P-12 Administration Doctoral Program including Superintendent Certificate or Doctoral Completion Program for those who hold Ed.S./Ed.L. or Superintendent Certification
The program is designed for educators who hold a master's degree from accredited institutions, a Type 75 certificate, and have some building or district leadership experience, such as Department chair, dean, assistant principal, principal, central office staff, director, union leader, program director, subgroup leader, or other related position. Candidates should have good academic and leadership credentials.
Applicants holding a Type 75 Certificate (General Administrative-Principal) and having at least two years administrative leadership experience may work towards either a Doctor of Philosophy or a Doctor of Education degree. The Doctor of Education program primarily serves those seeking P-12 positions. The Doctor of Philosophy program serves those interested in focusing on research. In both programs, students may also complete certification requirements for the Superintendent Certification or Chief School Business Official within the program.
Both degrees require 60 hours of coursework, a doctoral examination, and 15 dissertation hours. Students are also required to complete a residency requirement. Courses are offered nights and weekends to accommodate schedules of full-time educational professionals. Some online options exist for select courses. Doctoral degree students have eight years to complete the degree.
Learn more about graduate school at Illinois State University.
Goals and outcomes
A P12 doctoral graduate in Educational Administration at Illinois State University applies knowledge that promotes the success of every student by:
- facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a shared district vision of learning through the collection and use of data to identify district goals, assess organizational effectiveness, and implement district plans to achieve district goals; promotion of continual and sustainable district improvement; and evaluation of district progress and revision of district plans supported by district stakeholders.
- sustaining a district culture conducive to collaboration, trust, and a personalized learning environment with high expectations for students; creating and evaluating a comprehensive, rigorous, and coherent curricular and instructional district program; developing and supervising the instructional and leadership capacity across the district; and promoting the most effective and appropriate technologies to support teaching and learning within the district.
- ensuring the management of the district’s organization, operation, and resources through monitoring and evaluating district management and operational systems; efficiently using human, fiscal, and technological resources within the district; promoting district-level policies and procedures that protect the welfare and safety of students and staff across the district; developing district capacity for distributed leadership; and ensuring that district time focuses on high-quality instruction and student learning.
- collaborating with faculty and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources for the district by collecting and analyzing information pertinent to improvement of the district’s educational environment; promoting an understanding, appreciation, and use of the community’s diverse cultural, social, and intellectual resources throughout the district; building and sustaining positive district relationships with families and caregivers; and cultivating productive district relationships with community partners.
- acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner to ensure a district system of accountability for every student’s academic and social success by modeling district principles of self-awareness, reflective practice, transparency, and ethical behavior as related to their roles within the district; safeguarding the values of democracy, equity, and diversity within the district; evaluating the potential moral and legal consequences of decision making in the district; and promoting social justice within the district to ensure individual student needs inform all aspects of schooling.
- understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context within the district through advocating for district students, families, and caregivers; acting to influence local, district, state, and national decisions affecting student learning; and anticipating and assessing emerging trends and initiatives in order to adapt district-level leadership strategies
(2011 ELCC District-Level Standards)
7. conducting research that contributes to an understanding of administrative practice and/or theory and disseminate the results of that research to relevant audiences.
Admission
Admission to the programs in EAF is competitive. Candidates should have good academic and leadership credentials, including holding a Type 75 certification and at least 2 years full-time building-level leadership experience. The Department considers admission three times a year. Learn about the application process. Admissions requirements are the same for the traditional doctoral program and the doctoral completion program for those who already hold Ed.S./Ed.L. degrees or Superintendent Certificates.
Financial Information and Assistance
Costs are determined yearly by the Board of Trustees. The current costs are as listed at the student accounts site. Financial assistance is available through scholarships, graduate assistantships, and tuition waivers. Learn about financial aid opportunities.
Requirements
Courses. The program required 60 hours (20 courses) and 15 dissertation hours.
You may go to the Univerisity's "Course Finder" page to learn more about the courses.
