Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Educational Leadership Doctoral
What You Learn
This program is for potential and practicing educational leaders who aspire to develop and refine their leadership skills in complex organizations especially at the district office level.
The Doctor of Education Degree (Ed.D.) at Gardner-Webb University in Educational Leadership is a 60-semester-hour program designed for potential and practicing educational leaders who wish to develop and refine their leadership skills in complex organizations. Schools are dynamic institutions whose practice is shaped by powerful and influential interests. As a result, the economic, political, social, and technological environment of schools is always changing. The Doctor of Education Degree program is designed to equip candidates with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and beliefs that will enable them to function effectively in leadership roles in this fluctuating environment.
How You Learn
An Ed.D. program with an integrated curriculum will be offered. Students will take modules consisting of 6, 9, and 12 credit hours. Students will also be enrolled in a 1-credit- hour seminar each semester focused on their clinical internship/clinical experience and their dissertation. Once these modules are complete, two semesters (3 hours each) of dissertation conclude the program. The electronic portfolio, a requirement for the degree, will be created and stored online in a product called TaskStream.
Online: The program is offered in a fully online format. Courses are delivered through a virtual learning platform and include a combination of asynchronous and synchronous sessions. There is a required in-person orientation session for first-semester candidates held at the beginning of the program at the Main or Charlotte Campus from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. There is also required attendance at the Dissertation/Research Summit held on Gardner-Webb University’s main campus in Boiling Springs, NC.
Hybrid Format: The majority of the program will be completed online. During the fall and spring semesters, students will have 3 weekend face-to-face meetings along with several (generally 6-8) synchronous online meetings through ZOOM. Summer sessions will have 7 face-to-face meetings, two of which (1 weekend) are held on Gardner-Webb University’s main campus for a Dissertation/Research Summit. Summer sessions also include several (generally 6-8) synchronous online meetings through ZOOM.
Career Outcomes
Upon completion of this program, students will have earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership and will be subject to state licensure requirements in order to receive North Carolina state licensure as a Superintendent. At the writing of this document, the licensure requirement is the satisfactory completion of an electronic portfolio.
Prerequisites
Applicants must hold a master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. A minimum of three years of experience in administration or teacher leadership is required. A current School Administration – Principal license is also required for admission
Degree Requirements
| Course | Title | Hours |
EDLS 730 | Strategic Leadership and School Reform | 6 |
EDLS 731 | Seminar/Internship | 1 |
EDLS 732 | Instructional Leadership | 9 |
EDLS 733 | Seminar/Internship | 1 |
EDLS 734 | Human Resource Leadership | 9 |
EDLS 735 | Seminar/Internship | 1 |
| EDDS 760 | Qualitative Methods and Program Evaluation | 6 |
| EDDS 762 | Quantitative and Mixed Methods | 6 |
EDLS 737 | Seminar/Internship | 1 |
EDLS 738 | Cultural and Ethical Leadership | 6 |
EDLS 739 | Seminar/Internship | 1 |
| EDLS 740 | Managerial Leadership | 6 |
| EDLS 741 | Seminar/Internship | 1 |
| EDLS 742 | Dissertation Module 1 | 3 |
| EDLS 743 | Dissertation Module 2 | 3 |
| EDLS 744 | Dissertation Module 3 | as needed |
| Total Credit Hours: | 60 |
Please Note:
Students will be enrolled in EDLS 714 Dissertation Continuation for 3 credit hours until dissertation is complete.
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