Our graduate programs at Clemson University build on the rich experiences and expertise of faculty and students to provide an educational environment in which both groups share in research, exploration and inquiry. The result of this synergy is impact — on our community and beyond.
The Ph.D. in Educational Leadership program is designed to prepare education scholars, practitioners, and leaders across and for P-20+ educational contexts by engaging in the breadth and depth of theoretical and practical knowledge related to leadership, ethics, diversity, research, and policy. The program seeks admissions applications from current P-12 teachers and school leaders and higher education administrators seeking advanced education to continue in formal leadership and decision-making roles across P-12 and post-secondary contexts (i.e., schools, districts, state-level organizations, community colleges, technical schools, 4-yr colleges and universities, state and federal level, policy bodies). We offer two concentration areas, P-12 and Higher Education. Through association with and apprenticeship to faculty members experienced in research, teaching, and leadership, doctoral students in our program engage in rigorously informed inquiries centering contemporary problems of practice related to leadership and education. By choosing to apply to the Clemson’s Ph.D. in Educational Leadership program, prospective students are making the conscious choice to engage with nationally recognized education faculty who serve and have served as presidents of leading education associations, senior-level university administrators, journal editors, P-12 school administrators, and post-secondary campus staff and administrators.
Alumni of the Ph.D. program serve P-20 schools, community and state agencies, and institutions of higher education as ethical leaders providing research-based educational policies and services for increasingly diverse students and societies. Alumni also serve in leadership roles as faculty in schools and higher education institutions; as college and university deans, directors and presidents; or as principals, district office leaders and superintendents.
Introduction to the Higher Education Concentration
Clemson’s Ph.D. program in educational leadership in higher education focuses on developing professionals’ knowledge and research abilities in this applied multi- and interdisciplinary field. Because many of the higher education Ph.D. students in this field remain connected to their professional roles, this program is paced to accommodate each student’s timeframe while ensuring steady progress to degree completion.
Introduction to the P-12 Ph.D. Concentration
Students interested in the P-12 concentration have four options among their concentration coursework. Students may select a combination of coursework among courses for both higher education and P-12 concentrations. Students may also choose to obtain state of South Carolina licensure for work as school administrators at the building level, district level or both while enrolled in the program. Students who plan to obtain certification will take coursework with master's and specialist students, and must complete the state’s licensure approved program requirements.
Doctoral students collaborate with their advising committees to plan an individualized program within program requirements including courses and non-course milestones culminating with the dissertation. The overall design requires a minimum of 58 graduate-level course credits beyond the master’s degree and completion of 18 credit hours dedicated to the dissertation project. The categories of courses include a preliminary core, concentration core, research core, cognate, elective, research internship, candidacy and dissertation core.
The preliminary core consists of a minimum of nine credits completed within the first two years of enrollment, concluding with the preliminary exam, a non-course requirement. The doctoral advisory committee, in consultation with the student, uses the results of the preliminary examination to establish an individualized program of study, including a minimum of 18 credits of courses in the chosen concentration (P-12 or higher education), research courses and a minimum of 12 credits through internship and cognates. The internship experience focuses on a research-based approach to the common dilemmas of knowledge and practice in the applied field of educational leadership. Cognates are courses selected from academic fields supporting each Ph.D. student’s research agenda. Upon completion of a program of studies course work, students qualify as doctoral candidates by successfully completing the comprehensive exam. Doctoral candidates then complete nine credits of post-comps core in preparation for their proposal defense and then move to 18 hours of dissertation studies before defending their dissertation research. The timeframe for completing this program is controlled by Ph.D. students with support from their doctoral advising committees.
Admission to the Program
Applications for the Educational Leadership are accepted for the Fall, Spring, and Summer terms. Admission decisions are made following the deadlines below.
Application Deadline
All application materials must be submitted by the following deadlines:
Application Requirements
To be considered for the program, applicants must:
Additional information concerning supporting materials can be found at https://www.clemson.edu/graduate/admissions/preparing-to-apply/supporting-materials.html
Educational Leadership Ph.D. (minimum 76 credit hours)
Preliminary Core: (12 credit hours)
Required of All Ed Leadership PhD Students
EDL 9100 Introductory Doctoral Seminar
EDL 9000 Principles of Educational Leadership
EDL 9050 Theory and Practice in Educational Leadership
EDL 9110 Systematic Inquiry in Educational Leadership or EX ST 801 Statistical Methods
Concentration: 18 hours
The field of specialization may be either public school administration (P-12) 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.
Higher Education
Required of Higher Education Concentration Students
EDSA 8190 Contemporary College Students
EDL 9500 Educational Policy Studies
EDL 9620 Higher Education Governance (Required Core)
EDL 9750 College Teaching
EDL 9770 Diversity Issues in Higher Education (Required Core)
EDL 9800 Current Issues in Educational Leadership
P-12
Required of P-12 Concentration Students
Research Core: (16 credit hours)
Required of All Ed Leadership PhD Students
Research Internship: (3 credit hours)
Required of All Ed Leadership PhD Students
EDL 9860 Research Internship
Candidacy Core: (3 credit hours)
Required of All Ed Leadership PhD Students
EDL 9880 Directed Research
Cognate: (6 credit hours)
Required of All Ed Leadership PhD Students
Cognates are courses from academic fields outside of educational leadership supporting students’ research agendas. 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 credit hours
Required of All Students
EDL 9910 Doctoral Dissertation Research
Tuition and Fees
Explore information on tuition and fees using the Student Financial Services’ tuition and fee calculator. (Be sure to choose the ‘graduate’ tab at the top of the page.)
Financial Aid
For information regarding Financial Aid, please contact the office of Student Financial Aid.
| Boettcher, Michelle | Student Affairs |
864-656-1446 | |
| Cawthon, Tony | Counselor Education, Student Affairs | 864-656-5100 | |
| Croom, Natasha | Higher Education/Student Affairs | 864-656-1485 | |
| Hall, Daniella | Educational Leadership | 864-656-5091 | |
| Klar, Hans | Educational Leadership | 864-656-5091 | |
| Lindle, Jane Clark |
Educational Leadership, Ph.D. P-12 | 864-508-0629 | |
| Wagner, Rachel | Student Affairs; Higher Education | 864-656-5111 | |
| Wilkerson, Reginald | Educational Leadership | 864-656-3873 |
For more information on alumni news and events, please visit our Alumni Resources website.
For more information, please fill out this form or visit the Clemson University Graduate School website. If you have additional questions or need assistance, please contact Alison Search.
