Admission
Please refer to “The Graduate Admissions Process” section for general graduate admission information. For admission to the Doctor of Education program, applicants must satisfactorily complete credential screening and a committee interview, including a written component. All applicants must also submit the following:
- Completed graduate (Ed.D.) application accompanied by a non-refundable application fee.
- Official transcripts from a regionally accredited college or university verifying completion of a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Send official transcript(s) directly to Wilmington University Graduate Admissions Office from the identified college or university.
- Official (and complete) score reports demonstrating mastery of general knowledge, including the ability to read, write, and compute. This requirement can be met by providing an official score report showing scores (including all sub-scores) on the ETS Praxis Series Core Academic Skills for Educators (ETS #5712, 5722, and 5732). Minimum acceptable scores are:
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Test
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Score
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ETS 5712 Reading
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156
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ETS 5722 Writing
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162
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ETS 5732 Mathematics
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150
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- Three letters of recommendation.
- Written statement of professional and academic interest and intent.
- Résumé.
- International students only: the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
All of the above documents should be sent directly to the Graduate Admissions Office.
NOTE: If the transcript shows a GPA that is less than 3.0 for the two most recent years of post-secondary education, applicants may still be considered for admission on the basis of SAT/ACT test scores and/or other factors as determined by the Office of Graduate Admissions in consultation with the Program Chair.
Purpose
The doctoral program facilitates the professional development of teachers, specialists, administrators, and other personnel committed to the concept that those responsible for the nation’s educational agenda must be innovative leaders. The program prepares students to translate research into effective systems of instruction, supervision, and leadership. It features a core of studies, a field component and a dissertation/capstone project. This program of studies meets the needs of public, private, and post-secondary schools.
The program format allows for completion of course work in just over three years, even though students attend classes only once a week. Courses may be taught in a “hybrid” format that includes both face to face and on-line instruction, Courses are taught by both full-time and adjunct faculty who are experts in their fields, providing an insight into innovative, leading-edge theories and practices.
Program Competencies
The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Innovation is designed to produce educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by:
- Facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a school or district vision of learning supported by the school community.
- Promoting a positive school culture, providing an effective instructional program, applying best practice to student learning, and designing comprehensive professional growth plans for staff.
- Managing the organization, operations, and resources in a way that promotes a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
- Collaborating with families and other community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources.
- Acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner.
- Understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal and cultural context.
- Providing significant opportunities for candidates to synthesize and apply the knowledge, and practice and develop the skills in Competencies 1-6 through substantial, standards-based work in real settings, planned and guided cooperatively by the institution and school district personnel.
- Demonstrating an ability to use information and information technologies to enhance the effective utilization and practice of educational research.
- Generating ideas, processes and procedures that are innovative and challenge the status quo of a particular group or organization.
Program Design
The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Innovation is designed to combine theory, practice, and inquiry to enhance students’ innovation and leadership skills. The program has three major features. One is a core program of 27 credit hours emphasizing Curriculum/Instruction and Supervision/Administration.
A second feature consists of field components with a maximum total of 9 credit hours and 360 clinical hours in a District setting. The field components provide students the opportunity to engage in problem-based experiences outside the college setting that complement their program coursework. The field component aspect of the program provides the opportunity for the student to apply the knowledge and theory learned in the core courses to the solution of specific problems in a school district. Students in the Educational Leadership program are required to take, EDD 8102, EDD 8103, and EDD 8104 as part of the field component. The third feature of the program is an applied research component consisting of the capstone project that serves as a culminating activity for all previously completed courses and the field components. Students can be raised to candidacy before beginning the capstone component of the program. However, students must have been raised to candidacy before they will be allowed to participate in their oral presentation of their projects.
Program Requirements
Students are expected to successfully complete the five following program phases:
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Phase I:
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Admission (completing the application procedures)
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Phase II:
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Course Completion (completing 36 credit hours)
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Phase III:
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Field Component Completion (completing 12 credit hours and 360 clinical hours in a District setting)
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Phase IV:
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Degree Candidacy (completing degree candidacy review which includes completion of Phases II and III, a written content assessment, all field component requirements and candidacy meeting with faculty advisors)
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Phase V:
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Capstone Project Completion (completing the Capstone Project and related oral presentation - 9 credit hours)
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| Phase VI: |
Completion of a nationally normed School District Leaders Licensure Assessment |
Course Requirements
EDD 9004: if needed - 0 credits, ½ tuition
The dissertation/capstone project will be supervised by a committee mutually agreed upon between the student and his or her advisor (9 credits). Students can choose from a variety of formats. However, capstone projects are expected to focus on "applied" research, i.e., a solution to a "problem of practice" in the workplace. Students do have the liberty to choose other options provided they have approval from their committee chair. An example would be a student who wants to conduct research on a historical figure or some aspect like literature, music or the liberal arts.
To qualify for the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree, a student must complete the prescribed 57-credit hour program with a minimum 3.0 grade point index. A culminating capstone project is required. Course work and the capstone project should be completed in just over three years. In addition, candidates are required to complete 360 internship hours over a three year period and a portfolio of activities that ties in with the CAEP/ELCC standards. During the third year a Content Assessment Test is given that also ties in with the CAEP/ELCC standards with practical applications and must be passed by the student. The entire program must be completed within seven years. If the program is not completed within a seven-year period, a petition for reinstatement is necessary. Students will need to formally reapply to the program if they have a leave of absence of more than a year. Students may need to re-take two of the Disciplined Inquiry course(s) to be reinstated if they have more than a two-year leave of absence.