Requirements: 66 Credit Hours
Unifying these diverse curricular goals is the concept of situational leadership. Such leadership is based on an understanding of andragogic research and sound theories of organizational management. However, these academic ideals must be tempered by the realities of experience and focused by a commitment to professional service to the community rooted in sound ethical principles. The Ed.D. and Ph.D. curricula are hence designed to mold general theory and knowledge into professional expertise and ethical practice.
Professional Sensitivity.
While the program’s schedule requires considerable independent learning and preparation on the part of the candidate prior to each session, the schedule nevertheless enables in-depth, active learning based on critical and reflective thinking. The format allows assignments to be handled comfortably, while candidates maintain their continuing professional responsibilities. The program is designed with an applied learning component that is an integral (essential) part of the established curriculum. This allows students the opportunity to apply their studies to their place of employment.
Course Scheduling.
Courses are organized so that those taken in a given term complement one another. In addition, courses are arranged sequentially from term to term in order to prepare the candidate for the major research tasks and checkpoints of the dissertation. Thus, embedded in the coursework of a cohort’s first and second years are activities intended to assist the degree candidate in exploring topics and research strategies for the dissertation. Students write drafts of the dissertation’s first three chapters in courses prior to enrollment in DSRT 930 - Dissertation . Because writing and analytical skills are necessary in the DSRT sequence of classes, they must be taken in the following order: DSRT 837 , DSRT 736 , DSRT 839 , and DSRT 930 , DSRT 931 , and, if needed, DSRT 931 may be repeated. It is required that students complete DSRT 734 and DSRT 837 before enrolling in DSRT 736 . EdD and PhD students are encouraged to complete DSRT 850 prior to DSRT 839 to provide them with qualitative methodology concepts prior to starting DSRT 839 . Moreover, administrative classes in the Core, specifically the Change Process, Leadership in Theory and Practice, Program Planning and Assessment, and Learning in Adulthood need to be completed before enrolling in DSRT 736 .
Second-and-Third Year Research.
During enrollment in DSRT 736 the student will formally identify a dissertation topic and write the review of the literature in fulfillment of the requirements for DSRT 736 - Dissertation Seminar . The student will write the remaining sections of the first three chapters of the dissertation and obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board while enrolled in DSRT 839 - Advanced Research Methods . Candidates for the EdD/PhD degree will then carry out their research during DSRT 930 and DSRT 931 .
Comprehensive Examination.
Candidates normally sit for the Comprehensive Examination while enrolled in DSRT 839 . The specific content, structure, and scheduling of this examination is determined by the Program Director in consultation with the full time program faculty. Tailored to each student’s program of study, questions on the Comprehensive Examination are generated by the program’s four content- related goals:
- To develop critical and reflective thinking to facilitate institutional problem-solving and organizational or college improvement.
- To nurture effective and ethical professional leadership at the college, organization, or unit-level.
- To strengthen the research, analytical and communication skills necessary for professional decisionmaking.
- To strengthen content knowledge in a specialty area.
The Comprehensive Examination is proctored and graded by contributing members of program faculty, with passing marks required on all sections of the examination before a candidate can graduate. Students failing the exam a third time must retake relevant courses. Once the student has successfully retaken relevant courses, the cycle of testing begins anew.
The Dissertation.
The dissertation is the capstone experience in the EdD program in Educational Leadership as it is in the PhD track in Leadership. A dissertation is a research-based project that must satisfy the program’s goals and be related to program assessment, or other themes stressed in one or more of the core classes as considerations for a dissertation topic. A full-time faculty member in the Department of Leadership Studies must have an interest in a proposed dissertation topic and assume responsibility for directing the study. Faculty biographies are available on the University’s website through the Directory.
The candidate must file intent to Graduate at the beginning of the term of intended completion; must schedule Oral Dissertation Defense at least six weeks prior to intended Date: and must file the approved dissertation with the Program Director at least two weeks prior to graduation.
Writing and Analytical Skill Development.
The doctoral program at University of the Cumberlands places a premium on helping students develop effective analytical and writing skills. As described earlier, Goals 1 and 3 speak directly to those important functions of the program. To help students succeed in developing those skill sets, a number of courses in the program have embedded assessments in them. The assessment process is designed to assist faculty in evaluating the program’s success in helping students develop their writing and analysis skills. Any student who has demonstrated deficiencies in writing or analysis skills will be required to participate in tutoring services. Students assigned to a tutor will be evaluated and presented with a remediation plan that must be satisfied before they can register for any or subsequent DSRT courses. Analysis skills refer to higher levels of learning as described by Benjamin Bloom in his cognitive domain. A basic restatement of one or even two perspectives on a topic is not considered sufficient analytical skills necessary to meet proficiency in regard to higher level analytical aptitude. Students must be able to identify distinct factors in complex issues, separate them, and then synthesize salient factors to arrive at a nonbiased evaluation of numeric data and other forms of evidence.
Remediation and Program Continuance.
Critical thinking and writing skills are essential attributes of successful doctors of leadership. Any of the EdD/PhD faculty can refer a student to mentoring. Students referred to mentoring must coordinate their entrance into and out-of-mentoring with the Program Director. Please note that placement in mentoring is not an optional assignment; it is mandatory. Only those mentored students who have successfully completed an individualized remediation plan will be allowed to continue beyond certain points in their respective programs. For instance, provisionally admitted students who were referred to tutoring cannot register for more than 12 hours until they have met their individualized remediation requirements. Other students referred to remediation may not register for DSRT 930 until they have satisfied their remediation plan.
Program Structure
The PhD track in leadership is generally seen as more theory and research intensive than a practitioner’s degree, such as an EdD. Students pursuing the PhD in Leadership must complete the curriculum established for the EdD in educational leadership plus six additional hours which includes one additional leadership course and an additional advanced research course. The PhD in Leadership, therefore, requires a minimum of 66 hours beyond the master’s degree. Although a PhD student may pursue applied research as a dissertation topic, it is expected that an approved dissertation will be built upon a more thorough theoretical foundation than a similar project that culminates in an EdD dissertation. As a leadership program, a dissertation topic must satisfy the program’s goals and appeal to its philosophy; program assessment, or other themes stressed in one or more of the core classes, may also be considered as a dissertation topic. A full-time faculty member in the Department of Leadership Studies must have an interest in a proposed dissertation topic and assume responsibility for directing the study.
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