Simmons College

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The Ph.D. program in Educational Leadership welcomes educators committed to taking today's schools into the future with vision, strategy, and innovation. The program investigates both the theory and practice of educational leadership as candidates test and revise theoretical frameworks through practice and pioneer new practices stimulated by theories of and research in leadership.

"The PhD program provides a solid foundation for rigorous research and analysis, and encourages students to explore their interests and passions in the field of education. Students in the program have diverse backgrounds in teaching, administration, public policy, and higher education, and the program allows each student to use their individual experience and strengths to guide their study."
—Nastasia Lawton '13GS Ph.D. in Educational Leadership.

The program is a 64-credit program that explores one's leadership potential, tackles leadership challenges, seeks to understand school management systems, studies and proposes meaningful professional development for educators, investigates in/equities, and considers current issues and topics in education. The program embraces the global contexts of education as well as the uniquely powerful and diverse frontier of American education.

Throughout the program, research projects will allow doctoral candidates to explore effective modalities of learning and meaningful topics of study as they move toward the dissertation. Global learning and effective teaching, evaluation, and assessment methods compose a vital part of the program's research agenda as it prepares future leaders with the tools necessary to build 21st century centers of teaching and learning.

Program Requirements

Candidates must have a Master's degree or higher in education, a subject content area, special education or a related field. Additional requirements include a current résumé, an interview with the program director, a statement of purpose that outlines not only a candidate's intentions in seeking the degree but also proposes an area of research, and an analytical writing sample that addresses a current issue in education. Finally, the application requires GRE general test scores, official transcripts of courses taken and degrees awarded, three letters of recommendation that speak to a candidate's ability to engage in rigorous academic inquiry and research in educational leadership and address the candidate's leadership practice and/or potential.

Coursework

This program requires 64 semester hours, the equivalent of 16 courses. Students may enroll on either a full- or part-time basis beginning in the fall, spring, or summer semesters.

CORE COURSES

• Education in a Democratic and Diverse Society
• Applied Statistical Analysis I
• Applied Statistical Analysis II
• Qualitative Methods Applied to Educational Research
• Quantitative Methods Applied to Educational Research
• Seminar: Developing the Dissertation Topic
• Seminar: Preparing and Writing the Dissertation Prospectus
• Disssertation

COGNATE COURSES

• Global and Historical Perspectives in Education
• Leadership: Theory, Decision Analysis through Change and Transformation
• Financial Decision Making, Planning and Managing Schools and Facilities
• Legal Aspects of Education Governance
• Emerging Instructional Technologies
• Curriculum Leadership: Research and Practice
• Leadership Assessment and Development - Research and Professional Activity
• Human Resource Administration: Personnel Issues; Staff Development, Performance
• and Evaluation and Collective Bargaining in Education