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    Nov 23, 2024  
2023-2024 Graduate Catalog 
    
2023-2024 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Educational Leadership, Ed.D. (30-36 hrs)

Location(s): 100% Online


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Program Overview


The purpose of the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in P-12 Educational Leadership is to prepare professional educators to become change agents in the field of education and in schools. The program is fully online with coursework which will lead students through visionary planning, strategic utilization of resources, effective management and leadership, and practical application of research.

The doctorate is 30-36 hours above a specialist’s degree and cohorts begin each summer and fall trimester. 

Program Goals and Objectives
  • Effective leaders develop and articulate reasonable personal and school goals.
  • Effective leaders are instructional leaders and are knowledgeable about analyzing data, identifying, securing, and organizing appropriate resources for school reform (human, technological, etc.)
  • Effective leaders create nurturing and caring educational environments.
  • Effective leaders are knowledgeable about safe practices regarding ethical, legal, social, and political issues.
  • Effective leaders skillfully communicate with internal and external publics.
  • Effective leaders emphasize the importance of literacy.
  • Effective leaders skillfully practice leadership theories in real world settings.

Graduate Outcomes


  • Students will identify and demonstrate skills in building nurturing, diverse, and caring educational environments including students and teacher advocacy.  
  • Students will design an advocacy program that promotes active and positive working relationships between a school and the community.
  • Students will design a professional learning plan for professional educators (school and/or district) aligned to the Learning Forward Standards as required by Mississippi and many other State Departments of Education.
  • Students will design a technology plan after analyzing school/district data to organize resources the most effective and appropriate technologies to support learning.
  • Students will demonstrate the application of educational leadership content knowledge and skills through a doctoral comprehensive examination.

Program Admission Requirements


  • Complete and submit an online application to William Carey University graduate school admissions.
  • Pay application fee.
  • Hold a valid teaching license (provide copy) or waiver of licensure form completed.
  • Hold a specialist’s degree in a related field from an institution fully accredited by a recognized accrediting agency.
  • Have a GPA > 3.25 in a related specialist’s program.
  • Submit Graduate Record Exam score (competitive) taken within the last five years or approved writing in lieu of GRE assignment score from RSH 7020 or EDL 7890 in conjunction with completion of a Specialist degree from WCU.
  • Submit two reference forms from present or previous administrators who have supervised your work.
  • Submit a current resume that includes your leadership and community service experience.
  • No student will be admitted on a provisional or probationary basis.

Transfer Credit

Students may transfer six hours of approved coursework from an institution that is fully accredited by a recognized accrediting agency. Coursework used in a previous degree may not be used toward the doctorate.

Program Progression Requirements


To progress through the doctorate degree program, the student must:

  • Maintain a GPA > 3.0 for 30-36 program hours as outlined in the program of study.
  • Complete all required work within six years after enrolling in the program.
  • File with the coordinator of the Ed.D. program a signed program of study prior to completing 9 hours.
  • Only two grades lower than a ‘B’ are allowed. Upon receiving a second grade lower than a ‘B’, a student is advised to repeat one of the first two grades lower than a ‘B’ before continuing in the program. A student making a third grade lower than a ‘B’ will be dismissed from the program.
  • Pass a comprehensive examination, successfully defend a proposal, and obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
  • Progress to the research process, where one will obtain a Pass (P) or a Fail (F) for the Capstone I-IV courses (EDL 8210 , EDL 8220 , EDL 8230 , and EDL 8240 , if needed). Students must contact his/her chair and begin working with his/her committee after completing EDL 8260 Advanced Applied Research .
  • A grade of ‘I’ (incomplete) will be assigned only when unavoidable circumstances prevent completion of the work of the course on schedule and must be approved by the instructor and the academic dean. In order to be eligible for a grade of ‘I’, a student must be doing passing work, must have completed 80% of the required work for the class, and must provide appropriate documentation for requesting the incomplete. Requests are made using the Incomplete Grade Request Form obtained from the registrar’s office. When the work is completed satisfactorily, the ‘I’ may be changed to any grade assigned by the instructor. If a grade of ‘I’ is not changed to a passing grade by the end of the next trimester, it will automatically be changed to an ‘F’.
  • Successfully complete all dissertation requirements as per the dissertation guidelines, chair, and committee. This includes successfully defending the dissertation proposal and defense before the dissertation committee, having a GPA > 3.0, making revisions suggested by the graduate reader, and successfully submitting the dissertation to ProQuest.
  • Maintain continuous enrollment until the dissertation has been successfully defended.

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