Educational Leadership
Designed for school administrators, the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership seeks to improve the quality of K-12 schools by preparing the next generation of principals to be leaders dedicated to educational excellence and equity. Graduates are empowered with leadership strategies that improve student performance in environments that are dynamic, interactive and culturally diverse.
This program is currently offered by NC State's Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development (ELPHD) in a cohort format on site at the Gateway Technology Center in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at North Carolina State University leads to district/superintendent licensure and is intended to prepare district-level school leaders who can:
- Provide sound instructional leadership at all levels;
- Use qualitative and quantitative data as a basis for school improvement;
- Effectively administer fiscal, curricular and personnel resources;
- Exhibit strong written and oral communications skills;
- Participate effectively in educational politics, policy analysis and development;
- Critically and strategically analyze school problems;
- Demonstrate effective leadership at the school and district level;
- Administer schools in a legally and ethically defensible manner;
- Demonstrate excellence in administration.
The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership requires core courses in educational leadership, research methods courses, an internship and a dissertation. Students must be officially admitted to the Ed.D. program to enroll in doctoral classes. Please be aware that a Ph.D. in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis is offered on campus in Raleigh, but only the Ed.D. leads to superintendent licensure in North Carolina.
This program may lead to Professional Licensure.
Eligibility
Applicants must:
- Hold a North Carolina Principal’s license or be eligible to receive one;
- Complete the online application to NC State Graduate School;
- Upload unofficial transcripts from each college and university attended (except NC State University). If you are recommended for admission, the Graduate School will request an official copy of your transcript(s) be sent directly to the Graduate School; do not send transcripts to the department;
- Confirm the submission of three letters of reference. One letter MUST be from your current supervisor. The application system will send an email directly to your references asking them to complete a reference for you. All references are submitted electronically;
- Submit official score report from either the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Test must have been taken within the last five years;
- Submit your professional resume (uploaded in online application system). Please be detailed. Be sure to include information on your teaching assignments (grades and subject), your leadership experiences, current work assignment, and your current supervisor’s name and contact information (phone and email);
- Upload your Personal Statement at the online application site. (As you prepare this statement, please reflect upon why you are interested in pursuing a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, what you hope to do with this degree, and why you are a good candidate for this program.)
Cost
This 54-credit graduate program leads to a doctoral degree. At 2019-20 tuition rates, the cost of the required courses is $462 per credit for North Carolina residents and $1,311 per credit for non-residents. Thus, the total estimated cost for the program is $24,948 for North Carolina residents and $70,794 for non-residents. See Online and Distance Education Tuition and Fees for cost details.
Plan of Study
This doctoral program requires a minimum of 54 credit hours beyond the master’s degree.
ELP 720 - Cases In Educational Administration
Units: 3
Utilization of case study and case simulation approach to study of school administration. Development and application of administrative concepts to simulated situations and to actual case histories. View of administrative process as a decision-making process. Student expected to make decisions after considering alternative courses of action and after projecting probable consequences.
Offered in Fall Only
ELP 724 - Contemporary Educational Thought
Units: 3
Reading and discussion of 20th-century works in educational philosophy. Consideration of such movements as pragmatism, reconstruction, perennialism and existentialism.
Offered in Fall Spring Summer
ELP 728 - School Law For the Administrator
Units: 3
Comprehensive study of constitutional, statutory and case law as related to elementary and secondary school administration. Emphasis on legal issues associated with governance, finance, property, personnel and curriculum.
Offered in Spring Only
YEAR: Offered Alternate Years
ELP 729 - Educational Finance
Units: 3
Historical and sociopolitical contextual analysis of underlying values, methodologies and policies associated with economic and financial planning of K-12 education [e.g., efficiency, equity, and liberty] and the economic and financial mechanisms used to generate, distribute, and expend revenues for educational purposes.
Offered in Fall Only
ELP 735 - Policy Research in Education
Units: 3
This course will draw on both classic and contemporary materials in educational policy research and will primarily focus on the substance of policy research rather than methodology. It addresses research pertaining to the foundations, implementation and evaluation of policy in all levels and sectors of the educational system. Major attention will be given to education in the United States, with comparative perspectives included.
Offered in Fall Spring Summer
ELP 751 - Politics of P-12 Education
Units: 3
Analysis of political interactions of individuals and groups in P-12 education, specifically, how politics shapes educational decisions within a federal system of governance. Topics covered include micropolitics and macropolitical systems at the school, district, municipal, state, and federal levels, as well as political culture, interest groups, advocacy coalitions, and institutions. Doctoral standing required.
Offered in Fall Only
ELP 753 - Data Decision Making for School Administrators
Units: 3
Understand the purposed and uses of school data for research-based school improvement. Understand different types of assessment needed for school and district-wide improvement. Develop models of administrative decision making incorporating key goals, resources, curriculum alignment, data, assessment, and evaluation. Doctoral student status required.
