Higher Education Administration, Ph.D. (75 hrs)

Location(s): Hybrid

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Program Overview

The purpose of the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in higher education administration is to prepare candidates to be successful leaders in post-secondary institutions through visionary planning, strategic utilization of resources, effective management and leadership, and practical application of research.

Classes are offered in a combination of in-person, online, and hybrid formats, making it ideal for the working student who wants to take their education to the next level. William Carey uses Canvas as the learning management system for online coursework.

Goals and Objectives

The vision and values are instilled through the following principles:

Effective institutional leaders will demonstrate knowledge of higher education history and foundations.
Effective institutional leaders will understand legal and ethical issues related to higher education.
Effective institutional leaders will understand the role and importance of curriculum in students’ lives.
Effective institutional leaders will analyze current trends in higher education and understand how it might impact their institutions, faculty, staff, and students.
Effective institutional leaders will understand finance and budgeting, and how to maintain financially solvent institutions.
Effective leaders will understand the importance of the role of the two-year colleges in higher education.
Effective leaders will understand relevant leadership theories and practices in higher education.
Effective leaders will understand how to conduct quality research and use current research to make informed decisions for their institutions.

Program Admission Requirements

Students are admitted to the Ph.D. program as a cohort class when a sufficient applicant pool is available. Admission requirements are competitive, and no students will be admitted on a provisional or probationary basis. Because students earn a specialist’s degree as they progress through the Ph.D. program, the education specialist’s degree in higher education administration awarded from William Carey University will be accepted as credit toward the higher education administration doctoral degree.

To fulfill requirements for admission to the Ph.D. in higher education administration, the student must:

Meet the university’s general requirements for graduate admission.
Have completed the specialist’s degree in higher education administration awarded from William Carey University or a master’s degree from a recognized accredited institution.
Present evidence of acceptable scholarship with a GPA > 3.25 on the higher education administration specialist’s degree or master’s-level coursework.
Submit two written letters of recommendation: one from a professor and one from a supervisor.
Submit a resume or curriculum vita to the higher education administration program coordinator.
Complete an interview conducted by the higher education administration doctoral admissions committee.
Submit Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores earned within the past five years of application submission date. These scores must include the quantitative, verbal, and written components.

Transfer Credit

Students may transfer up to nine hours of course credit (including courses transferred into the specialist’s program) from a regionally accredited institution that has not been used toward a previous degree. The transfer course work must be relevant, comparable, and possess content and instructional rigor equivalent to that offered by WCU’s higher education administration program and approved by the program coordinator and dean of education. Only credits earned with grades of ‘B’ or higher and no more than six years old at the time of admission may be transferred from another institution into the higher education administration program.

Program Progression and Graduation Requirements

Program Progression

The academic requirements for the Ph.D. in higher education administration include successful program progression and graduation requirements. The program progression requirements are as follows:

Must maintain a GPA > 3.0.
Must complete all required program work within a period of six years after enrolling in the higher education administration program. If the student has already completed a specialist’s degree in higher education administration, the student will have three years to complete coursework and the dissertation.
A signed program of study must be filed prior to completing nine hours.
Students may only have one replacement grade. This includes specialist and doctoral-level coursework. Other courses may be retaken and averaged in the student’s GPA. Students who make more than two ‘C’s or below in the program (this includes specialist and doctoral coursework) will be dismissed from the program.

Graduation Requirements

The academic requirements for the Ph.D. in higher education administration degree include successful completion of the specialist’s degree in higher education administration, doctoral coursework, comprehensive examination, and dissertation. In addition, there is a GPA requirement. Specifically, to meet the graduation requirements of the doctoral program, the student must:

Complete 75 program hours as outlined in the program of study.
Pass a written comprehensive examination.
Successfully complete all dissertation requirements as per the dissertation guidelines, chair, and committee. This includes successfully defending the dissertation proposal and final defense before the dissertation committee.
Have a cumulative GPA > 3.0.
Must maintain continuous enrollment until degree is completed.

Program of Study (75 hrs)

Higher Education Administration (21 hrs)

Research Courses (15 hrs)

Proficiency Area (6 hrs)

In consultation with and of the program advisor, complete one of the following options.

Instructional Design/Applications in Technology - 6 hrs (> 600-level)
Research/Statistics - 6 hrs (> 600-level)
Other Approved Area - 6 hrs (> 600-level)

For each of the above options, the six hours must be in the same discipline.

Elective (3 hrs)

Must be a single > 600-level course selected with advisor approval.

Optional Cognate Content Area (18+ hrs)

Students may take hours in a discipline-specific area for the purpose of content credentialing. The student will select courses with advisor approval. All courses must be > 600-level.

Comprehensive Examination

The student will take and successfully pass a comprehensive examination after completing the doctoral coursework. It is the student’s responsibility to see his/her advisor to schedule a test time.

Dissertation Requirement (12 hrs)

The student must take 12 hours of dissertation study. It is recommended that the student take three hours each over four trimesters, and the student must be enrolled in dissertation hours the trimester he/she successfully defends. The student must successfully defend the dissertation proposal and the final study results after data are collected. The student will receive specific dissertation requirements from the program coordinator and dissertation chair.

EDH 8800 - Dissertation 1-12 hrs (12 hrs required)