Once admitted

Once admitted on this basis, the student must take the following courses as an indicator of his/her scholarly work during the first 12 hours and maintain a 4.0 average GPA:

• EDAS 8303 - Advanced Seminar in School Law and Ethics
• EDAS 8307 - Socio-Cultural Foundations of Educational Policies
• EDFN 8306 - Advanced Educational Research
• EDFN 8308 - Advanced Statistics

Advanced Standing Status

Applicants with an Educational Specialist degree (Ed.S.) in Educational Administration may be admitted to the doctoral program with an advanced standing. A maximum of 30 credit hours of specialist course work may be credited towards the 60 credit hours in the doctoral program of study. A student who is accepted with advanced standing must have completed a total of 96 post-baccalaureate semester hours of which no less than 30 hours must have been awarded by UALR. Crediting any specialist level hours towards advanced standing is made on an individual basis.

The following stipulations apply for advanced standing:

• Applicant must have a grade of B or greater in applicable specialist level courses;
• The specialist degree must be completed within the past five years, or Ed.S. degree with continuous service as a practicing administrator for the past five years in a position requiring a public school administration license; and
• If taken from another university, the specialist courses must be applicable to the UALR doctoral program in Education Administration and Supervision.

Students must satisfy admission and graduation requirements stated in the Academic Policies and Procedure Rules section of the Graduate Catalog and additional program requirements found under the College of Education and Health Professions section of this catalog. The university reserves the right to modify policies and programs of study by supplying students with written notice of change.

Co-Emphasis Option

The doctoral program in Educational Administration and Supervision has a co-emphasis option in (a) Special Education and (b) Gifted Education.The co-emphasis serves as the “minor” within students’ concentration in Educational Administration and Supervision. The co-emphasis is designed for candidates desiring to administer these programs from the district or educational cooperative perspective. Students taking advantage of this option must have a graduate degree in the field of co-emphasis. Students pursuing a co-emphasis area should consult with the faculty member in the co-emphasis area to focus dissertation research in the co-emphasis area. Advising and dissertation chairing is provided by the EDAS program faculty. Students with a co-emphasis must develop a Program of Study upon their first semester of admission to the doctoral program. Students with a co-emphasis may take up to twelve credits of coursework in the co-emphasis area.

Program Requirements

Requirements for the Ed.D. in Educational Administration include the following courses that constitute the standards associated with the body of knowledge and the application of appropriate skills and dispositions to be a successful school administrator. These courses are not taken in any specified order; however, there is a logical sequence that may be beneficial to a students’s successful progression through the program. Students are advised by program faculty as to the typical sequence of courses or best individualized progression.

Residency Plan

All requirements for the doctoral degree must be completed within seven consecutive years of enrollment in the program. Each Ed.D. student must file a residency plan for fulfilling residency requirement that demonstrates a commitment to the program through continuous and intensive enrollment at UALR. Students should consult with the doctoral program coordinator in the selection of a residency plan at least 20 class days before the end of the first semester of the planned residence period.

Residency hours must be in degree-related graduate courses. Requirement options are:

• Nine hours in each of two consecutive semesters, fall-spring or spring-fall.
• Nine hours in a spring or fall semester, and 9 hours in adjacent summer terms.
• 24 total hours in 18 consecutive months with at least six hours each enrollment period.
• At least six hours each in four consecutive fall and spring semesters with 30 total hours.

All residency plans require candidates to enroll for graduate hours every fall and spring semester during the entire course of the graduate program.

Advancement to Candidacy

Upon the completion of content course work and successfully passing the comprehensive examinations, students apply for the advancement to candidacy. Advancement is based on the  student’s record, including a GPA of at least 3.5 and recommendation of advisor. Students not meeting these requirements will have an interview with the program faculty members, who will then recommend continuation, remediation and re-examination, or withdrawal.

The dissertation research is begun after the student completes the coursework and passes the comprehensive examination. With the guidance of student’s advisor a Dissertation Committee is formed. The Dissertation Committee is chaired by an EDAS full-time faculty member. A full research proposal is submitted to the Dissertation Committee, which consists of three Education faculty members, one from another UALR college, and one member from outside the university (if appropriate). All committee members must have an earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree. Students proposing research on human subjects must comply with protocol prescribed by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Contact the program coordinator for more information.

Students must enroll in dissertation hours and continue to enroll each semester until the dissertation is completed and approved.

Graduation Requirements

• Successful completion of an approved program of study
• Successful completion of the Chalk and Wire and aLAB requirements
• Passing the comprehensive exams successfully
• Successful completion and defense of the doctoral dissertation

Licensure

The State of Arkansas has three licensures for the practicing educational administrators: a) Building Level Administrator, b) Curriculum/Program Administrator, and c) Superintendency. The Building Level Administrator licensure can be obtained either through the completion of a master’s in educational administration or building level administrator graduate certificate program. Similarly, the Superintendency licensure can be obtained through the completion of either the educational specialist program or the superintendency graduate certificate program. The doctoral program is not aligned with any licensure program since the licensure requirements are met in the lower level programs.

Applicants for licensure must take the School Leaders Licensure Assessment for licensure as a principal or the School Superintendent Assessment for the Superintendent’s License. To become a program/curriculum coordinator/director/administrator, the student must take the School Leadership Licensure Assessment. Please contact the licensure program coordinator for additional information and current School of Education programs and requirements regarding licensure in the State of Arkansas.