Offered in Spring Only
ELP 756 - Organizational Leadership & Mangement for School Leaders
Units: 3
Prepares district-level administrators to analyze the changing nature of the superintendency, including major management and leadership responsibilities and leadership approaches. Operational domains examined include school governance and organizational theory, school boards, school district policy, collaborative leadership, material and human resource management, systemic and sustainable reform, contemporary challenges, and personal practices management. Doctoral standing required.
ELP 757 - Research in P-12 Administrative Leadership
Units: 3
Apply theories of administrative leadership to daily practice. Understand, develop, and utilize theory and research in leadership to inform and improve practice. Analysis of macro and micro level forces impacting administrative leadership at the building and district level. Doctoral student status required.
Offered in Spring Only
YEAR: Offered Alternate Odd Years
ELP 780 - Evaluation Theory and Practice In Education
Units: 3
Review of educational program evaluation with emphasis on [1] theory and conceptual models of evaluation, [2] evaluation design, and [3] environmental practical factors influencing design and implementation of evaluation studies.
Offered in Fall Only
ELP 789 - Personnel Recruitment, Selection, Development and Appraisal in Education
Units: 3
Issues, models, theories, research and applications in the evolving field of educational personnel and human resources administration with emphais on recruitment, selection, and development.
Offered in Summer
ELP 795 - Special Topics
Units: 1 - 6
Special Topics in Educational Research and Leadership
Find this course:
- ELP 795A Leadership for School Improvement
- ELP 795D Human Relations: Communication, Culture, & Change
- ELP 795N Seminar in Leadership Studies
- ELP 795F Formative Ideas in American Education
ELP 820 - Special Problems In Education
Units: 1 - 6
Opportunity for graduate students in education to study problem areas in professional education under direction of member of graduate faculty.
Offered in Fall Spring Summer
ED 710 - Applied Quantitative Methods in Education I
Units: 3
This course is designed for educational researchers and leaders to gain experience with designing and evaluating research using a quantitative approach to answer research questions in educational research and policy analysis. Students will examine design issues in research, create data sets, develop research questions from data provided, use a variety of descriptive and inferential procedures to answer formulated research questions, interpret the results and write the results in the language of educational research. Restricted to doctoral students in Education or by permission of instructor.
Offered in Fall Spring Summer
ED 711 - Applied Quantitative Methods in Education II
Units: 3
Students will apply and enhance their quantitative skills through analysis of existing datasets. Course goals include practicing and extending Multiple Regression knowledge and skills, generating and testing hypotheses in a multiple regression framework, and appropriately disseminating results. Restricted to doctoral students in Education Research only.
Offered in Fall and Spring
ED 730 - Introduction to Qualitative Research in Education
Units: 3
Design of qualitative studies, conduct of field work including open-ended interviews and participant observation, analysis of data and understanding of theoretical and philosophical background of this research approach.
Offered in Fall Spring Summer
TYPE: Internship Course
ED 731 - Advanced Qualitative Research and Data Analysis in Education
Units: 3
Intensive course in the use of field-based and general qualitative research data analysis methods in the social study of education. The course is to help participants acquire skills and gain experience in using various methodological and analytical research techniques. The course emphasis is on the collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of qualitative data.
Offered in Fall and Spring
ELP 851 - Internship In Educational Leadership and Program Evaluation
Units: 1 - 9
Utilization of participant-observer role and required participation in selected educational situations with emphasis upon development of observational skills, ability to record relevant observations by means of written journals, skills in analyzing experiences identifying critical incidents and projection of events and consequences. Required development of possible alternative courses of action in various situations, selection of one of alternatives and evaluation of consequences of selected course of action.
Offered in Fall Spring Summer
TYPE: Internship Course
ELP 891 - Problems Of Research Design In Education
Units: 1 - 3
Provision of individualized but structured investigation of alternative problem definitions, research methodologies and statistical analyses for a problem of student's choosing, usually associated with thesis or dissertation. In small groups or individually with instructor, student consideration of research design, measurements and statistical analysis necessary to conduct research.
Offered in Fall Spring Summer
Find this course:
ELP 895 - Doctoral Dissertation Research
Units: 1 - 9
Dissertation research.
Offered in Fall Spring Summer
Find this course:
| Entry Semester | Application Deadlines and Details |
|---|---|
| Fall | December 9, 2019 for Fall 2020 |
Dr. Fran Riddick
Teaching Assistant Professor and Ed.D. Program Contact
College of Education
919.515.6901
fapiscit@ncsu.edu
Dr. Bonnie Fusarelli
Professor and Program Coordinator
College of Education
919.515.6359
bcjohns2@ncsu.edu
