Ph.D Program Description
Educational Leadership
Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership (Ph.D.)
Due to the increasingly complex tasks including research and data analysis within all types of educational institutions, there is a demand for strong, transformational leaders. To meet this demand WMU offers the following concentrations:
- K-12
- Higher Education
- Career Technical Education
- Organizational Analysis.
Applying theory to practice is an overall theme, with the case-study approach to learning used extensively. In addition, a very integrated “professional inquiry, research, and dissertation core” has been developed to assist you in adding to your higher education knowledge base, and to ensure that such students complete a Ph.D., rather than adding to the number of ABDs (All-But-Dissertations).
The concentrations involve a minimum of 90 graduate credits. Most, if not all of your previous graduate credits earned may be applied toward this total, leaving you with a completed master’s degree with a total of about 54-57 credits (including 12 dissertation credits). If you are a working professional, able to take two classes per semester, you can complete your doctoral work (including dissertation) in about three and a half years.