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Organizational Leadership, DBA/DOL

Program Director, Nisha Manikoth, Ed.D.; manikoth@hood.edu; 301-696-3818

The Doctorate in Organizational Leadership is a 60-credit program of graduate study and applied research for:

  • Persons holding a master’s degree and currently employed in business, non-profit sector, military or government who are seeking additional leadership development as part of personal, career and professional growth program

  • Educators and administrators in public and private education and higher education with interest in leadership development to advance their career; and

  • Professionals already holding advanced degrees who desire to extend their preparation in leadership development

The courses are designed for working professionals and scheduled in the evening and weekends for those who work full-time.  A cohort moves through the four-year program.

Procedure for Applying

Once a year in the fall, a new cohort begins their program of study.  Admission dates for Doctoral Program in Organizational Leadership (DBA/DOL) open a year prior (previous fall semester.  All applications must be completed by June 15, but we encourage applicants to apply early as the program is competitive and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Candidates admitted to the program will be notified after interviews and applicant review is complete. Candidates advanced to the next phase will complete a campus or virtual interview as part of the admission process.

Application Requirements

  • Master’s degree in any discipline

  • Master's degree in Business or related field required for DBA

Applicants will be accepted into the program based on selection criteria that include graduate coursework, grade point average, personal statements, area of research interest, resume, letters of recommendation, and experience. 

Those interested in applying must:

  • Complete the online application at www.hood.edu/graduate

  • Submit official e-transcripts of all graduate work completed for Master’s degree with a minimum of 3.25 GPA. Electronic transcripts should be sent to the Hood graduate Admission or emailed to gofurther@hood.edu. Master's transcripts only are required.

  • Minimum of eight to ten years of progressive professional work experience

  • Current resume or CV

  • Two letters of Recommendation - including one from your employer that speaks to your professional work experience and leadership skills and another individual who can attest to your leadership skills

  • Personal essay of 400 to 500 words:

    • What attracts you to the Doctorate in Organizational Leadership?

  • Select one of the following prompts and write an essay of 500 to 750 words:

    • What is the role of leadership in an organization as it focuses on challenges and issues of the 21st century?

    • Leadership is often defined as the “art of influence.”  What are the lessons you have learned from a leader you admire?

    • Compare and contrast your leadership styles with that of a leader you admire and respect. 

  • Candidate must provide one of the following admission elements

    • Standardized Test Scores (SLLA, GRE, GMAT or MAT) OR

    • Evidence of master’s level culminating research experience (capstone project, thesis, field work or action research project

  • Successful completion of a graduate level research methodology/statistics course

For additional admission information, see Graduate Admission

The doctoral program in organizational leadership is administered by the Departments of Education and Business Administration, by the director of the Doctoral Program in Organizational Leadership, assisted by the Program Advisory Council and Administrative Committee for DOL.

Program Requirements

The doctoral programs Doctorate in Organizational Leadership (DOL/DBA) requires sixty credits beyond the master’s degree and consists of twenty-seven credits of leadership core coursework, twelve credits from a specialization tier, nine credits of research methodology courses, and a twelve-credit applied research-based dissertation.

Research Methodology Tier

To address the research tier, all candidates complete the following three Research Methodology courses for a total of nine credits:

LEAD 620Qualitative Research in Social Sciences-Theory and Design

3.0
LEAD 621Statistical Methods for Social Science Research: Design and Analysis

3.0
LEAD 622Evidence-Based Theory, Research & Application

3.0

Core Leadership Tier

Courses delivering the 27 core credits are designed to provide every cohort member with a common set of understandings about key elements of effective organizational leadership. This tier of courses includes the following:

LEAD 601Seminar in Leadership Theory and Practice

4.0
LEAD 602Seminar in Ethics and Leadership

4.0
LEAD 603Leading and Managing Human Capital

3.0
LEAD 604Leadership and Strategic Communication

3.0
LEAD 605Seminar in Leading Strategic Change and Transformation

4.0
LEAD 606Financial Stewardship for Leaders

3.0
LEAD 607Leadership, Advocacy and Policy

3.0
LEAD 608Sustainable Systemic Leadership

3.0

Additional Requirements for DBA candidates

• Six approved management or leadership workshops
• Conference presentation (local, regional, national, or international)
• Experiential opportunity with a faculty member
• Paper publication (or preparation of paper to be published)

Research-Based Dissertation

Candidates design a research-based dissertation to address a challenge within their working context, organization, or community. The project incorporates leadership-based research, and the working context of the candidate, and the impact of effective leadership. The credits are distributed across three semesters of 3-four credit classes:

LEAD 630Dissertation I: Theoretical Framework

4.0
LEAD 631Dissertation II: Proposal Defense

4.0
LEAD 632Dissertation III: Research Study Defense

4.0

Comprehensive Examination: Students will sit for a comprehensive examination that tests their grasp of the first five leadership core classes and the three research methods courses.  Comprehensive exams are completed in the spring of Year II of the program.

