UNLV Department of Educational Leadership

Higher Education Leadership Doctoral Program

Higher Education Program : Introduction : Program Overview : Admission Information : Program Core : Research Core : Strands : Internship : Doctoral Comprehensive Examination : Residency : Advancement to Candidacy : Advising : Program of Study Forms : Program Benchmarks : Prospective Students : Doctoral Graduate Assistantships : Current Student Resources : Contact Information

Introduction

The Higher Education Leadership and Workforce Education & Development faculty at the University of Nevada , Las Vegas (UNLV) offer a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership. Students who have completed doctoral degrees from our programs have taken a variety of positions in education and industry. Graduates from the higher education program are represented in the faculty ranks, mid-level and upper administration in community colleges and universities, and state policy positions. Workforce Education and Development graduates are also represented in faculty ranks, and as chief learning officers, training managers, and consultants in business and industry and directors of workforce development programs in a variety of settings.

UNLV's PhD program is versatile and allows students to concentrate in one of several areas, depending on each person's educational and career goals:

  1. higher education leadership, planning, and policy;
  2. student personnel services;
  3. community college leadership; and
  4. workplace learning and performance.

We place a high premium on research and balance it with equal attention to the nuances of leadership, management, and policy work by taking advantage of the distinct environment in which we reside. The breadth of faculty expertise, program options, and the Las Vegas context continues to attract students from Nevada and throughout the United States . We seek students ready for the challenge and adventure through which our Ph.D. program takes them. Consider joining us.

Program Overview

We offer an exciting, dynamic Ph.D. program that prepares individuals for professional and faculty positions in higher education leadership and policy, student personnel services, community college leadership, and athletic administration and as workplace learning and performance professionals in for-profit and nonprofit industry settings. We place a high premium on research and balance it with equal attention to the nuances of leadership, management, and policy work.

The program consists of a rigorous, innovative combination of courses and practical experiences divided into five segments-program core, research core, specialization strand, internship, and dissertation.

The program core provides all students with a solid foundation that undergirds the area of emphasis. Courses in workplace and higher education issues, law, economics, finance, history, and organization theory are reserved exclusively for doctoral students.

The research core requires students to take a solid cognate from faculty in one of the nation's top 20 educational psychology programs along with additional departmental requirements and research electives.

The specialization strand affords students the opportunity to specialize in one of five tracks: workplace learning and performance, higher education leadership and policy, student personnel services leadership, community college leadership, or athletic administration.

All students are required to engage in an internship experience. Internships enable students to apply theory to practice. Internship placements are available in a variety of professional settings including UNLV, the Community College of Southern Nevada, Nevada State College , the Nevada System of Higher Education administrative departments, as well as in neighboring institutions of higher education and government policy and business environments.

The final, and perhaps most crucial, program component is the dissertation phase, which includes a proposal writing course. In this phase, you hone your research and professional interests by exploring in great detail one particular aspect of your area of emphasis. In doing so, you establish yourselves as scholars and experts in your specialization.

Doctoral Admission Requirements

Students must fulfill graduate college and departmental requirements to complete the admissions process.

Step I. Graduate College Admissions Process

Students must first apply for admission to the UNLV Graduate College where their application materials are evaluated and forwarded to the

Step II. Departmental Admission Requirements

Complete the Graduate College admission requirements and provide the Department of Educational Leadership with the following:

* Indicates material may be submitted via email to mario.martinez@unlv.edu

All materials should be mailed to the below address:
Doctoral Admissions in Higher Education Leadership
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
4505 Maryland Parkway, Box 453002
Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-3002

A select number of students will be chosen for interviews after all admissions requirements are met and the faculty review candidate portfolios. Final admission is based on an evaluation of all application materials and the interview.

The deadline for candidates to submit their materials is March 1st. Candidates filing after March 1st are considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on extenuating circumstances.

Doctoral Admissions contact: Dr. Mario Martinez mario.martinez@unlv.edu

Graduate Assistantship contact: Dr. Robert Ackerman bob.ackerman@unlv.edu

Program Core

Program Core (15 credits)

Research Core (18 credits)

Required Courses (12 credits)

Research Electives (6 credits, Select two courses in consultation with your program of study chair)

Strands

Students, in consultation with their program committee chairs, design an 21-credit area of specialization. Specializations include higher education leadership, planning, and policy, student personnel services, workplace learning and performance, and community college leadership. Each area of emphasis consists of a minimum of 6 courses tailored to build expertise in a particular area. Examples of courses that fulfill strand requirements are listed under individual strand names.

Advising

Program Study Forms

Each student must complete a program of study, the Proposed Doctoral Degree Program by the beginning of his or her 3rd semester of enrollment.

