Doctor of Education in Educational Administration

Admission

An applicant for admission to the Ed.D. program in educational administration must submit

• evidence of having completed a master’s degree
• all official transcripts from institutions of higher education
• scores on the GRE
• three letters of recommendation from professors and/or practicing school administrators who hold state licensure

The faculty in educational administration select the most qualified applicants. Preference is given to experienced administrators who hold a master’s degree from an accredited university, with a minimum graduate GPA of 3.50. Faculty decisions are based on the total profile of each applicant. Any applicant who is denied admission may submit an appeal to be reviewed by the admissions committee and the faculty. Appeals must be in writing, explain the basis for the appeal, and include information not previously submitted.

Requirements

The doctoral program in educational administration requires a minimum of 63 semester hours of graduate work beyond the master’s degree as follows.

• Course work constituting common requirements in research understandings and skills, learning and development theories, and sociocultural analyses of education (15)
• Course work (excluding dissertation hours) in educational administration (18)
• A cognate component may be selected from outside the major to provide a broader base of knowledge, a supportive professional skill, or more sophisticated research competencies.
• Successful completion of a candidacy examination. This examination encompasses the common requirements, the area of professional knowledge, and any cognate. The examination is developed and evaluated by the student’s committee and combines theory, research, and practice. The examination may be written or oral or both, at the option of the department. A student planning to take a candidacy examination is required to file a letter of intent with the department chair, and should consult the department concerning applicable procedures and deadlines for such notification. It is scheduled with the permission of the chair of the student’s doctoral program committee, normally during the last term of course work prior to the dissertation, but may be taken during the semester before or immediately after completing the last nondissertation course in the graduate program. A student must be enrolled in the term of the candidacy examination. A student must be in good academic standing, both overall and in the Ed.D. program to be eligible to take this examination. A student who fails this examination may, with the permission of the major department, repeat it no sooner than the following academic term. A student who fails this examination a second time, or is not granted approval for a second attempt, will not be permitted to continue work toward the Ed.D. degree, and admission to that program will be terminated.
• LEEA 799, Doctoral Research and Dissertation (15)

If beyond an NIU Ed.S. degree, the doctoral program in educational administration requires a minimum of 33 semester hours as follows.

• Course work in research understandings and skills, learning and development theories, and sociocultural analyses of education (15)
• One other LEEA course (3)
• LEEA 799, Doctoral Research and Dissertation (15)