Doctoral Educational Leadership

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Graduate Programs and Requirements

Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
          Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) 

The Department of Educational Leadership offers a doctorate in education (Ed.D.). See the Graduate Advisement subsection for contact information.

For information on other graduate education programs, click here .

Graduate Admission Standards for Educational Leadership

General Admission Requirements

1. Completion of application and payment of application fee.
2. Receipt of one official transcript from all institutions attended.
3. Satisfactory performance on scholarly writing sample.
4. Two letters of reference. One must be from the applicant’s supervisor.

The admissions committee will evaluate each candidate on a case-by-case basis and may admit students whose qualifications differ from those listed or who have successfully completed a prior graduate degree. Applicants must meet ALSDE minimum admission requirements to apply for certification upon completion of the program.

Additional requirements may apply to specific programs.

Unconditional Admission

1. Minimum GPA of 3.75 on all graduate work if applying to the doctoral program.
2. Minimum of 295 (combined verbal and quantitative) on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or a minimum of 396 on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) (if applicable; requirement waived if applicant has previously earned a graduate degree.
3. Satisfactory completion of other admission criteria.

Transfer Credit

In traditional graduate studies, a student may transfer up to six semester hours of graduate credit from an accredited four-year college or university which has a state-approved graduate program in the major and in teacher education for degree programs only. Exceptions may be granted by the dean of the School of Education. Transfer credits will be evaluated by the educational leadership chair for applicability to the Samford program after application to educational leadership is received. For the interview with the chair, each graduate transfer student will be asked to bring a catalog from the college where the courses were taken. Transfer credits more than six years old will not be accepted. These policies apply to each graduate program.

Graduate Tuition Scholarships

Tuition scholarships are not available for doctoral students.

Retention and Completion

Students on the Ed.D. level must maintain a GPA of 3.50. All students must follow a prescribed course of study specified on their program checklist as approved by the Alabama State Department of Education. They must complete all work within six years. All graduate students in an approved program must take and pass a comprehensive examination for each certification area following completion of their coursework. All graduate students receiving initial certification must also pass the Alabama Prospective Teacher Testing Program (APTTP), which includes the appropriate PRAXIS examination. At the end of any semester, a student whose cumulative GPA falls below the required minimum (3.50 for Ed.D.) may not continue in the program. Any grade below a C- shall not be counted for credit and the course must be retaken.

Graduate Advisement

Frequent meetings with the director of graduate student services and program director are required throughout the graduate program. Registration and program of study will be determined by the director of graduate student services and program directors. Samford University complies with the requirements of the Alabama State Department of Education concerning the admission, retention, and completion of all requirements for students seeking Class A or Class AA certification.

Requests for information about or applications to educational leadership should be addressed to the Graduate Admissions Office. The graduate admissions coordinator may be reached at (205) 726-2783, and the office is located on the second floor of the Orlean Beeson School of Education, Room 210.

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

Curriculum

The educational doctorate (Ed.D.) program requires 66 semester credits above the master of science degree. Students first complete a 30-credit educational specialist program and then begin 36 credits of coursework for the Ed.D. degree. The coursework is organized in the following five categories as recommended by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE):

1. Instructional Leadership
2. Strategic Leadership
3. Organizational Leadership
4. Political and Community Leadership
5. Field-Based Research

A program leading to the doctor of education (Ed.D.) degree is offered in the area of educational leadership. The doctoral program is designed for students interested in leadership issues, as applied to educational institutions. An educational specialist degree from an accredited institution is required for admission along with other criteria designed to select those students who provide evidence of previous academic success, exhibit leadership skills, have excellent teaching and/or administrative abilities, and show creative energy for solving educational problems.

Admission decisions will be based on a combined evaluation of the candidate’s GPA or previous graduate work, results of a writing sample, written recommendations, and a personal interview.

Admission Criteria

1. Completion of application and submission of application fee
2. Graduate GPA of 3.75 or higher
3. One copy of all transcripts
4. Disposition recommendation from supervisor
5. Letter of recommendation
6. Writing sample
7. Résumé or curriculum vitae
8. Interview
9. Earned Ed.S. in educational field

Programs

• Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

Courses

• EDLD 731 - Educational Policy Development and Analysis: The Political Dimension of Schooling (3)
• EDLD 732 - Foundations of Educational Inquiry (3)
• EDLD 733 - Field-Based Inquiry: Authentic Problems of Practice (3)
• EDLD 734 - Strategic Planning (3)
• EDLD 735 - Ethical Issues in Education: The Moral Dimension of Schooling (3)
• EDLD 737 - Organizational Dynamics: Creating the School of the Future (3)
• EDLD 738 - The Learning Organization (3)
• EDLD 739 - Foundation of Qualitative Inquiry (3)
• EDLD 741 - Directed Doctoral Study (2)
• EDLD 742 - Dissertation Research (1)
• EDLD 743 - Seminar in Educational Leadership (1)
• EDLD 744 - The Emerging School Superintendency: The Practice of Paradoxical Leadership (3)
• EDLD 745 - The Art and Practice of Negotiation & Conflict Resolution (3)
• EDLD 746 - Behavioral Research and Statistics (3)
• EDLD 750 - Ed.D. Dissertation Manuscript Seminar (3)