Ed.D. Program (New Program Requirements Beginning Fall 2008)

The Ed.D. program is designed for students who are planning careers in college and university administration.

Faculty will assist Ed.D. students in developing strong action oriented research skills. The program provides students with an extensive background in administration, finance, legal issues, academic affairs, and student affairs.

In addition, graduates of our Ed.D. program will be able to develop one or two focused areas of expertise. These can include assessment, economics and finance of colleges and universities, enrollment management, institutional advancement, institutional research, policy studies, student affairs and student development, student engagement and student success, and teaching and learning.

Program Requirements (60 credit hours)

Higher Education Major (27 credit hour minimum)

The following courses are required:

C620: Pro-seminar in Higher Education
C654: Higher Education in the United States
C664: Organizational Theory
C665: Higher Education Administration
C788: Seminar in Research in Higher Education
- This course should be taken towards the end of your program of study with C795 Dissertation Proposal Preperation

In addition, a minimum of 12 credit hours are required in the major.

Minor (9 credit hour minimum)

The minor should provide an alternative perspective on educational problems and processes. After consultation with their Advisory Committee, students should select courses that ground them in the basic concepts that provide a useful perspective from which to reflect on administrative functions and processes.

Inquiry Core (9 credit hour minimum)

The following coures are required:

Y520 or Y521: Strategies for Educational Inquiry*
Y510: Action Inquiry I
Y535: Evaluation Models and Techniques

*Although either Y520 or Y521 can meet this requirement, Y521 is recommended because it is offered to doctoral students only.

Note: Y502 or its equivalent is required as a pre-requisite for the Ed.D.

Electives (6 credit hour minimum)

With Advisory Committee approval a student may use courses from the School of Education or other academic areas consistent with the student’s particular professional objectives.

Dissertation (9 credit hour minimum)

C795 Dissertation Proposal Preparation
- This course should be taken towards the end of your program of study with C788 Seminar in Research in Higher Education
C799 Doctoral Thesis (6 credit hour minimum)

Additional Requirements

FIRST YEAR REVIEW FOR HESA DOCTORAL STUDENTS

Beginning doctoral students (both Ph.D. and Ed.D.) at the end of the first year (and/or 18 hours of course work) need to file a First Year Faculty Review with their advisor. The advisor will assess work the student has completed and what the student is planning for the future. The focus of the review is on assessing the student’s ability to: 1) clearly articulate their thoughts and ideas in an organized manner (writing and oral), 2) analyze and synthesize research in order to formulate an opinion or argument, 3) illustrate a focused plan for completing doctoral work. (see Outline of the Review Process for instructions)

INQUIRY LINKAGE COURSES

“The second of the major area of inquiry courses is an inquiry linkage course. This is a course in which research relevant to the major field of specialization is studied.” (School of Education Graduate Program Bulletin, 2005-2007, p. 52-53).

HESA designated inquiry linkages courses will be:

The course used for the early inquiry experience
C788 Seminar in Research for Higher Education

QUALIFYING EXAM

“Prior to beginning a doctoral dissertation and at or near the time of completion of all course work, all doctoral students in the School of Education must pass a qualifying examination in their major area of study. In effect, this examination process is intended to determine if a student is qualified to begin work on a doctoral dissertation.” (School of Education Graduate Program Bulletin, 2005-2007, p.53).

The qualifying exam with written and oral components is taken upon completion of course work in the major. The student must have his/her Advisory Committee Chair’s approval to take the qualifying examination. The written section is comprehensive; covering issues faced by the profession and the knowledge base of the field. Questions are broad and will require students to integrate theories and substantive issues from the courses they have taken. Qualifying exams for the minor are determined by the minor advisor in consultation with the students. Following review by the faculty, the student must defend the written examination in a meeting with the Advisory Committee.

HESA Requirements

Student will apply for qualifying exams with the permission of their program advisory committee.
Students must be in good standing to take qualifying exams (above 3.3 gpa (Bulletin, p. 16) and less than 6 credit hours of incompletes (Bulletin, p. 53)).
The first day question(s) will focus on broad concepts in higher education and incorporate the require coursework in higher education.
The second day question(s) will focus on areas of specialization the student has developed during the doctoral program and one or more topics of interest identified for dissertation research.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS

The residency requirement can be satisfied by taking either two consecutive semesters of nine credits or three consecutive six-hour terms at the Bloomington-Indianapolis core campus.

DISSERTATION

The dissertation is a study designed, completed, and orally defended by the student. This may be original research in a traditional inquiry format, or a student may conduct a campus audit, case study, needs assessment, program review, evaluation, program or another suitable study of professional practice. The Research Committee for the dissertation must be comprised of two faculty from the Higher Education Program and one faculty member from the student's minor or an area of specialization relevant to the student's dissertation research.