The program contains five core courses that provide overarching theoretical, cultural, and legal perspectives of educational policy and practice. It contains six required courses in the area of district school leadership. Additionally, there are four credits on educational research culminating with a dissertation. The core courses and research courses are standard for the field. The district leadership courses provide a distinct focus for those who are interested in school district impact.
Students who complete the Ed.D. program are eligible to apply for Texas Superintendent Certification upon satisfactory completion of relevant coursework, practicum, and state examination.
Within the District Leadership Courses, Students work on relevant real-world projects tied to course content to benefit theory district of employment. This focus on project-based learning and hands on application of learning help the students to further develop their skills as problem solvers and critical thinkers that can use their knowledge to create, implement, and assess educational initiatives that impact school district effectiveness.
Dissertation in Practice
The Dissertation-in-Practice (DiP) process is a formal demonstration of the doctoral candidate's knowledge, skills, behaviors, scholarships, and dispositions of educational leadership. It is intended to serve as a demonstration that the doctoral candidate is capable and prepared to provide leadership and problem solving in the context of improvement science. The Dissertation-in-Practice is described briefly as the implementation of an action plan to solve a problem of practice which involves working with a district-level, or educational organizational leader to work on a problem of practice, or an opportunity, that is of mutual concern to them. The problem identified must go beyond that of a building level or mid management level leader and should impact the broad organization.