Educational Specialists/Doctorates in Education from CMU Off-Campus Programs

Ed.S./Ed.D. Program Requirements

Progress through the program is based upon obtaining satisfactory grades (a 3.25 GPA average overall), passing written and oral comprehensive exams, and completing a doctoral dissertation.

Ed.S. Requirements: 33 credits (completed fall 2009 – spring 2011)

Required Courses (15 hours)

The academic core component includes key areas of study for educational leaders: policy, law, leadership, program review, and research, providing a solid foundation required to meet the current demands in the field. The courses are designed to provide students with the expertise to examine programs, policies, and practice and adjust accordingly in educational organizations.

EDL 651 (3) – Program Review and Evaluation

EDL 700 (3) - Advanced Administrative Research

EDL 760 (3) – Leadership Theory and Practice

EDL 766 (3) – Advanced Educational Law

EDL 775 (3) – Educational Policy Analysis

Concentration (12 hours) Select from two emphasis strands

Students will select an area of emphasis in either P-16 Administration or Higher Education. The courses offered for the higher education strand include the opportunity to earn a college teaching certificate when 15 credits in designated courses are completed.

P-16 Administration
Higher Education College Teaching Certificate (requires 15 credits)

Capstone Project (6 hours)

Students may elect to complete Plan A or Plan B for the capstone requirement. Plan A includes 3 credit hours of a leadership internship program and 3 credit hours of an action research project completed in the field. Plan B includes 6 credit hours of study in which the student designs a research study which will include data collection, analysis, thesis, and oral defense.

Plan A: Field Based Project – EDL 699 (3) Leadership Internship; EDL 797 (3) Field Study

Plan B: Thesis – EDL 798 (6) - Thesis

Ed.D. Requirements (completed fall 2011 – spring 2013)

Research Requirements (6 hours)

The research component encompasses both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The competencies to be developed are essential to interpreting and evaluating research studies to be encountered in all course work as well as to completing the dissertation requirement.

EDL 800 (3) – Qualitative Analysis in Educational Leadership

EDL 801 (3) – Quantitative Analysis in Educational Leadership

Academic Core (15 hours)

The academic core component includes all of the critical areas of study for future educational leaders: foundations, organizational and leadership analyses, and the issues which change and dominate over time. The courses are designed to provide students with the underpinnings to understand and to act effectively upon the challenges confronting the educational organization.

EDL 815 (3) – Ethical Leadership

EDL 855 (3) – Organizational Culture and Change in Educational Institutions

EDL 860 (3) – Organizational Theory in Educational Institutions

EDL 899 (6) – Doctoral Seminar

Qualifying Exams

Students will be expected to take written qualifying exams upon the completion of their academic core classes. Qualifying exams will be administered in the fall and spring of each year. Comprehensive review of all program materials is completed with the successful defense of a student’s dissertation proposal. At this point, students are advanced to candidacy.

Dissertation (15 hours)

The student will complete three steps in the dissertation process:

the proposal review stage in which there is a formal defense of the dissertation proposal
conducting the research, analyzing the results, and writing the final document
an oral defense of the dissertation