Program Requirements
The doctoral programs Doctorate in Organizational Leadership (DOL/DBA) requires sixty credits beyond the master’s degree and consists of twenty-seven credits of core coursework, twelve credits from a specialization tier, nine credits of research methodology courses, and a twelve-credit applied research-based capstone dissertation project.
Research Methodology Tier
To address the research tier, all candidates complete the following three Research Methodology courses for a total of nine credits:
LEAD 620 | Qualitative Research in Social Sciences-Theory and Design | 3.0 |
LEAD 621 | Statistical Methods for Social Science Research: Design and Analysis | 3.0 |
LEAD 622 | Fundamentals of Evidence-Based Management Theory, Research, and Application | 3.0 |
Core Leadership Tier
Courses delivering the 27 core credits are designed to provide every cohort member with a common set of understandings about key elements of effective organizational leadership. This tier of courses includes the following:
LEAD 601 | Seminar in Leadership Theory and Practice | 4.0 |
LEAD 602 | Seminar in Ethics and Leadership | 4.0 |
LEAD 603 | Leading and Managing Human Capital | 3.0 |
LEAD 604 | Leadership and Strategic Communication | 3.0 |
LEAD 605 | Seminar in Leading Strategic Change and Transformation | 4.0 |
LEAD 606 | Financial Stewardship for Leaders | 3.0 |
LEAD 607 | Leadership, Advocacy and Policy | 3.0 |
LEAD 608 | Sustainable Systemic Leadership | 3.0 |
Additional Requirements for DBA candidates
• Six approved management workshops
• Conference presentation (local, regional, national, or international)
• Experiential opportunity with a faculty member
• Paper publication (or preparation of paper to be published)
Specialization Tier
Candidates who enter the doctoral program come from many different sectors including business, education, non-profits, the military and government. In order to provide a flexible program that meets the personal and professional needs of candidates, the specialization tier provides opportunity to develop more specialized study. Selection of courses are guided by the candidate’s goal of enhancing understanding of their industry or building new content development in a complimentary area. Candidates will work closely with their faculty adviser and select courses to support their personal and professional goals. The candidates will identify courses at the end of year one coursework and submit a declaration of specialization form to the Doctoral Program Director for approval. Year Two coursework will include the specialization courses outlined in the declaration form. Candidates will complete their specialization coursework no later than fall semester of year three.
All candidates will select one specialization from the following:
General Leaderhip
Education Leadership
Business Leadership
Government Leadership
The twelve specialization credits are selected by candidates from among the graduate course offerings within the disciplines of Counseling, Economics & Business Administration, and Education; the selection of specialization courses is subject to the approval of each candidate’s adviser and Program Director. With similar approval, appropriate courses from other departments may also meet this requirement. Candidates complete all course requirements for each of the three courses in this series and, in addition, in consultation with their adviser, design and conduct a project related to each course. These projects will involve either the candidate’s employer or a local organization and have as their goal to help inform the candidate concerning the ultimate subject of his/her research-based capstone experience. Up to six credits beyond the master’s degree may be transferred toward meeting this requirement with the approval of the advisor.
Select three of the following: