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Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
The Ed. D. in Educational Leadership is designed to prepare educators for leadership roles at the district level. It consists of a set of integrated courses and experiences that provide an opportunity for participants to extend their knowledge of pedagogy and leadership, to enlarge their understanding of schooling, to develop an appreciation of the political, economic, and social forces that influence the decisions of educational leaders, and to gain extensive expertise in educational leadership. Students who complete the program, including the field experience, are eligible for a recommendation for district level licensure in Kansas and Missouri.
The program is constructed around a cohort group of students who enter the program and progress as a class through two years of intensive study followed by one year of electives and proposal development and hopefully completion of a dissertation by the end of the fourth year. Two courses are scheduled in 16-week formats during each fall and spring semester and meet back-to-back one night each week from 4:30 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. In the summer, courses are scheduled into 4-week blocks and generally meet three mornings each week. Every effort is made to schedule electives within the same time frame as the core courses; however, it is possible that students will have to take electives on other days and times. Course work in each term is sequenced to build upon the skills and knowledge acquired in the previous terms. Students may start the program at the Edwards Campus in Overland Park in odd numbered years (e.g. 2007, 2009) or at the Lawrence Campus in even numbered years (e.g. 2008, 2010) and complete all core course work at the same campus. Eight years is the maximum time allowed to complete the Ed.D.
The Ed. D. in Educational Leadership consists of a set of 13 specific courses in educational leadership and related areas, two research electives, a course in human development or educational psychology, and a one-year field experience, which is optional for those students not seeking district licensure. The research electives should be chosen in consultation with a faculty advisor to assist the student in preparing to write a dissertation. The course in human development or educational psychology may be one that the student has taken previously as long as it is a graduate level course from an accredited university.
The sequence of required courses and a suggested schedule for elective courses follow:
First Year – Summer
ELPS 956 District Leadership
ELPS 998 Seminar in Current Issues and Trends
First Year – Fall
ELPS 952 School Finance: Policy & Practice
ELPS 957 Educational Policy, Ethics, and Law
First Year – Spring
ELPS 954 Advanced Organizational Theory
ELPS 958 American Educational Reform Movements
Second Year – Summer
C&T (Curriculum & Teaching) 903 Curriculum Supervision
ELPS 951 Supervision of Instruction
Second Year – Fall
SPED 971 Organization & Administration of Services for Exceptional Children
ELPS 955 District Business Management
Second Year – Spring
ELPS 953 District Human Resource Management
ELPS 998 Seminar: Research in Educational Leadership/Dissertation
Third Year
PRE 710/711 Statistical Methods
ELPS 995 Field Experience (required only for those seeking district licensure)
Two Research Electives (if not taken in the first two years)
A course in human development or educational psychology (if not taken previously at KU or another accredited institution)
ELPS 999 Dissertation
During First One to Two Years of Employment in a District Leadership Position (for those seeking Kansas Licensure – not part of a degree program)
ELPS 993 District Internship
The two research electives may be taken at any time during the program. Students are advised that PRE 710/711 is a prerequisite for more advanced statistics courses. If students wish to complete statistics courses before engaging in dissertation research, they should plan to take PRE 710/711 earlier in their programs so as not to slow progress toward completion of the dissertation.
The core requirement for doctoral students in the School of Education includes courses in statistics or research, human learning or development, history, philosophy, or social foundations of education and general curriculum or general instructional strategies.
During the fall of the third year of study, comprehensive examinations are given. These examinations test the student’s knowledge of the areas of course work; their ability to reason, evaluate, and draw supportable conclusions within the context of each subject area; and knowledge of current issues and trends within the subject field as documented in the contemporary literature. Areas covered include: leadership and organizational theory, law and policy, curriculum and instruction, finance, and human resource management. Upon successful completion of the written comprehensive examinations, an oral examination is held which requires the candidate to defend the ideas expressed in the written examinations.
