Ed.D. in Leadership
Program Overview |
Admission Requirements |
Application Process
Program Overview
- Is a doctoral degree the bridge to your ultimate professional goal?
- Is this the level of knowledge and skills you need to go beyond "succeeding" to "leading"?
- Do you value working and learning with colleagues who are guiding organizations of all kinds throughout the community?
If your answer is "yes," you will find many likeminded, committed leaders at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.
Saint Mary's University makes it possible to earn a doctorate while upholding the responsibilities of your current position. Our Ed.D. in Leadership is a practitioner-oriented program with a curriculum and schedule designed around the lives of working adults. Our 300-year-old LaSallian tradition has a dual focus: supporting your success, and preparing you for service to others. We succeed when you succeed.
Graduates of the Doctor of Education in Leadership program serve in a variety of fields and leadership positions. These include deans and presidents of colleges, tenured faculty members at various colleges and universities, leaders of health care institutions and other non-profit organizations, as well as superintendents and principals in a variety of K-12 schools.
The Ed.D. in Leadership program is not limited to teachers and school administrators - If you are interested in education and leadership in K-12 or higher education, industry, social service, healthcare, or any number of fields, we invite you become part of our culturally, socially and intellectually diverse learning community.
“Saint Mary's provides a friendly, collegial environment with a focus on creating a learning community of persons from around the world. Saint Mary's University faculty, staff and other students provide opportunities for leadership, and support students on their journeys to successful careers.”
-Professor Sally Baas
Director, SE Asian Teacher Licensure, Hmong Culture & Language Programs
Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota
Interested in being a K-12 Principal or Superintendent?
Take a look at Saint Mary's Education Specialist Degree in Educational Administration. Talk to an admission counselor about your program options.
Download a program brochure (PDF)
See the Catalog for specific degree requirements.
Click on the courses below to expand their descriptions.
EDD800 Student Orientation (0)EDD student orientation sessions will be held prior to the beginning of each semester. Attendance is required before EDD students begin coursework. The orientation sessions will introduce new students to the faculty; provide a thorough description of the program’s academic expectations of its students; introduce students to library services, the writing center staff; provide valuable information regarding course registration; demonstrate the use of Blackboard®; and include a discussion of other important administrative matters.
Prerequisites:
- Admission to the Ed.D. program
EDD802 Leadership Theory (3)This course focuses on applied theories of leadership behavior. It surveys the concepts of leadership effectiveness: leaders as change agents, and leaders as servants. The role of leadership in organizational communication, control, empowerment, and conflict resolution are analyzed.
Prerequisites:
- EDD809 Advanced Research Writing
EDD805 Ethical Dimensions in Organizational Leadership (3)This course focuses on developing an awareness of the major ethical positions and critically examining the foundational ethic theories and decision-making processes throughout history. Various ethical theories are examined in relation to contemporary examples of the ethical challenges faced by leadership. The course seeks to enable individuals to reflect on their personal ethical stances and to analyze and critique ethical issues related to a variety of leadership contexts and situations.
Prerequisites:
- EDD809 Advanced Research Writing
EDD809 Advanced Research Writing (3)This course focuses on developing and refining a writing process for extensive research projects. Emphasis is on identifying and strengthening one’s voice as an academic writer; establishing a relationship with readers; achieving advanced skills in development, analysis, revision of ideas, and editing to mastery of research writing. APA style is a key component of the class.
Prerequisites:
- EDD800 Student Orientation
EDD810 Communication In Adult Learning Settings (3)This course studies the relationship between effective organizational communication strategies and the personal empowerment needed in transformational leadership dimensions of effective communication in adult learning settings. Emotional intelligence, the cultural perspectives on communication, organizational structure, organizational ideology, and organizational symbolism are examined to understand the complexities of organizational communication and strategies for communicating effectively within organizations are analyzed and synthesized with adult learners are critiqued.
Prerequisites:
- EDD809 Advanced Research Writing
EDD811 Theories of Adult Learning (3)This course addresses a comprehensive range of philosophies and theories of adult learning that influence leadership approaches. Issues such as demographics and characteristics of adult learners, motivation, developmental theories, the impact of age on learning, learning styles, and cultural issues are addressed.
