Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership with a Specialization in Curriculum and Instruction
Program Goals
Upon completion of all program requirements of the Doctorate in Education in Curriculum and Instruction degree, learners will be able to:
- Evaluate and improve instructional and organizational processes through research-based decisions.
- Support and enhance the educational process through instructional leadership.
- Influence policy decisions within educational settings with knowledge of social theories, historical perspectives, and political issues.
- Design, develop, and implement curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessment tools to enhance learning.
- Create and implement sound curricular models by synthesizing research, theory, and experience.
Program Structure
The Ed.D/CI program is consistent with the University's mission to educate working adults to achieve their professional goals and to improve the quality of education in their communities. The program is designed to emphasize curricular leadership and to focus on applied research that improves instruction and educational outcomes.
The Ed.D/CI program has a 62-credit requirement that involves both residency and online modalities of instruction. The majority of the program will be delivered in an online, virtual classroom setting. In these courses, learners will work in a cohort of approximately 12 peers and be required to spend approximately 25 hours per week on required course work.
Courses offered during residency sessions cover a variety of areas essential to the successful completion of this advanced degree program, including insights into dissertation preparation. Additionally, in the third year residency, learners will apply their knowledge to a comprehensive, collaborative case study. This case study is the University's vehicle for assessing programmatic learning. Because of the nature and value of the information presented in the residency environment, learners must attend all residency sessions.
The most important milestone of the Ed.D/CI degree is the successful completion and oral defense of a significant, substantial, and independently completed doctoral dissertation that adds new information to the body of educational/instructional leadership knowledge. The dissertation provides the learner an opportunity to demonstrate mastery of germinal and current literature and express their competence in applying learning to actual organizational issues. To ensure the quality of this effort, the program's curriculum is designed to develop the learner's ability to create original solutions to complex issues and to carefully identify and apply the most appropriate research methodology for addressing these issues.
Because of the highly independent nature of the program, learners must be self-disciplined and exceedingly motivated to earn this degree.