Part I, can be downloaded from the Graduate College at http://graduatecollege.unlv.edu/forms/

Part II can be downloaded by clicking on the following link: Proposed Doctoral Degree Program Part II

Program Benchmarks

Internship

All students are required to engage in an internship experience. Internships enable students to apply theory to practice. Internship placements are available in a variety of professional settings including UNLV, the Community College of Southern Nevada, Nevada State College , the Nevada System of Higher Education administrative departments, as well as in neighboring institutions of higher education and government policy and business environments. These are challenging experiences in which students are expected to make meaningful contributions that advance the goals of the host site. Students serving internships have assisted in the development of curricula, collaborated with System officials in writing and implementing policies, worked with faculty on research projects, and coordinated institutionally based initiatives, such as accreditation reviews. The internship is an individually designed, semester long experience that can be repeated for credit. Ordinarily, the internship is completed after the student has successfully passed the core comprehensive examination.

Doctoral Comprehensive Examination

The doctoral comprehensive examination consists of two parts: A core examination and an individualized examination.

Part I: Core examination

The core examination is offered twice a year (usually September and February). Students should take this examination as early in their programs of study as possible. You are eligible to take Part I of the Comprehensive Examinations if you have passed all of your core courses with a "B-" or better. Starting in Spring 2008, no student with anything less than a "B-" in any core course will be allowed to take Part I of the Comprehensive Examination. A core course may be repeated, allowing the student an opportunity to earn a “B-“ or better.

To be eligible to sit for this examination students must have completed the following courses:

NOTE: Even though Ph.D. students do not have to complete two of the Ph.D. core courses prior to taking the exam, they are required to take them as part of their programs of study.

The core examination is a timed exam consisting of two sections.

Section One: Covers research design. It draws heavily on EDH707. Students are encouraged to integrate information from other methods courses into their answers. Information about this question is provided to students prior to the examination (September students receive information in May; February students in October). Students are allotted approximately 3 ½ hours for this particular question.

Section Two: Affords student the opportunity to integrate basic historical, organizational, financial/economic, and legal perspectives into a discussion of one or more current issues, which are selected by the faculty and given to the prior to the examination (September students receive information in May; February students in October). Students are allotted approximately 5 hours for this particular question.

Section One of the core exam is taken on Day 1. Section Two of the exam is taken on Day 2. The evaluation rubric, which is currently used, is attached.

Students who sit for the exam, do so on the same day in the same computer lab for the same length of time (unless they finish early).

Part II: Individualized Examination

Part II of the comprehensive examination is completed at the end of your program of study prior to dissertation proposal defense. Each student and his/her program chair determine the content, format, and due date of this segment of the comprehensive examination. (In some instances, a student's entire committee could be involved in designing this assignment.) The chair notifies committee members of the assignment and distributes the final product to committee members for their information and input.

The purpose of the individualized examination is to help the student fill in gaps in his/her knowledge base and to help him/her move forward into the dissertation stage of his/her program.

Residency

The residency requirement will be fulfilled in the following manner.

The residency begins after the successful completion of the first part of the doctoral core comprehensive examination.

Once a student enters the residency phase of the program, the following outcomes must be accomplished:

Completion of remaining course work can be accomplished by incorporating up to two (2) independent studies with the student's chair into the program of study. An independent study can substitute for one research elective or one elective (within department or out of department). A student may also use three (3) credits of dissertation hours (EDH 799) toward the residency. Completion of the national presentation and/or manuscript for publication consideration can be completed before or during the time in which students have begun enrolling in the first three dissertation credit hours.

The residency requirements must be fulfilled prior to the proposal defense of the student's dissertation. Students must review an outcome checklist with their advisors prior to the proposal defense, to verify completion of the residency. Upon completion of the residency, the student should have 9 to 12 hours of dissertation hours (EDH799) remaining in the program of study.

Advancement to Candidacy

Upon completion of the residency requirements and successful defense of his/her dissertation proposal, the student advances to candidacy.

Prospective Students

Doctoral Graduate Assistantships

All full-time Ph.D. students receive funding through graduate assistantships. Graduate assistantships represent opportunities for students to gain valuable experience as faculty research assistants, academic advisors, program assistants, career counselors, analysts, institutional planners, student program advisors, development researchers, and other professional responsibilities. Assistantships on the UNLV campus are housed in Student Life, the UNLV Foundation, the Department of Educational Leadership, as well as others. For those individuals interested in pursuing careers in other academic arenas, we offer assistantships at Nevada State College in the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs in campus planning and building organization infrastructure and at the community college in one of four areas-the president's office, academic affairs, student services, or planning. There is also the possibility of placement in the System office. Efforts are made to match the developmental needs of the student with available opportunities.

Graduate assistantships require 20 hours per week during the 9-month academic year. Compensation includes a monthly stipend. For doctoral students that stipend will total approximately $12,000 per academic year. The assistantship also covers most of the per-credit tuition/registration fee and contributes to the cost of student health and accident insurance and includes professional development opportunities. In several instances, professional development opportunities include funding for national conference attendance.

To qualify for an assistantship, students must be admitted to the Graduate College and complete the Graduate Assistantship Application form available at http://graduatecollege.unlv.edu/ga/. The UNLV Graduate College Catalog contains general information on graduate assistantships.

For information about the availability of specific graduate assistantships, contact the Graduate Coordinator at bob.ackerman@unlv.edu.

Current Student Resources

Resources that current Higher Education program students will find useful:

Contact Information

Dr. Mario Martinez
Email: mario.martinez@unlv.edu
Phone: 702-895-2895

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