Admission Requirements

Applicants for admission to the Doctor of Education degree program must be in good standing in the graduate school of an accredited institution.

Admission to Graduate Programs does not imply admission to the Doctor of Education degree. Students desiring to pursue graduate work for which they have not completed the prerequisites will be required to make up deficiencies. Specific program requirements and details are outlined under the Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) section of this bulletin and on the following pages.

Applicants to the Doctor of Education Degree program must hold an earned master’s degree (minimum 30 hours) from an accredited institution and provide evidence of having sustained a superior level of scholarship during master’s and post-master’s level graduate work. Applicants must submit the following to Graduate Admissions:

1. A completed application for admission.  Applicants are admitted Spring, Summer, and Fall semesters.
2. A $50 nonrefundable application fee. 
3. One copy of official transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate coursework attempted to be sent directly from the institution(s) previously attended. (Graduate Admissions will compute the graduate GPA by counting all graduate courses completed, including any repeated courses.)
4. Two recommendation forms from professionals who can speak to the student’s ability to matriculate into this doctoral program and complete a dissertation. These forms will be reviewed by the doctoral faculty. An interview may be required. Recommendation by the doctoral faculty is required for admission to the doctoral program.
5. A two page letter of interest describing how the student is a good fit for the degree program.
6. Submit one of the following writing samples:
   • A two-page personal philosophy of leadership, citing three sources of reference; OR
   • A research paper demonstrating the student’s ability to write at the graduate level
     NOTE: The paper must follow the latest edition of APA style guide.
7. Resume or Curriculum Vitae

Center for Excellence in Education

The Center for Excellence in Education is a teaching and research center within the College of Education and Behavioral Science. The primary mission of the center is to coordinate the efforts of a diverse faculty in delivery of the doctoral program in educational leadership and to facilitate basic research on the improvement of educational institutions and enhancement of educational settings. The director of the Center for Excellence in Education serves as the director of the Doctor of Education degree program. Inquiries regarding this program should be addressed to the director.

Purpose of the Degree

The Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership provides the highest professional degree available in the field of education to students who aspire to administrative careers in either elementary, secondary, or collegiate levels. Although the degree requirements include a prescribed curriculum of required and elective courses, the doctoral degree is not awarded only on the basis of coursework completion. Following successful completion of the comprehensive examinations, doctoral students conduct a major research project resulting in the presentation and defense of the doctoral dissertation. This phase of the doctoral degree provides students with an opportunity to develop and demonstrate possession of skill in intellectual problem solving.

General Requirements for the Degree

Candidates must earn a minimum of 90 hours of graduate credit beyond the bachelor’s degree. This quantitative requirement is a minimum, as the quantity of coursework to be completed by each candidate is arranged individually by the advisory committee, subject to the approval of the Registrar, and may be modified both as to quantity and as to type during the progress of the student’s coursework.

Doctor of Education Core Courses

The Doctor of Education degree program consists of a core curriculum of 33 graduate credit hours, as shown below. This core curriculum serves as a common body of knowledge aimed at developing competencies in education leadership. In addition to the core curriculum, students complete a 27-hour concentration in either P-12 Administration or Higher Education Administration.

Advisory Committees

Advisory committees will consist of no fewer than three members who possess expertise in the student’s major areas of concentration and should be selected by the student in consultation with the director of graduate studies in the Center for Excellence in Education. These names will be forwarded for official appointment. No committee is considered constituted until final written approval.

Membership of advisory committees may be changed if either the student or a member of their committee feels that such a change is appropriate, and the requested change is approved by the Director of the Center for Excellence in Education. Such a change will only be approved in clearly unusual circumstances. If approval is given, the student will be notified in writing by Graduate Admissions.

Degree Plan

As the successful completion of 12 semester hours approaches, students should file a degree plan listing all courses completed and to be completed. This plan must be approved by the advisory committee and then submitted to the dean for approval. The dean will notify the applicant after the degree plan has been approved. Students will be permitted to register for more than a cumulative total of 12 semester hours only when an approved degree plan is on file.

