The Doctoral Specialization in Educational Leadership and Higher Education provides academic preparation and professional development for those individuals interested in the study of educational leadership and higher education or those who aspire to leadership positions in educational organizations. This program is not intended for those pursuing administrative certification.

The Department offers a course of study leading to Ph.D. or Ed.D. degrees. Students seeking either of these degrees major in Education Studies. Under this broad major, EDAD provides the specialization in Educational Leadership and Higher Education and there are three concentrations within this specialization:

1. Educational Leadership
2. Higher Education Administration
3. Community College Leadership 

The program is described as an online program; however, all students are encouraged or required to travel to campus. The Ph.D. requires students to complete a minimum of 6 credit hours of on campus research residency seminars. Normally, all doctoral students will be on campus to present the dissertation proposal and for the final defense of the dissertation study.

Courses are offered on the regular semester and summer session schedule of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Research residency seminars are offered during the summer in a hybrid fashion (time-intensive on campus experiences followed by additional online content) to facilitate the on campus residency requirement. Courses are announced in the UNL schedule available online and students register for courses using the University web based enrollment and billing system.

New applicants should be aware that not all advisors can accept new students every year. We recommend that you contact the individual faculty members to learn about their scholarly interests and advising capacity in the course of preparing your application for admission. 

The application deadline for this program is January 15.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO START THE APPLICATION PROCESS

The following faculty members advise graduate students in the Educational Studies (Educational Leadership & Higher Education) program:

Dr. Elvira Abrica
Dr. Brent Cejda
Dr. Marilyn Grady
Dr. Deryl Hatch-Tocaimaza
Dr. Elizabeth Niehaus
Dr. Taeyeon Kim
Dr. Jiangang Xia
Dr. Sarah Zuckerman

Are you interested in our online programs?

The EdD with a Specialization in Educational Leadership and Higher Education is an online program. In accordance with the U.S. Department of Education's new regulation (34 C.F.R.§ 600.9) regarding legal authorization to provide postsecondary education through distance or correspondence education in a state in which it is not physically located or in which it is otherwise subject to State jurisdiction as determined by the state, the University of Nebraska monitors developments in state laws in every state. The most recent information on whether UNL is approved in your state can be found at the following link: 

http://online.unl.edu/About/State-Regulatory-Authorization.aspx

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).