Admission Requirements

Applicants are considered on an individual basis. Applicants must submit transcripts from the last 60 hours of undergraduate work and from all postbaccalaureate work. In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements:

• Baccalaureate Field No restrictions.
• Master’s Degree Required.
• Grade Point Average At least 3.00/4.00 for the final 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of undergraduate study and for all postbaccalaureate course work.
• Tests Required None.
• Minimum English Competency Test Score
  • TOEFL 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (iBT Test). Note: Total score is higher than the sum of the subscores; 60, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Writing 21 (revised Paper-Delivered Test), OR,
  • IELTS 6.5, with subscores of 6.0 for all four subscores, OR,
  • PTE-Academic 54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.
• Letters of Recommendation Three required attesting to potential for excellence in urban education leadership. These letters should address the applicant’s instructional performance, capacities to work effectively with adults, demonstrated abilities to learn and adapt in challenging situations, and intellectual strengths. Students are encouraged to submit one letter from a current supervisor and the others from current or former supervisors, colleagues, or professors.
• Personal Statement Required. Statement must respond to a prompt on the program website.
• Other Requirements Evidence of four years of teaching experience, leadership experience in educational settings, and an interview with admissions panel. Applicants must complete the application process outlined on the program website. The application is completed entirely online. Applicants must upload the following materials in the application system: a set of transcripts, a current resume, three letters of recommendation, and a personal statement as specified for this program on the College of Education website.
• Deadlines Applications are accepted no later than July 15th. This date remains the same for each application process and is not a rolling deadline. Admission and matriculation are restricted to the spring term, beginning in January.

Degree Requirements

In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, students must meet the following program requirements:

• Minimum Semester Hours Required
  • 76 from the master’s degree for a Certificate of Advanced Study.
  • 88 from the master’s degree for the EdD.
  • 104 from the master's degree for the EdD plus Superintendent's Endorsement, for which EdD is the required degree.
• Course Work

• Successful completion of all course work and the comprehensive exam below qualifies students for the Certificate of Advanced Study.
• Examinations
  • Comprehensive Written Examination: Required for EdD and CAS. Successful completion of the comprehensive exam is required for completion of the CAS and entry into the Research Project stage of the EdD program. No student with a cumulative GPA below 3.00/4.00 or with more than two courses remaining to complete will be permitted to take the comprehensive examination. The exam will include a review of a portfolio of annual performance assessments designated by program faculty. Students who fail to pass all components after the second attempt are likely to be recommended by the program faculty to the Graduate College for dismissal from the program.
  • Annual Review: Required. Students will be reviewed annually, in compliance with college policy on doctoral programs, to assess evidence of academic and professional progress. The annual review will include appraisal of student progress in course work and fieldwork, with attention to whether benchmarks are being met toward satisfactory completion of all professional endorsement requirements in the first 18 months of the program, and attention thereafter to meeting course work and fieldwork benchmarks toward completion of the doctoral degree. Revisions may be required in completion of some products as part of the process of juried review that leads to the Capstone Proposal and Preliminary Examination below. Failure to submit annual work products at a satisfactory performance level, as determined by the Program Coordinator in consultation with program faculty, will constitute evidence of insufficient progress through the program, leading to possible dismissal from the program. Due process will be observed to protect student rights and program integrity.
  • Preliminary Examination: Required for EdD. The preliminary examination is taken at the completion of all course work. The exam is an oral defense of a written Capstone Project proposal. The primary purpose of the preliminary examination is review and approval of the Capstone Project proposal for admission of the student to EdD candidacy.
• Capstone Project Required for EdD. Students must earn at least 8 semester hours in EDPS 591. The completed Capstone Project must be defended orally and publicly before a committee of faculty constituted for this purpose.
• Other Requirements All students must complete a training course sponsored by the Office for the Vice Chancellor for Research on the ethics of conducting research with human subjects. Students are required to submit an annual report of their academic and professional progress.

Interdepartmental Concentrations

Students earning a graduate degree in this department may complement their courses by enrolling in select concentrations after consulting with their graduate advisor. Interdepartmental concentrations available for this degree include:

• Black Studies
• Gender and Women's Studies