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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Graduate Online and Distance Education

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Doctoral programs in Educational Studies

  • About
  • Tuition & Fees
  • Courses
  • Tech Requirements
  • Application Process
  • Contact Us
The Degree

The program offers an affordable, high quality education to students
who desire to pursue doctoral studies freed from time and location limitations. The program offers students the choice of the Ph.D. or the Ed.D. and the option of focusing on educational leadership or higher education. The program is designed to serve those who are working in higher education, those who wish to become involved in higher education in teaching or administrative roles, and those working in education related positions in other agencies.

The program provides coursework in areas relating to higher education including leadership, history and philosophy, policy and politics, higher education environments, finance, law, teaching and learning, planning, student affairs, community colleges and management. In-depth learning, practicum and scholarly experiences prepare participants for leadership positions.

Students may focus in the following areas:

  • General Post Secondary Administration
  • Community College Administration
  • Law and Post Secondary Education
  • Human Resource Development


Method of Delivery
Courses are offered online and face-to-face. Students may choose course formats that best suit their needs.

Although online courses do not “meet” at a scheduled time or place, distance students are able to participate in class assignments and interact in much the same way as traditional, on-campus students.

Students interact with instructors and other students through e-mail, online chats, discussion boards and other methods.


Who Should Consider This Degree?

The program benefits many practitioners working in community colleges, technical institutes and colleges, and four-year colleges and universities throughout the world. Education professionals include those interested in:

  • Pursuing the doctoral degree to support their teaching role in a college or university setting.
  • Seeking opportunities to study the various aspects of higher education in a collaborative setting involving other professionals.
  • Expanding their horizons.
  • Preparing for or engaged in leadership roles in colleges and universities and seeking an advanced degree to support their goals.
  • Seeking to utilize the concepts, ideas and skills gained in the programs to support activities in organizations and institutions other than higher education.



For more information:
Visit the Educational Administration Web site

edstudies

Start building success with advanced education
Call us or request information.

1-866-700-4747

Resident Tuition Cost:
  Resident Distance Ed. Tuition Distance Ed. Fee Registration Fee
Per Semester		 Tech Fee Library Fee Total Cost for 3 Credit Hours
 
Graduate per credit hour

 $273.00 $25.00 $20.00 $7.35 $3.00  
Graduate 3 credit hours $819.00 $75.00 $20.00 $22.05 $9.00 $945.05



Non-Resident Tuition Cost:
  Non-Resident Distance Ed. Tuition Distance Ed. Fee Registration Fee
Per Semester		 Tech Fee Library Fee Total Cost for 3 Credit Hours
 
Graduate per credit hour $502.75 $25.00 $20.00 $7.35 $3.00  
Graduate 3 credit hours $1508.25 $75.00 $20.00 $22.05 $9.00 $1634.30

Tuition rates are effective as of 7/1/09 and are subject to change in July of each year.

Program of Study

After the doctoral student is accepted into the department, the student and the appointed adviser, together with the supervisory committee, create a Program of Study that will identify the coursework to be taken to complete the degree and identify previous coursework that can be applied toward the degree requirements.

The Doctor of Education (EdD)
The EdD in Education is a program of study designed to prepare students for professional practice. The degree is ideal for that individual who intends to pursue or continue a career as a practicing administrator in an educational or related type of organization.

The EdD degree is a minimum of 96 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree of which includes 12 hours of dissertation and the necessary research tools courses. The curriculum is focused on helping an individual to develop the necessary leadership and analytical skills used to confront difficult problems of practice.


The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
The PhD in Educational Leadership and Higher Education is a program of study developed to prepare those for a scholarly career. Students are expected to master a scholarly research tradition in a specific area of educational administration and to be familiar with both quantitative and qualitative research methods in education.

The PhD degree is a minimum of 90 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree which includes 20 hours of dissertation and cognate courses and seminars. In the PhD program 15-18 credit hours of research tools courses must be taken in addition to the 90 hours. It is required that at least 6 credit hours are completed on campus for the program.

The program is flexible regarding arrangements for the on-campus experience. Complete information about the online graduate program, including a long-term course schedule, details about residency requirements, the on-campus experience, program planning and other details, may be found at http://cehs.unl.edu/edad/graduate/hedoc.shtml
Tech Requirements

High speed Internet connection is required. Check the Graduate Distance Catalog to learn the specific requirements for your program.

Some distance courses have supplemental materials on videos or CDs and others may require phone conferencing. You will interact with the professor and other students through e-mail, phone conferencing, and Blackboard.

Blackboard™ Requirements and Browser Configurations:
To effectively use Blackboard the Javascript and cookies on your computer must be enabled. Some content for features may require additional software. Pop-up blockers should be disabled for Blackboard (My.UNL). The browsers below are officially supported.

  • Internet Explorer: 7.0 or higher
  • Firefox: 2.0 or higher
  • Safari: 2.0 or higher

Older versions of the above or alternative browsers (such as Mozilla and Opera) may be compatible, but some features might not be available. To download the latest browsers, click the “help” button in Blackboard (My.UNL) and access the Downloads area.

Operating Systems:
Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and up, or Mac OS X, 10.2 and up are strongly recommended. Older operating systems (Microsoft® Windows® 98SE/ME, MacOS 8/9) or alternative platforms (Linux) are compatible, but may not have full functionality. Blackboard (My.UNL) is not currently compatible with handheld devices or Web-enabled phones.

Windows Macintosh
Minimum System Requirements Minimum System Requirements
Operating System: Windows XP SP 2
(Home or Professional)		 Operating System: OS X (10.2)
Processor: 1 GHz Processor: G3 800 MHz
RAM: 256 MB RAM: 256 MB
       
Recommended System Requirements Recommended System Requirements
Operating
System:		 Windows XP SP 2
(Home or Pro)
or Windows Vista		 Operating
System:		 OS X (10.4) or OS X (10.5)
Processor: 2 GHz or higher Processor: G4 1.25 GHz or higher
RAM: 768 MB or more RAM: 768 MB or more


Note: Using Blackboard with AOL:
While you can use AOL as your service provider, you cannot use the AOL Web browser to access Blackboard (My.UNL). If you try to use the AOL browser, you will find that it will automatically log you out every few minutes and you will experience problems with some of Blackboard’s services including assessments (tests and quizzes).

If you are an AOL user, once you’ve connected to the Internet, use a different Web browser to access the Internet.
Application Process


Students seeking admission to a doctoral program must submit all of the following:

Required by Office of Graduate Studies

Required by Educational Administration

  • Entrance exam(s): GRE
  • Minimum TOEFL:  Paper-500  Internet-61
  • Title page
  • Letter of application 
  • Departmental application
  • Resume
  • Statement of goals
  • Three samples of writing/research
  • Three recommendation letters

Application Deadlines:

Fall – March 1

Spring – September 1


For specific information on the documents required, visit the Department of Educational Administration.
For information regarding courses offered and department admission contact:

Department of Educational Administration
Graduate Student Services Center
141 Teachers College Hall
Lincoln, NE 68588-0360
Phone: (402) 472-3729
Fax: (402) 472-4300
E-mail: edadgradsec@unl.edu
Web: http://cehs.unl.edu/edad

 Extended Education & Outreach
900 North 22nd Street
P.O. Box 888805
Lincoln, NE 68588-8805
Phone: (402) 472-2715
Fax: (402) 472-4345
E-mail: unlextended@unl.edu
Web: http://onlinegraduate.unl.edu