Credit for Master’s Degree

The Ed.D. Program consists of a minimum of 90 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree, for those possessing a minimum 30-hour master’s degree. Although all appropriate graduate credits from master’s and beyond will be transferred to the Ed.D., all students must complete the doctoral block and dissertation which total 51 credits. Students enrolled in the Ed.D. program who receive four or more credits with a grade of “C” or lower, or a grade of “F” in any course will be dismissed from the program. Students will be held responsible for the content of each course placed on the program of study through written examination.

Doctoral Examination

The comprehensive Doctoral Examination will be completed in the sixth semester. A student will have a second attempt to repeat any failed portion of the Doctoral Examination. A second failed attempt on any portion of the examination will result in the student’s dismissal from the doctoral program.A student will have a second attempt to repeat any failed portion of the Doctoral Examination.

Admission to Candidacy

Students may apply for admission to candidacy upon satisfactory completion of the comprehensive examination. Students may not apply for candidacy while on probation or with a GPA of less than 3.00. Failure to maintain continuous enrollment constitutes immediate dismissal from the program.

Continuous Enrollment

Students must maintain continuous enrollment with their cohort through all ten (10) semesters of the program.

Time to Degree

All requirements for the doctoral degree must be completed within ten consecutive semesters from the program’s beginning. The first four semesters of the program are dedicated to the Doctoral Leadership Core. The remaining six semesters are dedicated to the Doctoral Research and Disserta­tion Core. The entire doctoral program must be completed in a minimum of 3.5 years. Time limits of progression to degree are strictly monitored. Students exceeding the time limit may petition the doctoral faculty for an extension. None of a student’s course work can be more than 6 years old, at the time of graduation. Extensions will be granted only when serious extenuating circumstances have occurred in the student’s life that limits their ability to complete the program within the prescribed time limit.

Approval of Dissertation Research by the IRB

Under federal regulation, all institutions receiving funds from any of 16 federal agencies, including USDA, NASA, NSF, EPA, Department of Education, and NIH, are required to establish institutional review boards to monitor all funded research involving humans. Human research is defined as any systematic activity involving the collection and/or analysis of data on human subjects for the purpose of advancing generalizable knowledge, unless this activity is specifically exempted by current federal regulations. It is the policy of this university to apply the regulations to all research and research related activities which involve humans, funded or not. Dissertation research involving human subjects is included.

Copies of the Arkansas State University Institutional Review Board Information Packet are available in the Office of Research and Technology Transfer.

Seminar For the Defense of the Dissertation Proposal

The dissertation proposal should be distributed to all members of the advisory committee at least two weeks before the date set for the defense seminar. After candidates have successfully defended the proposed problem, it is assumed that they will develop, with the supervision of the advisory committee, this proposed problem into a completed dissertation. The candidates will be notified in writing of their committee’s approval.

Dissertation Defense

Upon completion of the dissertation, an oral presentation of the dissertation research and results followed by an examination which deals with the dissertation and any other aspect of candidates’ programs which the committee designates will be held.

Arrangements for this examination will be made by the CEE. This oral examination will be open to the public.

Final Form

The completed dissertation must follow the style and format requirements of Graduate Programs as contained in the Guide to Thesis and Dissertations: Preparation and Electronic Submission. It is the responsibility of candidates to assure that the completed dissertation follows this designated form. Before submission, the completed dissertation must be approved by the entire advisory committee and the CEE Director, as listed in the Guide. At least three copies of the completed dissertation will be submitted by candidates. The bound copies will be held in the A-State Library. The Center endorses the use of APA as the approved style for formatting the dissertation. Any deviation from APA should be approved by the advisor.

The Abstract

Candidates will be responsible for the preparation of an abstract of the dissertation which will be submitted at the same time as the completed dissertation or project. The abstract must not exceed 300 words.

Deadline For Submission

The completed dissertation and abstract, signed by all members of the advisory committee, must be submitted to ProQuest by the deadline set for accepting dissertations. The date for each semester and summer term is given in the Academic Calendar.

Checklist For the Last Semester Before Graduation

In the last semester before graduation, candidates must:

• register for the graduation fee.
• file an Intent to Graduate Form with the relevant deadline.
• complete the final oral examination on the dissertation.
• submit the dissertation online by the relevant deadline.