Instructional Leadership Ph.D.

60 Credits

The PhD in Instructional Leadership prepares professors, researchers, practice educators, and educational leaders to use and contribute to the knowledge of teaching and learning. The target audience of the program are learners, at a distance, who come prepared with a master’s or advanced practice/clinical doctorate. The program requires the student to successfully complete a minimum of 42 credits of graduate work beyond the master’s or advanced practice/clinical doctorate and to plan, execute, and defend a dissertation (18 credits).

Students will:

• Demonstrate the ability to advance knowledge through scholarship
• Design and implement curriculum and instruction
• Evaluate and improve instructional quality
• Promote a positive and inclusive learning environment through best practices, leadership, and innovation

Students will be admitted to candidacy after successfully completing comprehensive examinations at the completion of coursework. Students, with the guidance of a dissertation committee, will plan, execute, and defend a dissertation in an area reflective of the program’s learning outcomes. Students are expected to complete coursework within 7 years of admission, complete the entire degree program within 9 years, and maintain a 3.0 GPA throughout the degree program.