Educational Leadership and Policy (PhD)
Department website: https://education.utexas.edu/departments/educational-leadership-policy
Students may choose from the following specializations: higher education leadership and policy, educational policy and planning, principalship and superintendency. Although each specialization involves unique coursework, a common core of knowledge is required of all students.
Programs leading to this degree emphasize preparation for a research career in which the graduate will add to the core of knowledge in the fields of educational policy or higher education leadership and policy. Programs are oriented toward theory development and the development of research skills in a variety of methodologies and include a strong secondary emphasis in a cognate field.
Graduate Handbook
Graduate handbook information is updated and maintained by each program. Graduate handbooks are available within each program's office and online. Please contact the program with concerns or questions.
Admission
Admission decisions are based on multiple criteria, including the applicant’s academic and professional qualifications. Applicants must have a grade point average of at least 3.00 in upper-division and graduate coursework. In addition, the applicant must be accepted into one of the areas of specialization listed above. The faculty for the specialization may establish additional admission requirements, such as the submission of an official score on the Graduate Record Examinations General Test, participation in an assessment center, personal interviews, or other evidence of the student’s preparation for graduate work. Information about these requirements is available from the department.
Students entering the doctoral programs should hold a master’s degree. The master’s degree need not be in education, but the applicant is expected to have knowledge of the history or philosophy of education and of human learning.
Total Hours Required: 60
Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Hours chosen in core areas that form the theoretical foundation for the study of administration | 12 | |
Educational economics and finance policy | ||
Educational politics and policy | ||
Organizational design and behavior | ||
Social and cultural contexts of education | ||
| Hours chosen in coursework unique to the specialization | 18 | |
| Hours chosen in (the minor) outside the College of Education but in areas supporting the field; nine hours must be in a single theme or discipline or must form an integrated sequence. | 15 | |
| Hours chosen in research methods courses, including: (Knowledge of basic statistics is prerequisite to some research methodology courses; this knowledge may be demonstrated by coursework (which may not be counted toward the doctoral degree) or by examination.) | 12 | |
| Quantitative Research Design and Analysis | ||
| Qualitative Research Design and Analysis | ||
| Epistemologies of Educational Research | ||
| The candidate must enroll for two consecutive semesters in dissertation courses. | ||
| Free electives: Additional coursework to reach total hours required. | 3 | |
| ELP 699W | Dissertation (must enroll for two consecutive semesters in dissertation courses) | 6 |
| Graduate Education Requirements | ||
| Graduate University Requirements | ||
| Total Hours | 66 | |
Additional requirements
At least 42 hours of coursework must be in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy. The student must be in residence as a full-time student for two consecutive semesters. Students may register for no more than 15 hours each semester and for no more than six hours each six-week summer term.
To be admitted to candidacy, a student must pass the mid-program review and a written and oral examinations in the area of specialization.
The focus of the dissertation must be in-depth, original research that has the possibility of creating new knowledge and understanding of a particular educational construct. In addition, the implications of the dissertation research should be much wider than a specific problem in a specific context.
The dissertation committee must be comprised of a minimum of four individuals. The chair of the committee must be a faculty member with GSC status in the Department. The second and third committee members must be faculty with GSC status in the Department. The fourth member is an individual with a doctorate degree who is not a member of the student’s GSC. The fourth member, if external to the University, will need to submit a curriculum vitae and communication indicating his/her willingness to serve on the dissertation committee.