Doctor of Education in Leadership

Designed for the experienced and practicing professional, the Doctor of Education program offers opportunities for leaders inside or outside the PK-12 school system. The on-campus cohort program for leaders in education, government, corporate settings, and human service organizations includes advanced formal study and applied practical study of educational leadership theories, systems leadership skills, and applied research methodologies. The program enrolls 18-25 students in a two-year doctoral cohort.

Distinguishing Characteristics

  • Leadership Development
  • Systems Thinking
  • Student-Centered Learning
  • Technology Enhanced Learning
  • Lifelong Learning
  • Field-Based Learning
  • Practitioner Collaboration
  • Diversity
  • Quality
  • Integration of Teaching, Scholarship, and Service
  • Relationship-Grounded Model
 

Program Outcomes

  • Enhanced personal vision of education and educational leadership
  • Enhanced ability to learn and work in groups
  • Become a member of a cohort network and professional support group
  • Learn to lead, develop, and sustain learning communities
  • Increased understanding of the importance of theory and research to the worlds of practice and evaluation
  • Increased practical and theoretical depth (through independent study and research)
  • Enhanced personal ability and disposition to be a lifelong learner

 

The general curriculum plan (of seminars in current topics and courses in foundations, leadership, and research methods) is designed to allow flexibility and choice. Doctoral students are required to develop and explore personal interests and to pursue individual career/educational goals. The focus is upon learning activities and personal growth, not upon prescribed content mastery. Quality is maintained by rigorous class expectations, group and individual papers and presentations, cohort dialogue and team learning/evaluation, reflective responses, comprehensive examinations, and the dissertation.

Program Requirements

The SOE doc program requires a total of 60 graduate credits, including a masters degree and at least two courses in research methods, before admission to cohort study. (The 60 hours is expected to constitute a coherent body of study related to educational leadership.) Students must complete a 30-credit-hour (including dissertation studies) doctoral cohort experience with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Students must also have satisfactory performance on the Comprehensive Examination and continuous registration until the dissertation is successfully defended. Finally, students must satisfactorily complete and defend a doctoral dissertation within ten years of beginning doctoral studies.

Program Admission

Admission Statement

  • Designed for the experienced professional, the Doctor of Education offers opportunities for professionals in education, government, corporate human resource development, and human service organizations to do advanced formal study of their profession. The program offers broad studies in leadership and research.
  • Students should have completed 60 graduate hours, including a Master's degree, prior to being admitted to the doctoral program. At least 12 hours must have been completed within the last ten years. Occasionally a student is admitted to the program with fewer than 60 credits beyond the Bachelor's, but additional work is then required before or during the doctoral cohort program. Completion of the doctoral program requires a minimum of 90 credit hours beyond the Bachelor's degree.
  • Formal doctoral study constitutes a minimum of 30 credits in a cohort core program for which there are no transfer hours permitted. The doctoral core is taken as a block and fulfills the residency requirements for the doctoral program.
  • A cohort of 18-25 students is admitted every other year (on even numbered years). It is assumed that everyone admitted will be be able to access and use the web.
  • Students will register for six hours of credit (two courses) during the fall and spring semesters of 2008-2009 and for three hours of credit (one course) each semester and summer session thereafter until the program is completed.
  • Students must complete their studies, including dissertation, within 10 years of admission.
  • The next available cohort begins classes in the fall semester of 2008.

Admission Process

Applications for the 2010 cohort are due by December 1, 2009. New admissions decisions will be announced by March 1, 2010.

Late applications will be considered only under special circumstances. Materials should be obtained from and submitted to:

Office of Graduate Admission
Drake University
2507 University Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50311

The formal application requires the following information and documents:

  1. Completion of the Drake University Application for Graduate Admissions form.
  2. Evidence of a completed Master's degree from an accredited institution and official transcripts for all post-secondary education. Applicant must have achieved an undergraduate grade point average 2.5 or better and a graduate grade point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale. Transcripts and other supporting materials are not returned to the applicant and become the property of Drake University.
  3. Evidence of a Miller Analogies Test (MAT) score of 43 (for exams taken before October 2004) or 400 (for exams taken after October 2004); or a Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score of 1,000 (combined quantitative and verbal scores) or better. The Drake Writing Competency Exam is not an acceptable testing option for this program.
  4. Evidence of significant scholarly accomplishment, either a completed Master's thesis or other written product(s) that demonstrate ability to write clearly and coherently and to develop a thesis or an idea.
  5. A letter requesting admission, including reasons for pursuing the doctoral degree, an overview of professional background and goals, and a discussion of professional philosophy.
  6. Three letters of recommendation -- One from a current or recent employer and two from other qualified individuals who have first-hand knowledge of the applicant's professional abilities.

 

Not all qualified applicants can be admitted. Final admission decisions are based upon multiple criteria, including a range of applicant characteristics and the ability of the program to serve the applicant's needs.

Program Courses

DOC 301: Doctoral Seminar (3 credit hours)
First semester of a two-semester study and analysis of practice-based issues. This course will explore systems thinking and the building of learning communities with an emphasis on foundations as studied in DOC 350.

DOC 302: Doctoral Seminar (3 credit hours)
Second semester of a two-semester study and analysis of practice-based issues. This course will explore individual and ethical responsibilities in learning communities with an emphasis on leadership theories as studied in DOC 345.

DOC 305: Quantitative Methods (3 credit hours)
Rationale and application of quantitative methods commonly used in educational research.

DOC 306: Qualitative Methods (3 credit hours)
Principles of methodology associated with qualitative research in education; critiquing, planning, and conducting qualitative research.

DOC 345: Advanced Leadership (3 credit hours)
A study of major theories of leadership and organizational design.

DOC 350: Advanced Foundations (3 credit hours)
Study of philosophical, psychological and technological foundations of education, with an emphasis on theories of teaching, curriculum, counseling, adult education, research, and leadership.

DOC 398: Directed Research (3 credit hours)
Required in each of the last two semesters. Students will work with their dissertation advisor and the course instructor to develop a dissertation research proposal, to carry out the research, and to prepare the final dissertation report.

DOC 399: Dissertation (variable credit hours)
Required in each of the last two semesters and following semesters until completion of the dissertation. Course credit is not earned until the dissertation is completed and successfully defended.

For more information, contact

Dr. Catherine Gillespie
Director, 2010 Doctoral Cohort
catherine.gillespie@drake.edu
515-271-4602

Office of Graduate Admission
Drake University
2507 University Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50311
515-271-3871 or 1-800-44-DRAKE, ext. 3871
gradadmission@drake.edu