Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership

The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership degree program at University of the Cumberlands prepares post-master's graduate students for "lives of responsible service and leadership." The two curricular options of the doctoral program - K-12 Administration and Academic Administration in Higher Education - are designed for practicing school administrators and aspiring college faculty members who wish to continue their full-time professional responsibilities while strengthening their knowledge base and skills as institutional leaders

Professional educators in pursuit of a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership will gain valuable insights into the leadership profession and will consequently make meaningful contributions as academic leaders in diverse roles and settings.

Ed.D. curriculum design and pedagogy are founded upon the conceptualization of educational leadership delineated by the Wallace Foundation studies, ISLLC 2008 standards, and guidelines for new or re-designed Ed.D. programs recently articulated by Kentucky's Education Leadership Redesign (ELR) task force.

Program Structure

The Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership program consists of sixty (60) post-master's credit hours designed to be completed over three calendar years. The design of the program includes several features for practitioners that enable degree candidates to complete all coursework as well as the dissertation while continuing with their full-time responsibilities.

Blended Course Delivery

Classes are strategically organized using a blended format of course delivery (36 hours on-campus and 15 hours online). An additional 3 credit hours are earned in an internship based in part in the candidate's own school environment, with the remaining six hours earned through the capstone dissertation.

Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission into the K-12 Administration Option in the Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership, prospective candidates must:

• have a master's degree in education, and preferably have a principalship or other school administrator certificate.
• have Kentucky Level 1 certification or equivalent courses as verified by transcript audit.
• have a minimum of three years of experience as an educator in schools.
• have a 3.5 GPA (on a 4-point scale) on all graduate work as verified by official transcripts.
• have earned within the past five years a combined verbal and quantitative score of at least 750 on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or a score of at least 450 on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT). Test scores older than five years may be considered if they are above 800 on the GRE and 475 on the MAT.
• provide a letter of recommendation and support from a school supervisor or administrator.
• provide a timed writing sample on the student's academic goals.
• be interviewed by the Chair of the Education Department and the Director of the Ed.D. program or their representatives.

Academic Administration in Higher Education Option

To be considered for admission into the Academic Administration in Higher Education Option, prospective candidates must:

• have a master's degree with a cumulative 3.5 GPA (on a 4-point scale) on all graduate work as verified by official transcripts.
• have earned within the past five years a combined verbal and quantitative score of at least 750 on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or a score of at least 450 on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT). Test scores older than five years may be considered if they are above 800 on the GRE and 475 on the MAT.
• provide a letter of recommendation and support from a school or college supervisor or administrator.
• provide a timed writing sample on the student's academic goals.
• be interviewed by the Chair of
  
  

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