Transforming Leaders and Shaping Education
OU Online Doctor of Education in Education Administration
Get started
Program Overview
This program equips graduates with advanced knowledge of educational leadership theories, emphasizing practical application in solving real-world challenges. It focuses on honing decision-making and problem-solving skills for complex educational settings, along with organizational management and leadership competencies, covering areas like human resources and financial management.
Why earn your Ed.D. degree online from OU?
Craft a personalized doctoral experience to align with your career goals, gain skills and expertise in either Higher Education Leadership or PK-12 Leadership.
Gain access to the esteemed Sooner Alumni Network, fostering unique networking opportunities and valuable career connections.
Study from anywhere with synchronous and asynchronous content, catering to working professionals seeking educational advancement while juggling work, family, and other commitments.
OU’s program, accredited by CAEP, stands as the state’s flagship, ensuring a superior quality doctoral degree.
Admissions Requirements
Submit undergraduate transcripts for your conferred bachelor’s and master’s degree.
In this 36-month program, students complete a Problem of Practice Dissertation through their coursework. Please propose a problem of practice that you are considering for your dissertation in the program (600-750 words). Include the following components in your statement:
- Background on the setting (e.g., school district, higher education institution, or non-profit organization)
- Description of the problem of the practice
- Importance of your problem of practice
It is understood that your dissertation topic/interests may change, so you are not locked into this proposal if you are accepted into the program.
Students should have earned a conferred master’s degree. No minimum years of experience is required.
Careers
Earn an online Ed.D. at the University of Oklahoma. Develop ethical leadership, cultural competence, and reflective practice. Our interdisciplinary faculty ensures practical skills aligned with current trends and employer needs for immediate career application.
Courses
Program of Study - Educational Leadership Concentration Courses
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing.
The course is intended to prepare educational leaders who value and are committed to educating all students to become successful adults. Included is a detailed analysis of the role of vision and visionary leadership in educational organizations. Both scholarly literature and best practices concerning visionary leadership in education underlay course activities and discussions.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing.
Strategic planning enables a district or school to shape and guide its overall educational objectives. Through effective strategic planning an educational organization creates a framework for developing, adapting and aligning organizational vision, mission and goals to achieve and sustain its desired educational outcomes. A critical element of the planning process is financial planning, in which the organization’s goals are aligned with organizational resources. Course focuses on the leadership competencies necessary to formulate, execute and monitor the strategic planning for an educational organization based on research-based analytical techniques and models. Includes an examination for school district risk management.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing.
Focuses on instructional leadership and its emphasis on competencies necessary for leadership and management of school districts. The class draws from research, public policy and educational practices related to curriculum, instruction, assessment, strategic planning, and professional growth plans. Will enable school district administrators to plan for the integration of technology in curriculum implementation, instructional strategies, and evaluation/assessment. (Sp)
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing.
The purpose of this course is to introduce beginning doctoral students to the concept and process of research. Included are issues related to the role of philosophical frameworks, theory, research conceptualization, scholarly writing, and rudimentary research methods.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing.
Designed to provide advanced graduate students with research skills required of effective executive educational leaders. This course will provide students with the analytical tools necessary to become effective, critical consumers of educational research, and to enable potential educational leaders to oversee and supervise staff in the preparation, development, and dissemination of evaluative research.
Credits – 2-4
Prerequisite: master’s degree, 24 hours of education, permission of instructor. May be repeated with change of subject matter; maximum credit twelve hours. Enrollment limited to students who hold the master’s degree.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing.
Introduces graduate students to concepts, methods, and issues in qualitative research as it is used in educational settings. Draws attention to epistemological and ethical concerns in social science and to strategic and logistical issues in the conduct of field research. Both positivist and interpretive approaches to the use of qualitative methods will be explored. Concept and theory building, strategies and techniques, and discussions of different issues of reliability and validity in the use of qualitative data will be emphasized.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing or permission of instructor.
Examines the field of intra/interpersonal relationships in the context of educational organizations and their constituent communities; topics include authenticity, organizational communication, leader behavior, group dynamics, and conflict management.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of instructor.
This course builds knowledge and competencies on theory based evaluation science through a review of evaluation approaches and theoretical paradigms, evaluation components, terms, and methods; and endemic issues and challenges in conducting evaluation in the social sciences.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing.
Enables students to understand the legal complexities involved in identifying and providing educational services to students with special needs.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing or permission of instructor
An introduction to analytical techniques applicable to the development of education policy. Includes consideration of decision theory and its application to policy making. Social, political, economic and multicultural factors in the organization and its environment will be explored as contexts within which educational policy is established.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing.
Introduces graduate students to concepts, methods, and issues in qualitative research as it is used in educational settings. Draws attention to epistemological and ethical concerns in social science and to strategic and logistical issues in the conduct of field research. Both positivist and interpretive approaches to the use of qualitative methods will be explored. Concept and theory building, strategies and techniques, and discussions of different issues of reliability and validity in the use of qualitative data will be emphasized.
Credits – 2-6
Prerequisite: written permission of the instructor.
May be repeated; maximum credit 12 hours. Variable as to title and subject profession. An advanced internship for post-master’s level students only. The object of the internship is to cultivate within the student a high degree of proficiency and professional independence. Field supervision is by a practitioner whose credentials are equal to those of the graduate faculty.
Credits – 3
Prerequisites: graduate standing and EACS 6023, 6713, and 6970.
