Search
Southern Home PageAbout Southern Connecticut State UniversityAcademicsAdmissionsStudent LifeResearchAthleticsHuman Resources at Southern
Southern Connecticut State University LibraryMySCSUSouthern DirectoryCalendar of EventsTechnologyContact Us

Ed.D./Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 

 

TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR THE FALL 2013 - ALL DOCUMENTATION MUST BE IN BY MARCH 1ST 2013.

Overview

The Ed.D./Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies prepares leaders who are capable of working in a wide range of settings.  These include public and private schools, research and evaluation institutions, and educational advocacy organizations.  Our diverse faculty and student body represent agencies such as P-12 public schools, private and independent schools, government, and higher education.  The variety of perspectives faculty and students bring strengthens our ability to understand and address complex educational issues. 

The mission of the Ed.D. Program is:

  • to prepare educational leaders with comprehensive knowledge, appropriate skills, and empowering attitudes to become leaders who are informed decision-makers capable of being reflective practitioners and who contribute to the research and practice literature.

The Ed.D./Doctoral Program is designed as a part-time program to meet the needs of working professionals.  The program generally takes four to five years to complete.  

The Ed.D. Program is practice-oriented. Thus, coursework and dissertations are very applied in nature. The curriculum includes foundational coursework and opportunities for field-based activities and immersion projects in schools or other agencies. 

We aim to prepare leaders who can solve real problems facing education systems today and who, through their research or applied work, further academic knowledge toward this end. 

If you are interested in the program, please come to one of our open information sessions. Click here for upcoming sessions.

Program Requirements

The Ed.D./Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies consists of 63-credits of core and advanced topics courses.  Seven of these courses are electives. As students near the end of their coursework, they sit for a comprehensive exam and defend their dissertation proposal.  The doctoral program culminates in the defense of a dissertation.

There are four content strands in the doctoral program: leadership, organizational development, policy, and research methods.

The General Ed.D./Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies:

These are the core courses that doctoral students will take.  Seven additional elective courses are required to complete the coursework component.

  • EDL 663-Educational Planning
  • EDL 701-Leadership and Organizational Development
  • EDL 702-Applications in Leadership and Organizational Development
  • EDL 703-Leading Organizational Change
  • EDL 704-Quantitative Methods in Educational Leadership
  • EDL 705-Qualitative Methods in Educational Leadership
  • EDL 708-Leadership for Social Equity
  • EDL 711-Educational Policy: Context and Inquiry
  • EDL 725-Advanced Research Methods
  • EDL 731 & 799-Doctoral Inquiry Seminar
  • EDL 722-Research Design
  • EDL 800 Dissertation Advisement and Defense

Leadership Strand Core Courses:

  • EDL 701-Leadership and Organizational Development
  • EDL 702-Applications in Leadership and Organizational Development
  • EDL 708-Leadership for Social Equity
  • EDL 686-District-Level Instructional Leadership (3 credits) (Superintendents only)

Organizational Development Strand Core Courses: 

  • EDL 703-Leading Organizational Change
  • EDL 663-Educational Planning

Policy Strand Core Courses:  

  • EDL 711-Educational Policy: Context and Inquiry
  • EDL 692-Educational Policy and the Law (3 credits) (Superintendents only)
  • EDL 661-The Politics of School Administration (3 credits) (Superintendents only)

Research Methods Strand Core Courses:

  • EDL 704-Quantitative Methods in Educational Leadership
  • EDL 705-Qualitative Methods in Educational Leadership
  • EDL 725-Advanced Research Methods

Dissertation Preparation Courses:

  • EDL 722-Research Design
  • EDL 731 & 799-Doctoral Inquiry Seminar
  • EDL 800-Dissertation Advisement and Defense

Click on the Student Handbook and the Doctoral Procedures Handbook for full details about the Ed.D./Doctoral Program requirements, sequence, policies, and procedures.