Prerequisites:
- EDD809 Advanced Research Writing
- EDD802 Leadership Theory
EDD812 Advanced Teaching Techniques for Adult Learners (3)Participants in this course examine characteristics of adult learners as students or employees, and explore various strategies by which to facilitate adult learning. Participants analyze environments as places of learning for adults, and the leader as a culturally competent facilitator of learning.
Prerequisites:
- EDD809 Advanced Research Writing
- EDD811 Theories of Adult Learning
EDD813 Advanced Curriculum Design (3)In this course students examine models for professional development, curricular implementation, and assessment with special emphasis on systematic instructional design. Topics to be addressed include the needs of assessment, goal setting and analysis, objective writing, generating curriculum and instructional strategies, and determining appropriate assessments, evaluations, and feedback.
Prerequisites:
- EDD809 Advanced Research Writing
- EDD814 Assessment: Theory and Practice
EDD814 Assessment: Theory and Practice (3)This course focuses on the concept of assessment across learning taxonomies and how they link to learning processes. Topics include clarification of terminology, limitations of conventional evaluation, relating assessment to instruction and teaching practices, performance criteria, assessment tools and strategies, assessment strategies for adult populations, and the creation and evaluation of instruments.
Prerequisites:
- EDD809 Advanced Research Writing
- EDD820 Introduction to Research
EDD821 Techniques for Research (3)This course introduces the basic techniques needed to conduct organizational research. Fundamental elements such as hypotheses, sampling techniques, data analysis, design validity, and research ethics are investigated in preparation for the design of a scholarly research proposal.
Prerequisites:
- EDD809 Advanced Research Writing
- EDD820 Introduction to Research
EDD822 Qualitative Research Design and Methods (3)This course provides an in-depth look at qualitative research methods through exploration of qualitative research paradigms; various qualitative methodologies; design, implementation, analysis, and presentation issues; the use of technological data analysis tools in qualitative research; and ethical issues.
Prerequisites:
- EDD809 Advanced Research Writing
- EDD814 Assessment: Theory and Practice
- EDD821 Techniques for Research
- EDD820 Introduction to Research
EDD823 Quantitative Research Design and Methods (3)This course explores quantitative research methods. It includes a general survey of descriptive statistical techniques, selection of appropriate statistical measure, development of samples or databases, and analysis of findings. Computer application and use of statistical programs to develop, manipulate, and analyze data constitute an integral part of the course.
Prerequisites:
- EDD809 Advanced Research Writing
- EDD814 Assessment: Theory and Practice
- EDD821 Techniques for Research
- EDD820 Introduction to Research
- A master's-level statistics course
EDD830 Dissertation (12)Individualized sessions are conducted with the candidate’s committee chairperson to prepare the dissertation proposal and the dissertation as well as the presentation to the committee. Candidates are required to register for at least one dissertation credit each semester until finished with a minimum of 12 credits required to complete the degree.
Prerequisites:
- EDD899 Comprehensive Examination
*Completion of 54 credits within the Ed.D. program with a minimum GPA of 3.0
EDD855 Organizational Development (3)This course applies the principles of education to the discipline of organization development, which studies the ways in which individuals as well as the organization refines existing skills and develops new skills. Topics include the examination of assumptions, strategies, models, and motivational systems that contribute to organizational performance, as well as techniques that develop the organization’s ability to innovate, improve, and manage change.
Prerequisites:
- EDD809 Advanced Research Writing
EDD856 Organizational Effectiveness (3)This course applies the principles of assessment to the development of authentic systems to monitor and measure the effectiveness of organizations. Models will include the systems approach, the goal-attainment approach, the strategic-constituencies model, and the competing-values model. These models will provide a framework for assessing the criteria which are relevant to the long-term survival of any organization.
EDD899 Comprehensive Examination (1)Doctoral students are required to take a comprehensive examination upon completion of coursework. The comprehensive examination is an integrative experience requiring students to demonstrate personal mastery of concepts studied during the core sequence as well as the ability to apply those concepts to challenges in their areas of specialization.
Prerequisite: 51 or more credits in EDD program with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and approval of the committee chair.
EDD900 Dissertation Defense (0)Each EDD student is required to provide a presentation of the dissertation project to the student’s committee and the public. The committee and the public are encouraged to ask questions of the student regarding the research project, the student’s written dissertation, points developed in the presentation, or any other related matter.
Prerequisites:
- EDD899 Comprehensive Examination
- EDD830 Dissertation