Curriculum

Iowa State University’s Ed.D. program is a member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED). The 54-hour curriculum culminates in a dissertation in practice that is focused on “a persistent, contextualized, and specific issue embedded in the work of a professional practitioner, the addressing of which has the potential to result in improved understanding, experience, and outcomes” (CPED, 2020).

Courses are delivered through a hybrid format that balances limited in person class time with a combination of synchronous and asynchronous online delivery.

Ed.D. Core

  • ELPS 6510: Social Foundations of Education (3 credits) 
  • ELPS 6520: Organizational Theory in P-20 Systems (3 credits)
  • ELPS 6530: Contemporary Issues of Equity and Diversity (3 credits)
  • ELPS 6540: Scholar-Practitioner Inquiry (3 credits)      
  • ELPS 6550: Qualitative Inquiry in P-20 Education (3 credits)
  • ELPS 6560: Statistics for P-20 Education (3 credits)

Community College Leadership Emphasis

  • HGED 6150E: Seminars in Higher Education: Federal and State Affairs (3 credits)
  • HGED 6580: Evaluation (3 credits)
  • HGED 6630: Community College Students (3 credits)
  • HGED 6640: College Organization and Administration (3 credits)
  • HGED 6650: Financing Higher Education (3 credits)
  • HGED 6660: Academic Issues and Cultures (3 credits)     
  • HGED 6670: Leadership and Change in Community College (3 credits)
  • HGED 6680: Workforce, Economic, & Community Development in Community Colleges (3 credits)

Dissertation

  • ELPS 6570: Dissertation in Practice Seminar (3 credits)
  • HGED 6990: Dissertation Research (9 credits, independent with advisor)

Total Credits = 54