Degree Requirements

ELHE Program Effective Fall Semester 2017

ELHE Degree Requirements for the EdD

The University of Nebraska grants the EdD degree only to students who have completed a minimum of 96 graduate semester hours after attaining their Bachelor's degrees. The EdD requires completion of a minimum of 48 semester hours at UNL after admission for doctoral study, regardless of how many graduate hours you may have already acquired before admission.

ELHE Degree Requirements for the PhD

The University of Nebraska grants the PhD degree only to students who have completed a minimum of 90 graduate semester hours.  For the PhD degree, EDAD requires 18 hours of doctoral level research and statistics courses in addition to the 90 graduate semester hour requirement. The PhD requires completion of a minimum of 45 semester hours (excluding research and statistics courses) at UNL after admission for doctoral study, regardless of how many graduate hours you may have already acquired before admission.

*PhD students are required to complete a minimum of 6 credit hours of Research Residency Seminars as part of Electives or Research/Statistics

Master’s Degree Prerequisites

The ELHE specialization requires three master’s degree prerequisites.  If a student has not completed the prerequisites (or equivalent) in the master’s degree, the student will be admitted provisionally and will be required to complete the prerequisites with a grade of B or higher within the first year of study in order to continue in their program. These prerequisites are

Doctoral Core in the ELHE Specialization

All students are required to complete a common doctoral core of four classes in the ELHE Specialization. Core courses are sequenced in the fall and spring semesters and must be completed within the first two years of the program. The core classes are

Concentrations in the ELHE Specialization

In consultation with their advisor each student will develop a concentration of 12 credit hours in one of three areas: community college leadership, educational leadership, or higher education. The concentration will be drawn from the following listing of courses and approved by the supervisory committee during the program of study meeting.

Electives in the ELHE Specialization

The ELHE Specialization allows for 6 hours of research/statistics electives and 12 to 15 hours of electives to support the scholarly and career goals of each student. In consultation with their advisor each student will develop a list of potential electives. Electives can include additional concentration courses or be drawn from seminars, research seminars, and other courses as listed in the most recent proposed schedule of courses. The list of electives will be discussed and approved by the supervisory committee during the program of study meeting.

Research and Statistics in the ELHE Specialization

For the EdD, 12 hours of doctoral-level research and statistics courses are required.  Two courses are required for all students

Six additional hours of research and statistics electives will be selected in consultation with the advisor.

For the PhD, 18 hours of doctoral-level research and statistics courses are required. Four courses are required for all students

Six additional hours of research and statistics electives will be selected in consultation with the advisor.

 PhD students are required to complete a minimum of 6 credit hours of on campus Research Residency Seminars.  In consultation with the advisor and the supervisory committee, Research Residency Seminars (EDAD 995) may be taken as Electives or as Research/Statistics Electives.

Dissertations in the ELHE Specialization

Doctoral dissertations are written documents that report a student’s research. The Department of Educational Administration requires a dissertation for both the EdD and the PhD degree. The EdD dissertation should be focused on a problem of practice.  The PhD dissertation is expected to add to the knowledge base of its topical domain.

The subject of the dissertation is chosen by mutual agreement between the student and supervisory committee chair and must be approved by the student’s Supervisory Committee. There is no fixed length for the dissertation, although the doctoral Supervisory Committee should provide guidance on format and content.

EdD students must complete 12 credit hours of dissertation (EDAD 999). PhD students must complete 15 hours of dissertation (EDAD 999).