HELP [ARCHIVED CATALOG] Educational Administration EdD Print-Friendly Page

Application packets are reviewed once a year in October for admission for the following spring or summer semesters.

Students admitted to the doctoral program begin with classes as a cohort group in the semester following admission and are required to progress as a cohort group through a sequence of doctoral-only core courses and research tools courses. The cohort program is designed to provide students with the opportunity to progress through the program in a logical and sequential manner with a group of colleagues pursuing similar professional goals. Admitted students may enroll in minor, elective, or certification courses prior to the semester in which their cohort is scheduled to begin. Students may choose either a 60-semester-hour post-master’s degree plan or a 90-semester-hour post-bachelor’s degree plan. These semester-hour requirements are typically over and above the research tool courses. For either degree plan, a minimum of 36 semester hours must be completed in the major field, 24 of which must be taken in prescribed doctoral-student-only courses not available to master’s and certification programs.

For the 90-semester-hour post-bachelor’s degree plan, students fulfill the requirement for a minor or minors by taking a minimum of 30 semester hours under one of the following three plans.

1. A comprehensive minor with all course work in one academic minor;
2. A split minor in two academic areas with either a 6-4 or 5-5 course format; or
3. An interdisciplinary studies minor in three academic areas with a 4-3-3 course format.

For each of these options, committee members from each of the academic areas will determine courses to be taken and will be involved in the written and oral qualifying examinations, the dissertation, and the dissertation defense.

For the interdisciplinary minor, a minimum of 18 semester hours are selected from the interdisciplinary and educational foundations areas of sociology, economics, psychology, philosophy of education, history of education, comparative education, supervision, curriculum and instruction, and research tools.

For the 60-semester-hour post-master’s degree plan, students must complete 12  semester hours of electives, at least 9 semester hours of which must be taken outside the Department of Educational Leadership. Other requirements are as follows:

1. Research proficiency. The candidate must meet Graduate School research tools requirements for the Doctorate of Education degree (see Office of Graduate Studies and Research  for more information).
2. Residency. The doctoral residency requirement is designed to promote meaningful and continuous study in the field of scholarship, to provide for a diversity of experiences supporting intellectual growth, and to promote regular interaction between students and faculty members. This residency begins in the semester in which the student enters the doctoral program. Students in educational administration at Texas A&M University-Commerce complete 3 consecutive semesters of continuous enrollment of at least 6 semester hours in required doctoral-only coursework (including research tools). Students also confer with the doctoral adviser to develop a personal residency plan identifying activities to be completed during these three semesters in each of the following 5 strands: research, professional development, service, cultural activities, and faculty interaction.
3. Doctoral residence seminar. All candidates are required to complete EDAD 699  — Resident Doctoral Seminar.
4. Dissertation. A dissertation of at least 12 semester hours must be completed to the satisfaction of the major department.