Ph.D. Educational Leadership

Overview

The Ph.D. in Educational Leadership program is designed to provide students with a strong background in five domains: (a) leadership, (b) research, (c) policy, (d) ethics, and (e) diversity. As the highest academic degree granted by Clemson University, the Ph.D. is designed to prepare students to become scholars who discover, integrate, and apply knowledge as leaders in schools and post-secondary and community educational institutions and agencies. This is accomplished through close association with and apprenticeship to faculty members experienced in research, teaching, and a variety of leadership roles in the field of education.

A student admitted to the Educational Leadership doctoral program must begin course work within one year from the semester of acceptance or re-apply for admission. Students are discouraged from taking more than six (6) hours of doctoral course work prior to being admitted to the program (this does not preclude the use of courses completed in the EdS degree in educational administration).

Admission Requirements

Regular application deadlines are October 1 for Spring admissions and March 1 for Summer/Fall admissions.
Click here to check on the status of a submitted application.

• Baccalaureate and Master’s Degrees from accredited institutions
• Two-page letter of intent outlining the purpose for obtaining the doctorate and your career goals.
• Admission to the Clemson Graduate School
  • Meet all requirements of the Graduate School
  • Transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate work
  • Three recommendations that address the applicant's professional experience and scholarly potential
  • Current curriculum vita listing educational background, work experiences, professional service experiences, and other related experiences.
  • Competitive GRE score (within five years of application date)
  • Applicants for whom English is a second language must also submit acceptable TOEFL scores.

Program Requirements

In accordance with departmental policy, the program of study in Educational Leadership will include a minimum of 58 graduate level course credits beyond the Master's Degree and an 18 hour dissertation project including:

These required courses represent a basic body of knowledge in Educational Leadership. A student must demonstrate a proficiency in this material through the comprehensive examination. The following is a list of core courses:

Program Core-18 hours

Preliminary Core

• EDL 910 Introductory Doctoral Seminar
• EDL 900 Principles of Educational Leadership
• EDL 905 Theory and Practice in Educational Leadership

Candidacy Core

• EDL 988 Directed Research
• EDL 989 Advanced Seminar in Educational Leadership
• EDL 990 Clinical Research in Educational Leadership

Research and Assessment Methodology: 13 hours
(All courses must be approved by the committee)
Experimental/Non-experimental Research Methods in Education
Qualitative Research in Education
EDL 995 Directed Research
EX ST 801 Statistical Methods

Specialty Area- 18 hours
The field of specialization may be either Public School Administration or Higher Education. The courses for specialization should be selected in close consultation with the student's Advisory Committee. These courses allow the student and Advisory Committee to tailor the program to the unique needs of the student within the overall philosophy and structure of the program. An 18-hour minimum is required from the following listing of courses. Other courses may be approved by the department.

ED L 765: Assessment in Higher Education
ED L 800 Philosophy, Schooling, and Educational Policy
ED L 805: Advanced Educational Leadership: Theory and Practice
ED L 810: Introduction to School Building Planning
ED L 815: The Superintendency
ED L 820: Politics of Education
ED L 830: Business Management in Education
ED L 839 Research Methods in Educational Leadership
ED L 840 Field Problems in School Administration and Supervision of Instruction
ED L 850: Practicum in School System Administration and Supervision
ED L 885: Selected Topics in Educational Administration
ED L 915: Educational Planning
ED L 935: History of Higher Education
ED L 950: Educational Policy Studies
ED L 955: The Two-Year College
ED L 960: Legal Principles in the Administration of Institutions of Higher Education
ED L 965: Higher Education Finance
ED L 970: Foundations of Higher Education
ED L 972: Ethics in Educational Leadership
ED L 975: College Teaching 

ED L 976: External Effectiveness in Higher Education
ED L 980: Current Issues in Educational Leadership

Internship - 6 hours
The student is required to complete six semester hours of internship experiences which will be supervised by a practicing educational leader and by a faculty member. The internship experience is designed to acquaint the student with the practical applications of education theory. Based on a written description of activities, the internship experience must be a planned, extensive, and closely monitored opportunity for the student to work in a setting which reflects the student's long range goals. The student's Advisory Committee chair must approve the internship experience prior to beginning the program.

• EDL 985 Internship in Educational Leadership I
• EDL 986 Internship in Educational Leadership II

Cognates- 6 hours (18-21 recommended)
Cognates are courses from academic fields supporting students’ research agenda. As part of the program of study, each student must complete six graduate semester hours in a cognate area. All six hours must be from the same discipline and approved by the student's graduate committee.

Dissertation- 18 hours
EDL 991 Doctoral Dissertation Research

Additional Information

• FAQs (pdf)
• Ph.D. Process (pdf)
• Important Dates 2009-2010 (pdf)

Contact Information

For more information on:
The P-12 Focus: please contact Jane Clark Lindle (jlindle@clemson.edu)
The Higher Education Focus: please contact  James Satterfield (satter3@clemson.edu).