• Degree Requirements
• Required & Elective Courses
• Program Orientation
• Program Benchmarks
• Technology Requirements

Degree Requirements

The following requirements must be met in order to receive the Doctorate in Education Degree.

• Admission with stated qualifications and review procedure;
• Completion of 32 required credits, 20 elective credits, and 16 dissertation credits;
• Advancement to candidacy after required coursework is complete;
• Maintenance of a minimum grade of 3.0 (B grade or higher) in all courses;
• Successful completion of a written examination, a synthesis presentation, a portfolio, and a dissertation.

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Required & Elective Courses

Required Courses

(listed in semester credit)

GED 8501	Educational Foundations	4
GED 8502	The Learning Organization	4
GED 8503	The Classroom	4
GED 8504	Educational Organizations	4
GED 8505	Leadership	4
GED 8506	Advanced Policy and Education	4
GED 8507	Frameworks for Inquiry	4
GED 8508	Advanced Inquiry	4
GED 8991–8994	Dissertation credit I–IV	16
	Elective Credits	20
	Total Semester Credits	68

    

Schedule of Required Courses

Courses 8501-8508 meet for ten weeks per term across fall, winter, and spring terms. Within each course there are four Friday night (5-9 pm)-Saturday (9 am-5 pm) sessions. The schedule for each year is distributed well in advance of the year's terms. Because there are so few sessions per course, consistent attendance is required.

Here is an example of a required-course schedule of Fridays and Saturdays for GED 8504 (Fall 2004):  September 17-18, October 8-9, October 29-30, November 19-20. 

Electives

There are 20 semester credits of electives. At Hamline, students may use 8000-level graduate courses offered by the Graduate School of Education, and selected courses from Graduate Liberal Studies, Public Administration and Management, and the School of Law to fulfill the elective credits.  Students may take graduate courses for transfer from other institutions. Continuing studies or professional development courses from Hamline and other institutions are not accepted as doctoral work.

Students may request transfer of credits taken prior to admission or may earn all elective credits while enrolled in the EdD.  Students may transfer up to eight semester graduate credits taken prior to admission at Hamline or other institutions toward their elective credits. Approval depends on meeting the transfer-credit criteria. 

EdD students who earn an advanced certificate (8000-level course numbers) or an administrative license through the Graduate School of Education may apply these credits toward their electives, whether they earned the certificate or license before or during their doctoral work.  For example, students who earn our Advanced Certificate in Literacy through the University of Wollongong, Australia, may apply 12 credits. Administrative licensure holders may transfer 16 credits.  Note:  Administrative licensure students apply for admission to that program separately.

Licensure course work may precede, overlap, or extend beyond earning an EdD.

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Program Orientation

A day-long orientation session is held in June or July of the summer before a learning community begins its core courses.

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Program Benchmarks

In addition to completing required and elective courses, students are required to demonstrate competency through successful completion of a written examination, a synthesis presentation, a portfolio, and a dissertation.

written examination

1. The written examination is done after the third term (GED 8503/The Classroom). 
2. The purposes of the written examination are to serve as a reconstruction of the ideas and knowledge from GED 8501-8503; to document the ability to synthesize and apply what has been learned in the first three courses; and to demonstrate ability to do quality writing, thinking, and research. 
3. The written examination is part of each participant’s EdD portfolio.

synthesis presentation

1. The synthesis presentation is done after the sixth term (GED 8506/Advanced Policy and Education).  
2. The synthesis presentation has four purposes: to show content expertise on a topic of interest to the student; to engage the EdD student actively as a researcher and scholar through deep investigation and synthesis of the self-selected EdD themes and guiding questions from the second-year courses; to promote the EdD mission of developing educational leaders’ ability to make effective public presentations; and to demonstrate proficiency in using language in its oral, written, visual, and technological components.
3. It is also an example of public scholarship in that students make their presentations to Hamline faculty, other EdD students, and invited guests. Each presentation is videotaped.
4. The presentation (approximately 45 minutes) emphasizes these skills: public speaking, organization of ideas, actively engaging the audience, effective use of media/technology, and writing. Each presenter provides a synopsis of the presentation. 
5. The synthesis presentation is part of each participant’s EdD portfolio.

portfolio

1. Each EdD student develops a professional, comprehensive portfolio during the doctoral program. The purpose is to document progress on the EdD knowledge, action, and reflection learning goals. These learning goals derive from the program’s eight integrated themes. 
2. The EdD portfolio is submitted after completion of the eighth required course and must be approved before a student registers for any dissertation credits. 
3. Students who pursue Minnesota administrative licensure must go through a competency-based portfolio assessment. The contents of that portfolio, which are dictated by the State, may be a subset of the EdD portfolio, but cannot be substituted for it.

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Technology Requirements

On-line access and web-site access are required. Currently, participants use Blackboard online course software as a medium for communication and learning between sessions. Assistance is available to learn how to use Blackboard.