Central Michigan University

Higher Education Leadership

A concentration in Higher Education Leadership allows students in post-secondary settings to choose course work to support career options in administration, faculty, or student affairs. A higher education policy class provides a foundation for this concentration and reviews current issues in higher education, in particular focusing on state and federal policies that impact all institutions of higher education. Students can choose from a large variety of course work to individualize their programs to best suit their professional needs.

Program Requirements

1. Research Requirements (9 hours)
• EDL 700 (3) Advanced Administrative Research
• EDL 800 (3) Qualitative Analysis in Educational Leadership
• EDL 801 (3) Quantitative Analysis in Educational Leadership
2. Academic Core (15 hours)
• EDL 815 (3) Ethical Leadership
• EDL 855 (3) Organizational Culture and Change in Educational Institutions
• EDL 860 (3) Organizational Theory in Educational Institutions
• EDL 899 (6) Doctoral Seminar
3. Concentration (12 hours)
• EDL 876 (3) Higher Education Policy
• Plus nine (9) hours of electives determined in consultation with advisor
4. Cognate (9 hours)
• The cognate, to be determined jointly by the student and advisor, can be completed in one academic discipline or by taking a combination of courses from more than one academic discipline.
5. Field-Based Experience (3 hours)
• EDL 880 (3) Doctoral Internship
6. Comprehensive Exams
• Students will be expected to take written qualifying exams upon the completion of their academic core classes. Qualifying exams will be administered in the fall and spring of each year. Comprehensive review of all program materials is completed with the successful defense of a student’s dissertation proposal. At this point, students are advanced to candidacy.
7. Dissertation (15 hours)
The student will complete three steps in the dissertation process:
1. The proposal review stage in which there is a formal defense of the dissertation proposal;
2. Conducting the research, analyzing the results, and writing the final document;
3. An oral defense of the dissertation.

Note: Students with an earned Ed.S. may be eligible for fewer than the maximum total program credits indicated if they meet university requirements.