Educational Leadership, EdD

Program Description

The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership is a hybrid delivery scholar-practitioner degree designed for leaders across a wide range of education, community, and organizational settings.  In support of institutional and college mission statements, the educational leadership program seeks to mediate formal knowledge and theory through disciplined inquiry and professional practice. It is expected that graduates of the program use scholarly inquiry and practice to guide decisions on all levels of educational and organizational activity.

The Educational Leadership program prepares scholar-practitioners to exercise agency in leading transformational change by engaging in critical inquiry, applied research, and collaborative problem-solving to address complex challenges and develop context-driven solutions that foster continuous justice-oriented improvement within their communities and organizations. 

The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership includes core leadership courses, applied research tools, and a dissertation requirement that emphasizes the centrality of data for professional practice. In addition, students select one of four administrative track areas that align with their professional goals and contexts, allowing for deeper specialization and application of leadership knowledge in targeted areas of practice.

Program Learning Outcomes

At the completion of the program, students will:

• Demonstrate the capability to cultivate leadership practices that foster professional growth, adaptability, and responsiveness to evolving challenges within their respective professional contexts.
• Critically evaluate problems of practice and form recommendations for change that improve equity and access through the use of data.
• Analyze systemic barriers to equity and offer solutions for improvement regarding inclusive practices, policies, and programs that expand access to educational opportunities for historically underserved populations.
• Demonstrate clear, persuasive, written, and verbal communication related to problems of practice in professional contexts.
• Demonstrate respect and appreciation for diverse communities by engaging and seeking input from individuals with different identities and experiences relative to the problem of practice.
• Design and implement evidence-based solutions to organizational challenges by engaging in reflective practice and applying empirical research.

For Additional Information

Website: https://www.tamucc.edu/programs/graduate-programs/educational-leadership-edd.php 

Campus Address:
Faculty Center, Room 211
Phone: (361) 825-3284
Dr. Rosa M. Banda | rosie.banda@tamucc.edu

Mailing Address:
Department of Educational Leadership
College of Education and Human Development
6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5818
Corpus Christi, Texas 78412-5818

Admission Requirements

Admission requires approval of the Educational Leadership faculty. Criteria for admission include the following:

1. an undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 or above
2. a graduate grade point average of 3.00 or above 
3. official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate coursework indicating completion of a master’s degree in a relevant field.

Selected applicants will be invited for a personal interview with the Educational Leadership faculty and a writing exercise. The faculty will consider relevant qualifications, including professional and personal qualifications, in making admission decisions. The faculty may admit applicants with lower levels of the above indicators of academic history, with:

1. strong professional and personal qualifications; and, 
2. a high degree of proficiency on the writing exercise.

Individuals denied admission three times are ineligible to reapply.

Program Requirements

The Doctor of Education Degree in Educational Leadership is awarded in recognition of the attainment of independent and comprehensive scholarship in the field.  To qualify for the degree, the student must meet the following requirements:

1. Residency: Three consecutive terms of enrollment of 6 semester credit hours must be completed during the course of the program (fall, spring, summer or spring, summer, fall). The time to completion must be in accordance with the standards set forth by Graduate Education.
2. Coursework: 61 semester credit hours of coursework are required, inclusive of the dissertation courses.  Up to 15 credits for the degree may be transferred from post-master's level graduate coursework taken at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi or another accredited college or university.  The transfer credit must not exceed ten years at the time of conferral of the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi degree, and may not have been applied to a degree conferred.  The program faculty and the College must approve all transferred work.

The degree requires the following:

1. 15 hours of Core Leadership Courses
2. 16 hours of Applied Research Tools
3. Choose an Administrative Track (minimum of 18 hours to be chosen with a faculty advisor)
   1. Educational Administration (Principalship)
   2. Educational Administration (Superintendency/District Leadership)
   3. Higher Education Administration
   4. Public Administration
4. 12 hours of Dissertation Courses

1. Required Average: Students need to maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. A grade of B or better must be obtained in all Core Leadership, Applied Research Tools, and Dissertation courses applied to the degree plan. Students who receive a grade below a B in a Core, Research, or Dissertation course will be required to RETAKE the course. Please note that both grades will be factored into the GPA. Upon receiving a second C in the same course, the student may be put on probation if the GPA falls below a 3.0; however, students who receive a third C or who receive two failing grades are exited from the program.

2. Candidacy/Comprehensive Examinations: The comprehensive examination consists of a curated portfolio of scholarly artifacts developed throughout the program, accompanied by a written executive summary. This portfolio reflects the student’s ability to identify a problem of practice, engage with relevant literature, apply theoretical and methodological frameworks, and design a context-responsive inquiry plan.

3. Dissertation and Defense: The dissertation is developed under the supervision of a dissertation adviser, who serves as Chair of the dissertation committee. The committee is composed of four members, including the Chair.  Students must pass an oral and written defense of their dissertation. 

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Online offering

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Blended offering