Higher Education, PhD

Doctor of Education, Doctor of Philosophy

Admission Requirements

Students seeking admission should apply for either the EdD or PhD program depending on their academic preparation, prior experience and career goals. Admission to the program is selective and restricted.

In addition to the minimum requirements of the Toulouse Graduate School and the College of Education listed under the “Admission Requirements” heading in the appropriate section of this catalog, admission to the EdD and PhD doctoral programs in higher education is contingent upon the following:

The submission of GRE or GMAT scores. Contact the academic program for information concerning acceptable admission test scores.
The quality, quantity and relevance of the applicant’s prior undergraduate and/or graduate work and prior work experience in higher education administration, teaching and/or research.
The applicant’s career objectives.
The submission of three professional references.
The quality of the application essay.
An interview by program faculty.

Each semester has an application deadline. Contact the program for application deadlines.

After review of the application packet, eligible applicants will be invited to be interviewed by the faculty.

Both doctoral programs offered in higher education enable students to acquire knowledge about and evaluate major organizational, behavioral and learning theories applicable to higher education; to conduct applied and/or original research in the field of higher education; to become familiar with past, present and emerging patterns of organization and professional administrative practice in higher education; and to observe and participate in the actual practice of higher education administration and/or research. However, the two programs differ significantly in length and emphasis and in course work, research tool, minor field and dissertation requirements.

Doctor of Philosophy

The PhD program in higher education is designed for individuals primarily interested in the scholarly inquiry and/or teaching of higher education as a field of study. The PhD in higher education is particularly appropriate to the following careers:

academic and research positions in graduate instructional programs of higher education, higher education institutes and centers for the study of higher education;
applied and management research positions in institutions of higher learning, government agencies, consortia of higher education institutions and higher education professional associations; and
senior administrative positions in four-year colleges and universities where in-depth knowledge and understanding of the conceptual bases of higher education administration are required.

Degree Requirements

Higher education doctoral core (15 hours).

Provides the student with a broad overview and integrated perspective of higher education as a field of study and academic enterprise:

PhD base course requirement (9 hours).

Provides the student with the contextual basis of higher education and organizational concepts common to the teaching, administration and study of higher education. Each student must complete at least three of the following courses:

Higher education elective course requirements (6 hours).

Courses are to be selected from the program’s course inventory and should enable the student to gain either a broader exposure to the various specializations in higher education or an in-depth knowledge of one particular area of specialization.

Internship (6 hours).

An administrative and/or research internship of up to 6 semester hours is required of students who have not been employed in a full-time administrative position, or a teaching or research position in an institution, agency or association of higher education for at least one academic year, or the equivalent (as determined by the higher education faculty), prior to taking qualifying examinations. Administrative internships consist of at least 90 clock hours of closely supervised administrative work per 3 semester hours of credit and culminate with a written report of the internship experience. Research internships require the close supervision of the student’s research project by a graduate faculty member of the university and culminate in a publishable or presentable research paper.

Minor or cognate area (12–15 hours).

The student completes a minor of at least 12 semester hours from courses outside the department, or a cognate field of 15 semester hours in an area of specialization in higher education.

College of Education research core (6 hours).

The College of Education requires that each student complete

Higher education program research course requirement (3 hours):

EDHE 6530 - Research on Higher Education

Research tool requirement (9 hours).

Each PhD candidate must be competent in the modes of scholarly inquiry common to the major field of study. The higher education program requires PhD students to complete 9 hours in statistics and research methodology beyond

Dissertation research requirement (minimum of 12 hours).

The principal goal of the PhD dissertation is the demonstration of the student’s ability to conduct independent research. The research design, sampling procedures and methods of analysis must be congruent with the modes of inquiry used in conducting research on higher education and must be a report of independent research generating knowledge with generalizable characteristics discussed in depth. Moreover, the dissertation must be of publishable quality and make a bona fide contribution to pressing or emerging issues in higher education.

Minimum total for PhD

(72–78 hours beyond the master’s or 102–108 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree).

To meet the residency requirement for the PhD,

students must enroll in a minimum of 9 semester hours for two consecutive terms/semesters. This may be a fall and spring, or spring and summer, or summer and fall.