The Doctorate in Organizational Leadership and Doctorate in Business Administration are 60-credit programs of graduate study and applied research for:
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.
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 advanced to the next phase will complete a campus or virtual interview as part of the admission process. Candidates admitted to the program will be notified after interviews and applicant review is complete.
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.
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 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 electives, nine credits of research methodology courses, and a twelve-credit applied research-based dissertation.
Core Leadership Tier
Courses delivering the 27 core credits are designed to provide a common understanding of key elements of effective organizational leadership. This tier of courses includes the following:
| LEAD 601 | Seminar in Leadership Theory and Practice | 4.0 |
| LEAD 602 | Seminar in Ethics and Leadership | 4.0 |
| LEAD 603 | Leading and Managing Human Capital | 3.0 |
| LEAD 604 | Leadership and Strategic Communication | 3.0 |
| LEAD 605 | Seminar in Leading Strategic Change and Transformation | 4.0 |
| LEAD 606 | Financial Stewardship for Leaders | 3.0 |
| LEAD 607 | Leadership, Advocacy and Policy | 3.0 |
| LEAD 608 | Sustainable Systemic Leadership | 3.0 |
Research Methodology Tier
To address the research tier, all candidates complete the following three Research Methodology courses for a total of nine credits:
| LEAD 620 | Qualitative Research in Social Sciences-Theory and Design | 3.0 |
| LEAD 621 | Statistical Methods for Social Science Research: Design and Analysis | 3.0 |
| LEAD 622 | Research Design | 3.0 |
Electives
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, they may choose electives to develop more specialized study. Selection of courses is 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. Year II and III coursework will include additional elective options.
Candidates will select electives from the following areas:
- General Leadership
- Educational Leadership
- Business Leadership
- Government Leadership
The twelve elective credits are selected by candidates from among the graduate course offerings within the disciplines of Counseling, Economics & Business Administration, and Education; the selection of elective courses is subject to the approval of each candidate’s advisor 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 as electives with approval of their advisor and Program Director.
Select three of the following:
| LEAD 628 | Digital Strategy and Leadership | 4.0 |
| LEAD 629 | Scholar Practitioner Research | 4.0 |
| LEAD 650 | Conducting/Analyzing Doctoral Research | 4.0 |
| LEAD 675 | Independent Study | 4.0 |
| LEAD 697 | Internship | 1.0-8.0 |
| LEAD 699 | Special Topics in Org. Leadership | 4.0 |
| COUN 500 | Human Development as a Lifelong Process | 3.0 |
| COUN 502 | Social and Cultural Foundations of Counseling | 3.0 |
| COUN 503 | Lifestyle and Career Development | 3.0 |
| COUN 506 | Research and Program Evaluation | 3.0 |
| COUN 507 | Trauma & Crisis Interventions | 3.0 |
| EDUC 502 | AI and Education: Innovation, Impact and Integrity | 3.0 |
| EDUC 513 | School Law | 3.0 |
| EDUC 514 | Administration of Student Services | 3.0 |
| EDUC 582 | Educational Philosophy in a Contemporary Society | 3.0 |
| EDUC 584 | Systemic Change Processes for School Improvement | 3.0 |
| EDUC 586 | Principles of Educational Supervision | 3.0 |
| ECON 560 | Managerial Economics | 3.0 |
| ECMG 578/ECMG 478 | International Financial Management | 3.0 |
| MGMT 562 | Financial & Managerial Accounting | 3.0 |
| MGMT 563 | Marketing Management | 3.0 |
| MGMT 565 | International Management | 3.0 |
| MGMT 566 | Information Management & Technology | 3.0 |
| MGMT 568 | Accounting Information Systems | 3.0 |
| MGMT 569 | Project Management | 3.0 |
| MGMT 570 | Marketing Analysis for Managers | 3.0 |
| MGMT 572 | Supply Chain Management | 3.0 |
| MGMT 576 | Advanced Financial Management | 3.0 |
| MGMT 577 | Portfolio and Investment Management | 3.0 |
| MGMT 580 | Strategic Cost Management | 3.0 |
| MGMT 587 | Public Administration | 3.0 |
| MGMT 590 | Strategy & Competitive Advantage | 3.0 |
| MGMT 675 | Independent Study | 4.0 |
| MGMT 699 | Special Topics in Org. Leadership | 4.0 |
Enrollment in 500-level elective coursework requires approvals from the offering academic department and DOL program director, and requires additional enrollment in 1-credit independent study (
LEAD 675) to ensure the completion of 4 credits of elective.
Research-Based Dissertation
Candidates design and conduct a study that incorporates leadership research to address a challenge within their working context, organization, or community. The credits are distributed across three semesters of 3-four credit classes. Students will choose from one of two tracks for dissertation completion:
- Academic Research Track
- Practitioner Research Track
The Academic Research track will require an invitation from a faculty member to conduct research culminating in a dissertation that will need to meet standards for upload to MD-SOAR and ProQuest. The Practitioner Research track will involve completion of a research project at their workplace/community that will have direct impact in making a change for a problem of practice.
| LEAD 630 | Dissertation I: Theoretical Framework | 4.0 |
| LEAD 631 | Dissertation II: Proposal Defense | 4.0 |
| LEAD 632 | Dissertation III: Research Study Defense | 4.0 |
Comprehensive Examination: Students will sit for a pass/fail comprehensive examination that assesses their ability to qualify as a doctoral candidate who is ready to engage fully in the rigors of dissertation research. To be eligible to sit for the exam, doctoral students must pass the first five leadership core classes, the three research methods courses, and the first dissertation course. Comprehensive exams are completed in the summer of Year II of the program. A student may repeat the exam once if they fail the first time. If they fail a second time, they are not eligible to continue in the doctoral 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.
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)