Department website: http://www.odu.edu/efl
Steve Myran, Graduate Program Director
Program Requirements
The Ph.D. Program in Education with an Educational Leadership Concentration consists of a minimum of 48 academic credit hours beyond the master’s degree and a minimum of 12 credits for the dissertation. The curriculum includes 18 hours of ELS content area credit, 15 hours of research methods and design credit, 12 hours of elective credit, and 3 hours of dissertation seminar credit. Students entering the program may also need to complete one or more introductory statistics courses if they have not had such coursework or cannot demonstrate competency at a satisfactory level. Students who come into the Ph.D. program with a master’s degree in an academic field that is unrelated to educational leadership and/or who have not completed courses to develop competency in specified areas may need to complete other courses in lieu of electives. This program is available online.
Admission
To gain admission, applicants must:
- meet all University admissions requirements;
- have a graduate grade point average of 3.00 overall;
- provide three letters of recommendation;
- write a one page, single-spaced essay that explains the applicant's qualifications, professional and career goals, and reasons for seeking the Ph.D.;
- write a one page, single-spaced statement about a contemporary and critical issue facing educational leaders; and
- write a one page, single-spaced statement about an instructional and/or learning issue facing your organization and the implication for school leaders and/or policy.
Additional Requirements
Continuance
Students must meet all department, college, and university policy requirements for continuation in their academic program. See department policy above.
Exit
In order to graduate from the program, students must successfully complete all degree requirements including all coursework, candidacy requirements, and the dissertation.
Continuance Policy and Procedures for the Educational Leadership Program
The following policy has been established for continuance in Educational Leadership Program.
At the end of each semester – fall, spring, and summer – the graduate program directors (GPD) will review student records. As per university policy, students who do not maintain an overall GPA of at least 3.0 in their ELS program will be placed on probation. Students placed on probation have one semester to bring their overall GPA back to a minimum of 3.0. A student may be placed on probation only one time in their EFL program and will not be eligible for a second probationary period. Should a student’s GPA fall below 3.0 twice, he/she will be dismissed from the program.
Students who receive a grade of F in any ELS required or elective program course or who receive a final grade of lower than B- in more than one class in their program will be dismissed from their program by the Graduate Program Director and Department Chair. A failing grade in dissertation credits for one semester places the student in warning status and does not automatically dismiss the student from the program. However, two failing grades in dissertation credits will result in dismissal from the program. Students may follow the Grade Appeal Procedure in the ODU Graduate Catalog. In the event a grade is appealed such that the student comes into compliance with the EFL Continuance Policy, he/she will be reinstated. In accord with University policy, ODU email is considered official communication.
Advancement to Candidacy Policy for all EFL Programs
In the Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership, advancement to candidacy is a formal step that occurs after the student 1) completes formal coursework, 2) passes the PhD written and oral candidacy examinations, and 3) has an approved dissertation topic.