The course is intended to help provide advanced graduate students with necessary analytical skills to become effective consumers of research, and to produce an effective doctoral dissertation. The course focuses on skills related to formulation of research problems, developing research proposals, collection, analysis and interpretation of data.
Doctoral Credits – 2-6
Prerequisite: written permission of the instructor.
May be repeated; maximum credit 12 hours. Variable as to title and subject profession. An advanced internship for post-master’s level students only. The object of the internship is to cultivate within the student a high degree of proficiency and professional independence. Field supervision is by a practitioner whose credentials are equal to those of the graduate faculty.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: Graduate standing; majors only.
This seminar is designed for advanced PhD students/candidates and is a formal venue for developing a sample dissertation prospectus as a starting point to work from and further develop with the student’s dissertation chair and committee.
Credits – 2
Prerequisite: Graduate standing; May be repeated; maximum credit 12 hours.
This course is designed to support doctoral students post-prospectus defense, during data collection, analysis, and the writing of their dissertation. As such, the course is run as a seminar in which students develop and progress their individual research projects. Particular attention is spent on data analysis processes and how to move from analysis toward the written dissertation.
Credits – 2-16 hours
Prerequisite: Graduate standing and permission of instructor; may be repeated. Directed research culminating in the completion of the doctoral dissertation. (F, Sp, Su)
Program of Study - Higher Education Concentration Courses
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing. The course is intended to prepare educational leaders who value and are committed to educating all students to become successful adults. Included is a detailed analysis of the role of vision and visionary leadership in educational organizations. Both scholarly literature and best practices concerning visionary leadership in education underlay course activities and discussions.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing. Strategic planning enables a district or school to shape and guide its overall educational objectives. Through effective strategic planning an educational organization creates a framework for developing, adapting and aligning organizational vision, mission and goals to achieve and sustain its desired educational outcomes. A critical element of the planning process is financial planning, in which the organization’s goals are aligned with organizational resources. Course focuses on the leadership competencies necessary to formulate, execute and monitor the strategic planning for an educational organization based on research-based analytical techniques and models. Includes an examination for school district risk management.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing. Organization and administration of adult and higher education from legislative, legal, structural-functional, power, political, bureaucratic and social perspectives. Topics considered include: governance, central office organization, administrative position analysis, faculty organization, faculty participation in policy formation and decision making, academic freedom, goals analysis, budgetary policies and methods, and decision strategies.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing. The purpose of this course is to introduce beginning doctoral students to the concept and process of research. Included are issues related to the role of philosophical frameworks, theory, research conceptualization, scholarly writing, and rudimentary research methods.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing. Designed to provide advanced graduate students with research skills required of effective executive educational leaders. This course will provide students with the analytical tools necessary to become effective, critical consumers of educational research, and to enable potential educational leaders to oversee and supervise staff in the preparation, development, and dissemination of evaluative research.
Credits – 2-4
Prerequisite: master’s degree, 24 hours of education, permission of instructor. May be repeated with change of subject matter; maximum credit twelve hours. Enrollment limited to students who hold the master’s degree.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: Graduate standing. Designed to expose students to a variety of educational theories as well as how research uses and engages theory. In addition, a primary objective of this course is for students to understand prominent theories in educational research and how they may utilize theory to evaluate programs, design studies, and create learning environments that support students and educational institutions.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of instructor. This course builds knowledge and competencies on theory-based evaluation science through a review of evaluation approaches and theoretical paradigms, evaluation components, terms, and methods; and endemic issues and challenges in conducting evaluation in the social sciences.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing, 5693. Designed to help enhance the competencies of school district administrators in the area of educational technology leadership. Focuses on technology leadership (at the central office level), rather than technology user skills. Intended for district level leaders (such as superintendents) who are not technology specialists (e.g., the course is not intended for district level technology directors or coordinators).
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing. Enables students to understand the legal complexities involved in identifying and providing educational services to students with special needs.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing. Introduces graduate students to concepts, methods, and issues in qualitative research as it is used in educational settings. Draws attention to epistemological and ethical concerns in social science and to strategic and logistical issues in the conduct of field research. Both positivist and interpretive approaches to the use of qualitative methods will be explored. Concept and theory building, strategies and techniques, and discussions of different issues of reliability and validity in the use of qualitative data will be emphasized.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing. Explores twentieth-century ideas and issues in adult and higher education. The majority of the literature and discussion concern the university.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: graduate standing. Explores the educational participation of diverse groups in higher education. The student will gain a further understanding of issues of race, ethnicity, gender, and physical disability and their influence on colleges and universities.
Credits – 2
Prerequisite: Graduate standing; May be repeated; maximum credit 12 hours. This course is designed to support doctoral students post-prospectus defense, during data collection, analysis, and the writing of their dissertation. As such, the course is run as a seminar in which students develop and progress their individual research projects. Particular attention is spent on data analysis processes and how to move from analysis toward the written dissertation.
Credits – 3
Prerequisites: graduate standing and EACS 6023, 6713, and 6970. The course is intended to help provide advanced graduate students with necessary analytical skills to become effective consumers of research, and to produce an effective doctoral dissertation. The course focuses on skills related to formulation of research problems, developing research proposals, collection, analysis and interpretation of data.
Credits – 3
Prerequisite: Graduate standing; majors only. This seminar is designed for advanced PhD students/candidates and is a formal venue for developing a sample dissertation prospectus as a starting point to work from and further develop with the student’s dissertation chair and committee.