P-12 Administration Required Courses
- EAF 548: Advanced Seminar on Legal Bases of Education
- EAF 576: Administration of Instructional Programs
- EAF 580: Educational Facilities
- EAF 582: Administrative Theory in Education
- EAF 583: Seminar in Educational Leadership
- EAF 584: Superintendent and Central Staff
- EAF 585: Management of Educational Funds
- EAF 586: Administration of Human Resources
- EAF 587: Community Relations Seminar
- EAF 598: Professional Practice
Complementary Required Courses
- EAF 415: Qualitative Research in Educational Settings
- EAF 508: Applied Educational Research
- EAF 510: Research Methodology and Statistics in Education II
- EAF 521: Educational Policy Analysis
- EAF 590: Introduction to Doctoral Research
- EAF 599: Dissertation Research
P-12 Administration Elective Courses
- EAF 502: Administrative Applications of Educational Technology
- EAF 575: Seminar in School Business Management
- EAF 579: Research Seminar on the Public Finance of Education
- EAF 596: Negotiated Agreement Administration and Development
Complementary Elective Courses
- EAF 411: Educational Evaluation and Assessment
- EAF 492: Politics of Education Seminar
- EAF 509: Research Design in Education: Issues and Standard Practices
- EAF 511: Research Methodology and Statistics in Education III
- EAF 513: Educational Evaluation and Assessment II
- EAF 515: Advanced Methods of Qualitative Research in Education
- EAF 523: Seminar in Educational Policy Analysis
- EAF 524: Educational Policy Advocacy
- EAF 525: Foundations of Comparative Multicultural Educations
- Courses from other Departments that relate to doctoral dissertation
Transfer hours for those with Superintendent Certification
While you cannot count master's degree hours toward a doctorate, you can count up to 30 hours from an education specialist program towards a doctoral degree with a stipulation that the transferred hours have to occur within eight years from the time one graduates. For example, students who defend their dissertation in 2012 could only transfer in courses from 2004. They could not transfer courses taken earlier.
Students are also required to complete a residency requirement that involves a minimum number of course hours rather than presence on the Illinois State campus. Applicants with a recent education specialist degree from an accredited institution must take at least 30 hours beyond the education specialist coursework and 15 dissertation hours.
Typical 33-hour program for those who transfer from an education specialist program:
- EAF 415: Qualitative Research in Educational Settings
- EAF 508: Applied Educational Research
- EAF 510: Research Methodology and Statistics in Education II
- EAF 511: Research Methodology and Statistics in Education III or EAF 515: Advanced Methods of Qualitative Research in Education (depending on nature of dissertation topic)
- EAF 521: Foundations of Ed. Policy Analysis
- EAF 576: Administration of Instructional Programs
- EAF 582: Administrative Theory in Education
- EAF 583: Seminar in Educational Leadership
- EAF 587: Community Relations Seminar
- EAF 590, 591, 592 (doctorl program overview, doctoral exam prep, doctoral proposal prep)
- EAF 5XX elective related to dissertation
- EAF 599: Dissertation Research
Computer Requirements
To successfully complete Educational Administration and Foundations courses, students in all programs are expected to have frequent and convenient access to a computer and Internet resources. Illinois State University students can take advantage of special hardware and software pricing as well as installation support at ISU TechZone. Review the computer and technology requirements for EAF students.
Course of study
Department Doctoral Procedures
The Department Doctoral Procedures outlines the steps and information you will need during your doctoral candidacy. Learn about the orientation, guidelines through the course of study, and information about the dissertation and defense.
Advisement
An academic adviser is assigned by the EAF Department to each doctoral candidate. Each student designs a plan of study in consultation with an academic adviser in EAF.
Residency Policy
Students are required to complete a residency requirement. Learn about the Residency Policy.
Apply for Graduation
Within the first 2 weeks of the semester you plan to graduate go to http://www.graduationservices.ilstu.edu/graduates/procedures.asp
If you have not submitted the degree audit for yet to the Department at the proposal hearing, complete one and send to the EAF Department chair.
Apply for Certification
Application for graduate-level certification at the beginning of the semester you plan to graduate. Go to the Lauby Teacher Ed Center web site to see graduate certification information and steps. listed on the graduate certification site. For more information about certification, please contact:
Larry Lowe
340D DeGarmo Hall
(309) 438-3948
Program Faculty
The following faculty who specialize in educational administration. There are several other faculty in EAF who are involved in the P-12 Administration Concentration in teaching, scholarship, or professional service roles as well as professionals having adjunct, part-time relationships.
Questions?
For more information about the doctoral program, please contact the EAF office at 438-4630.