometimes possible. Most students are part-time students. They 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 many students 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

Students can choose from 3 different administrative licensure concentrations or select the non-licensure concentration; each concentration has slightly different course requirements. This degree has a time limit of seven academic years for completion.

Required Courses - Doctoral Program Framework

All the concentrations that follow are consistent with the requirements of this framework.

A. Administration and Leadership Courses (21-36 hours)
Specific required courses vary by concentration. All concentrations require a 6-hour or more Internship + ELC 700-Critical Perspectives in Educational Leadership & Culture.
Curricular and Instructional Leadership Courses (6-12 hours)
Specific required courses vary by concentration.
Social and Cultural Foundations Courses (6-9 hours)
To be selected in consultation with the major advisor and program committee.
Research Courses (15 hours)
- ERM 517 - Statistical Methods in Education
- ELC 665 Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry or
- ELC 664 Foundations of Interpretive Inquiry
- 9 additional hours to be selected in consultation with the major advisor and program committee.
Dissertation (12 hours)
(Note: Doctoral students also complete written and oral preliminary examinations after finishing their coursework and before submitting their dissertation proposal.)

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

I. Ed.D. - Advanced Principal and Superintendent Concentration (66 hours)

Intended for students who already have North Carolina Principal licensure and desire preparation for the doctoral-level Principal and Superintendent licenses. This concentration leads to DP and DS licensure.

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 679 History of Education in the United States OR,
- ELC 696 Philosophies in Education (3 hours)
- Other courses in the social and cultural foundations, such as:
  - ELC 697 Selected Critical Issues in American Education
  - ELC 688 Contemporary Problems Seminars
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. Entry-Level Principal Concentration (84 hours)

Intended for students who have a master's degree in some area other than school administration and want to obtain a North Carolina Principal & Superintendent licenses (DP & DS License with no prior P license).

Administration & Leadership (24 hours)
4 core principal licensure courses (check with advisor for eligible courses)
ELC 700 Critical Perspectives in Education, Leadership, & Culture (3 hours)
ELC 701 The School Superintendency+
ELC 751 Cases & Concepts in Educational Administration (3 hours)
Other courses in administration and leadership, such as: (6 3 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 (12 hours)
- ELC 690 Practicum (6 hours)
- ELC 790 Internship (6 hours)++
Curricular & Instructional Leadership (12 hours)
- ELC 615 Foundations of Curriculum (3 hours)
- ELC 670 Leadership for Teaching and Learning (3 hours)
- Other course in curricular & instructional leadership
Social & Cultural Foundations (9 hours)
- 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, such as:
  - ELC 697 Selected Critical Issues in American Education
  - ELC 688 Contemporary Problems Seminars
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

III. 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 679 History of Education in the United States OR,
- ELC 696 Philosophies in Education (3 hours)
- Other courses in the social and cultural foundations, such as:
  - ELC 697 Selected Critical Issues in American Education
  - ELC 688 Contemporary Problems Seminars
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

Students may also choose to take the following course prior to, or shortly after, the introductory course:
* ELC 688 (temporary course number): Introduction to Scholarly Discourse & Inquiry

Post-Introductory Courses:
After completing ELC 664 or ELC 665, students should select additional qualitative coursework from the following courses:
* ELC 688 (temporary course number) 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 688 (temporary course number) Writing Preparation and Proposal Development

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. Some exceptions may be possible if the courses counted toward an earned Ed.S. certificate at another institution, but decisions will be made on a case by case basis. The maximum number of transfer credits may equal no more than one-third of the non-dissertation credit hours in a program; in no cases will more than 24 credits transfer. Transfer requests will be reviewed by the student's advisory 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 students who already possess an entry-level Principal license from North Carolina, the Ed.D. program typically leads to doctoral-level North Carolina Principal and Superintendent licensure (DP and DS licenses). For students without prior administrative licensure, the program offers options for taking additional courses in order to obtain Principal and Superintendent licensure (DP license alone or DP and DS licenses together).

For licensure applications, please contact Debbie Meritt in the UNCG School of Education certification office (Curry 319, 336-334-3414, dwmerrit@uncg.edu). Licensure questions can be directed to Ms. Meritt; Dr. C.P. Gause, the Ed.D./Ed.S. program coordinator (336-334-3469, cpgause@uncg.edu); or subsequent to admission, to your advisor.

Contact Information

For application forms for fellowships and assistantships, or for other basic information:

Dr. Sivia Bettez
Coordinator, Student Funds & Fellowships Committee
scbettez@uncg.edu
336-334-3492
336-334-4737 (fax)
Curry Building
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
P.O. Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170