Portfolio Evaluation: Students will be required to maintain a portfolio of their work in Chalk and Wire. The major assignment from each class must be submitted to Chalk and Wire. This collection of assignments will comprise the student portfolio, which will be reviewed at the end of each year by a doctoral faculty team. In addition, students are required to submit a statement indicating their plans for future research and dissertation work at the end of the first year. This statement will also be reviewed by a doctoral faculty team.

Additional Dissertation Support Courses

Candidates have one semester after the end of LEAD 630, LEAD 631 and LEAD 632 to defend and upload their final prospectus, proposal or dissertation.  After that time, candidates must be enrolled in these additional 1-credit courses each semester until the IP grade for 631 and/or 632 are replaced with final grades.
LEAD 630AProspectus Support Course

1.0
LEAD 631AProposal Support Course

1.0
LEAD 632ADissertation Support

1.0

Specialization Tier

Candidates who enter the doctoral program come from many different sectors including business, higher education and public education, non-profits, the military and government. In order to provide a flexible program that meets the personal and professional needs of candidates, the specialization tier provides opportunity to develop more specialized study. Selection of courses are guided by the candidate’s goal of enhancing understanding of their industry or building new content development in a complimentary area. Candidates will work closely with their faculty adviser and select courses to support their personal and professional goals. The candidates will identify courses at the end of year one coursework and submit a declaration of specialization form to the Doctoral Program Director for approval. Year II and III coursework will include the specialization courses outlined in the declaration form. 

All candidates will select one specialization from the following:

  • General Leadership

  • Education Leadership

  • Business Leadership

  • Government Leadership

The twelve specialization credits are selected by candidates from among the graduate course offerings within the disciplines of Counseling, Economics & Business Administration, and Education; the selection of specialization courses is subject to the approval of each candidate’s adviser and Program Director.  With similar approval, appropriate courses from other departments may also meet this requirement. Candidates complete all course requirements for each of the three courses in this series and, in addition, in consultation with their adviser, design and conduct a project related to each course. These projects may involve either the candidate’s employer or a local organization and may have as their goal to help inform the candidate concerning the ultimate subject of his/her research-based capstone experience. Up to six credits beyond the master’s degree may be transferred toward meeting this requirement with the approval of the advisor and Program Director.  Special topics courses may be included in the specialization with approval of their advisor and Program Director.

Select three of the following:

LEAD 600Human Development as a Lifelong Process

4.0
LEAD 609Social & Cultural Foundations of Couns

4.0
LEAD 610Lifestyle and Career Development

4.0
LEAD 611Research and Prog Evaluation

4.0
LEAD 612Tech for Literacy, Leadership & Learning

4.0
LEAD 613School Law

4.0
LEAD 614Admin Student Services

4.0
LEAD 615Trauma & Crisis Interventions

4.0
LEAD 624Advanced Data Analytics with R

4.0
LEAD 629Scholar Practitioner Research

4.0
LEAD 650Conducting/Analyzing Doctoral Research

4.0
LEAD 652Negotiation & Conflict Resolution

4.0
LEAD 660Managerial Economics

4.0
LEAD 662Financial & Managerial Accounting

4.0
LEAD 663Marketing Management

4.0
LEAD 665International Management

4.0
LEAD 666Information Management & Technology

4.0
LEAD 668Accounting Information Systems

4.0
LEAD 669Project Management

4.0
LEAD 670Marketing Analysis for Managers

4.0
LEAD 672Supply Chain Mgmt

4.0
LEAD 675Independent Study

4.0
LEAD 676Advanced Financial Management

4.0
LEAD 677Portfolio and Investment Management

4.0
LEAD 678International Financial Management

4.0
LEAD 680Strategic Cost Management

4.0
LEAD 681Research-Based Tchng, Lrng, Assessment

4.0
LEAD 682Educational Philosophy in a Diverse Soc

4.0
LEAD 684Systemic Change Proc/Sch Improvement

4.0
LEAD 686Principles of Educational Supervision

4.0
LEAD 687Public Administration

4.0
LEAD 690Strategy & Competitive Advantage

4.0
LEAD 699Special Topics in Org. Leadership

4.0