Graduate program offered by the UNT College of Education

About

The Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership is a research-oriented program. The PhD program prepares individuals to conduct and evaluate research that will expand knowledge in educational leadership. Typically, the PhD student plans a career as a university professor, a policy analyst, or a research director in a state or local education agency.

Contact Information

For more information about the Educational Leadership Doctoral program, contact Dr. Robert Voelkel.

 

Apply

The EDLE program has a rolling application deadline for fall semester admission; however, to ensure your application can be reviewed by all faculty in a timely fashion, please get your complete application package to both the Graduate School and the EDLE program by no later than May 1. Any application materials received beyond that date may not be reviewed in time for acceptance in the Fall semester. Applicants must submit an application to the Toulouse Graduate School. GRE is not required for admission consideration.

Applicants also must submit an application portfolio directly to the Educational Leadership program office including the following: 

  1. Letters of recommendation from three persons who can provide evidence of the applicant’s reading, writing and critical thinking skills. One of the letters should be from a college or university professor familiar with the individual’s work, and one letter should be from a supervisor or mentor familiar with the individual’s professional work.
  2. A detailed resume.
  3. Documentation of having experience as a public or private school teacher at the elementary or secondary school level for a minimum of two years.
  4. A three-page personal statement addressing the applicant’s two most important professional achievements; the applicant’s career goals, and an explanation of how completing the degree in educational leadership will relate to those goals.
  5. A sample of his or her best written work in the form of a research term paper, a published article or book chapter, or a district agency report.

It is expected that applicants have had experience as public or private school teachers for a minimum of two years and will hold a teacher’s certificate.

As many as 18 hours of advanced study beyond the master’s degree or its equivalent at another institution may be accepted and credited toward the doctorate in educational leadership, provided the program coordinator recommends acceptance of the transfer credit to the graduate school.

  1. The time limit for doctoral credit applies to the transfer credits.
  2. The time limit for the degree plan begins with the date of the first course on the degree plan including transfer credit. The time limit for the doctoral courses is eight years.
  3. Transfer credit must be a B or higher.
  4. Courses completed at other institutions must be equivalent to the doctoral courses at UNT.
  5. In accordance with the rules of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, at least one-third of the semester hours required for any graduate degree must be completed in course work at UNT.
Courses

The following are minimum degree requirements for students in the PhD program.

Core courses, 15 hours

Research and statistics, 12 hours

Plus two courses selected from

Specialization, 24 hours

From the following three groups, students should select two groups. Four courses (12 hours) should come from each of those two groups.

Superintendent certification courses

Applicants must have principal certification.

Educational leadership electives

Outside electives

Courses from curriculum and instruction, counseling, language and literacy studies, special education, technology, bilingual or ESL education, public administration, business, or another area approved by advisor.

Dissertation, 9 hours