Education (Ed.D)

http://www.umflint.edu/graduateprograms/education-edd

Education Department information  

The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program in Educational Leadership is designed to provide a post-Ed.S. (Education Specialist) education for practicing teachers and administrators. The 34 credit-hour, cohorted program coursework can be completed in 20 months plus work on a formal doctoral study dissertation, and is offered part-time in a dual modality of online and monthly Saturday campus residency.

The Ed.D. program is appropriate for educators who aspire to be curriculum directors at the K-12 level, administrators at the building level who are interested in a Central Office position in Human Relations, Finance, Curriculum, Assistant Superintendency or Superintendency, and individuals from both ranks with an ultimate goal of a doctoral degree.

The program offers several distinctive features which distinguish it from those of other public Michigan universities:

• Cohorted program
• Opportunity to specialize in Executive Leadership and Curriculum Leadership
• Comprehesive exams relevant to individualized dissertation research
• Mixed-mode format; online with monthly Saturday residencies. Comprehensive exams and relevant to individualized dissertation research
• Utilization of local (Genesee County) administration and curriculum experts
• Prepares the scholar/practitioner by combining scholarly work with real-world exposure and experience and authentic assessments
• Authentic key assessments

Admission Requirements

1. Completion of an Ed. S in an education-related program.
2. A minimum overall graduate school grade point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale, 6.0 on a 9.0 scale, or equivalent.
3. At least  three years of work experience in a P-16 educational institution or in an education-related position.

Admission decisions are made by the program director in consultation with the program faculty. The requirements above are necessary, but not necessarily sufficient for admission; admission is not guaranteed. Depending upon the program size in any given year, admission may be competitive.

Application Process

To be considered for admission, individuals must submit the following to the Office of Graduate Programs, 251 Thompson Library:

1. Application for Graduate Admission (available online at http://www.umflint.edu/graduateprograms)*
2. $55 application fee (non-refundable)*
3. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities where graduate work was completed as well as those where the bachelor’s degree was completed and/or work toward teaching and/or administrative certifications.
4. An essay of at least 1000 words describing the applicant’s reasons for seeking admission to the program.
5. A resume or curriculum vitae.
6. A scholarly writing sample in the form of a research paper of 10 or more pages or equivalent published research article that will be used to assess ability to perform scholarly research and writing.
7. Three letters of recommendation, at least two of which should be from the following: (1) professional peer, (2) professional supervisor, (3) community leader, or (4) graduate study faculty. All letters should speak to the applicant’s academic and leadership abilities.

*Alumni of a UM-Flint graduate program or a Rackham graduate program (any campus) may substitute the “Change of Program or Dual Degree Application” which requires no application fee.

Application Deadlines

Program faculty review applications twice annually after each of the following dates:

• April 1 (early admission)
• July 1 (final deadline)

A one-hour in-person or electronic interview may be scheduled at the discretion of the faculty.

Curriculum

The program consists of four components:

• The first component is a set of five core courses, totaling 15 credit hours.
• The second component consists of coursework in either advanced qualitative or advanced quantitative research methods. This component takes place in the second semester of study.
• The third component is an oral comprehensive exam (3 credits). The comprehensive exam is designed to check students for overall leadership knowledge, skills, and dispositions. The exam is taken after the first three semesters of coursework during the fall semester of year two of the program, while the candidate completes the School Law and Equity Issues course.
• The fourth and final component is the dissertation, which comprises the final 13 credit hours. Students take Dissertation I (2 credits) to define their problem statement and begin their dissertation’s first three chapters under faculty guidance as a cohort. The final Dissertation II (11 credits) begins as early as the spring of year two of the program and is the more typical independent work. It is expected that students will complete the final dissertation by summer of the third year. A fourth year is acceptable within the typical timeline. Extensions beyond this time must be appealed in writing and granted on a case-by-case basis.

Academic Rules and Regulations

See Education (EDU)  and Graduate Study  for additional rules and regulations pertaining to Education Department graduate programs.