PhD Program

Educational Administration (PhD)

PhD in Education, with a concentration in Leadership Studies

The Leadership Studies doctoral program is directed toward developing educational practitioner-scholars, policymakers, and researchers who understand the power of ideas and who place those ideas in service to improve educational practice. The doctoral program seeks to develop in these scholars both the skill and disposition to inquiry, policy analysis, and evaluation. Students admitted into the program are seasoned leaders in their school systems and possess both the intellectual ability to become scholars and the disposition of mind to become exemplary practitioners and researchers.

The Leadership Studies doctorate presents leadership as an artistic endeavor enhanced through self-awareness and validation. The program assists students with opportunities and techniques for enhancing self-understanding in conjunction with acquiring knowledge and skills. The program assumes that leaders lead from their values, and it encourages self-exploration and clarification of values as a means for interpreting and responding to learned theories. The PhD in Leadership Studies is a rigorous program of 75 credit hours and offers both traditional and online courses. Students who graduate from the program often assume roles as university faculty members, educational researchers, policy advocates, or educational leaders.

If you have questions or want to know more, then please contact Dr. Sonya Hayes at shayes22@utk.edu.

ELPS: Leadership Studies PhD Program Requirements

ELPS Core (9 hours)
ELPS 695        Seminar in Research Scholarship
EDAM 629     Seminar in Policy Issues in Education
EDAM 670     Values and Ethics in Educational Leadership

EDAM Foundations (9 hours)
EDAM 610     Advanced Seminar in Leadership Theory
EDAM 680     Administration of Complex Organizations
ELPS 695        History & Philosophy of Education

ELPS Research Core (15 Hours)
ELPS 612        Academic Writing
ELPS 615        Research Design
ELPS 618        Advanced Qualitative Research
EDPY 577       Statistics in Applied Fields
EDPY 677       Advanced Statistics in Applied Fields

Specialization (12 Hours)

Students may consider any courses in ELPS/other departments at the graduate level for their specialization.

Cognate (6 hours)

Cognate electives should be courses that align with and inform the student’s particular interest or area of expertise, and these courses must be outside of the ELPS department.

ELPS 600 (24 hours): Dissertation Hours

Total: 75 Hours

For more information, contact Sonya Hayes, PhD Coordinator for Leadership Studies at shayes22@utk.edu