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APS.EDDEDL - Doctor of Education - Major in Educational Leadership

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Program Description

The Doctor of Education degree with a major in Educational Leadership is a practical, terminal degree that provides an advanced graduate education for students seeking educational positions including teaching and administration in higher or P-12 education, educational policy, education/training in businesses, consulting, or action research.

Through this program students will acquire the skill to lead various types of educational organizations. Learning will occur through coursework that includes theory and practice, research for a practical capstone project, and completion of an action research dissertation. By the end of the program, students will have gained the knowledge, skills, and confidence to be a successful leader and action researcher in their field.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, candidates will be able to:

  • Apply various leadership models in educational environments. 

  • Create organizational change initiatives in educational environments. 

  • Develop skills to lead educational practices across diverse educational settings. 

  • Communicate, in writing and orally, with diverse audiences about educational theories, research, and practices. 

  • Analyze current research, theories, policies, and practices in educational organizations. 

  • Create strategic leadership plans that are culturally responsive for an educational setting. 

  • Model Christ-like leadership through personal integrity, fairness, accountability, cultural responsiveness, and ethical/legal decision-making. 

  • Collaborate with various educational stakeholders in a variety of settings through teambuilding and conflict resolution. 

  • Apply biblical principles in reading, research, writing, and reporting. 

  • Demonstrate the ability to conduct high-quality action research in their field. 

  • Apply education history, learning theory, and cultural responsiveness to their learning and action research. 

  • Apply multicultural and/or global perspectives and solutions in action research. 

  • Demonstrate professional dispositions relevant to the field. 

  • Demonstrate the ability to write and communicate at the doctoral level.

Admissions Requirements for this Program

  • A master's degree in education (or related field) from a college or university that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by both the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Degrees must be verified on original transcripts sent by the institution directly to Indiana Wesleyan University. 

  • A graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher in graduate-level courses from master’s degree-granting institution. 

  • A minimum of three years of experience at an educational organization or related field. 

  • At least two letters of recommendation.

Additional Requirements for this Program

Process for doctoral candidacy:

  • Satisfactory completion of EDL-723 Capstone. 

  • Submission of all documents required by the Admissions Selection Committee. 

  • Approval by the committee for progression into doctoral candidacy at program mid-point.

*Note: This program is selective. Complete packets meeting all requirements do not guarantee doctoral candidacy.

Graduation Requirements for this Program

  • Completion of all classes with a minimum GPA of 3.25 and minimum grade of B- in each course. A grade of C+ or below will require the course to be repeated

  • Successful defense of doctoral action research dissertation and approval of written dissertation by committee chair.

  • Payment of all tuition and fees, including publication of APA-compliant dissertation to Proquest, is required to receive a diploma.

Candidates may participate in commencement after successful defense and completion of any post-defense content editing as approved by committee chair but prior to publication.