The final requirement of the Ed.D. is to write and defend a dissertation. Following completion of the written and oral comprehensive examinations, students must enroll each semester in ELPS 999 Doctoral Dissertation with a specific faculty member who has agreed to be the student’s dissertation advisor. A minimum of 18 hours of dissertation credit is required. The dissertation advisor will assist the student in the selection of a dissertation committee, the development of a dissertation proposal, and the completion of a dissertation based on the proposal. In contrast to the academic course work, which is designed to develop the knowledge base necessary for effective leadership, the dissertation’s purpose is to study one narrowly focused issue in depth. The student is expected to contribute to resolving an important problem or question within the field of educational leadership. The area of inquiry and method of analysis are limited only by the availability of faculty to sponsor the project.
The Ph.D. in Educational
Leadership is designed to prepare educators for professorships
at the university level or policy analysis positions in governmental
agencies. The program consists of a set of required and elective
courses. The required courses constitute a major in educational
leadership while the elective courses are selected to strengthen
the student's knowledge of research and statistics and a cognate
area such as law, business, or human resource management.
The courses in the major are taken within the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS)
Department. The elective courses are taken from other departments
both within and outside of the School of Education. Students in
this program design individual programs with their advisor and
are not part of a cohort group. Students may begin the program
at any time but normally are accepted in the spring and start
in the summer. Completion of the Ph.D. program does not necessarily
lead to superintendent certification. To obtain certification,
all the courses from the major listed below must be completed.
These additional courses may be taken during or after completion
of the degree program.
The core requirement for doctoral students in the School of Education includes courses in statistics or research, human learning or development, history, philosophy, or social foundations of education and general curriculum or general instructional strategies.
Five from the following list of courses:
A twelve-hour post-master's degree in a field outside of the ELPS Department is required for the Ph.D. Examples might include a minor in educational research, business, public relations, economics, psychology, or other leadership related areas.
To meet residency requirements, Ph.D. students must take 15 hours of graduate level education within two consecutive semesters in resident study at the University of Kansas, (usually 6 hours in the summer followed by 9 hours in the fall semester). During this period the student is be involved in full-time academic pursuits. This residency requirement must be fulfilled before comprehensive examinations can take place and is normally completed within the first two years of study. Most students elect to take at least two courses every semester thereafter to ensure that they can finish their degree in a timely manner. All requirements must be completed within 8 years.
* There are different residency requirements for the Ed.D degree, which include five options listed below:
With the exception of ELPS 996 College Teaching, which is offered only on the Lawrence campus, all the required courses for the major and the research courses are taught on a rotational basis at both the Lawrence and Edwards campuses. With careful planning, students can take virtually all course work for the major and research core at either campus. The location of courses needed for the minor concentration obviously depend on the field of study selected. Many business courses are offered at the Edwards campus in conjunction with the degree programs offered at that location. However, students in other fields might need to take courses on the Lawrence campus to complete the minor.
When the student completes the majority of all course work he or she is eligible to take comprehensive examinations. These examinations test the student's knowledge of the areas of the course work; their ability to reason, evaluate and draw supportable conclusions within the context of the subject area; and knowledge of current issues and trends within the subject field as documented in the contemporary literature. A portion of the exam will be devoted to the student's elective minor and research methods. Once the oral comprehensive examination has been passed, a student must be continuously enrolled including summers.
In contrast to the academic course work, which is designed to develop the knowledge base necessary for effective leadership, the dissertation's purpose is to study one administrative problem or specialty in depth. As a result of this independent study under the guidance of the student's dissertation advisor, the student is expected to generate original knowledge in a specialized field and contribute to resolving important problems or questions within the field of educational leadership. The field of inquiry and method of analysis are limited only by the availability of faculty to sponsor the project.
Download the Ph.D. Program Plan (word)
The University of Kansas' programs in educational leadership are designed for individuals with well developed academic skills and a strong potential for future leadership. Indications of high promise from all of the following categories will be employed in the admission process.
Formal application should be made online by following the procedure on our admissions page. Transcripts, test scores, letter of interest and statement of purpose for graduate study, resume or vita, letters of recommendation, etc should be sent directly to the department.
Applications for all three programs are reviewed in the order in which they are received beginning March 1 but will be considered after that date if space permits. For additional information please contact us.
