This Doctor of Education in Instructional Leadership degree program at WCSU is approved by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE), and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). 

Once accepted into the EdD in Instructional Leadership program, students may also enroll in the program to obtain a Certificate in Intermediate Administration and Supervision (Endorsement #092).  This certificate program is also accredited by the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE).  Additionally, it has received national accreditation from the Educational Leader Constituent Council (ELCC) of the National Policy Board for Educational Administrators (NPBEA) and from NCATE.  Please note that as State and national policies change, the programs will be updated accordingly.

Based on the reflective practitioner model, all courses are designed to assist doctoral candidates in taking leadership roles to improve the curriculum and instruction in their classrooms, schools, and districts.  The EdD in Instructional Leadership at WCSU has three major components:

Leadership Theory and Foundation.  In one of our first courses of the program, students participate in a leadership exercise and construct an individualized Leadership Development Plan.  This plan acts as a blueprint for the acquisition and enrichment of leadership behaviors and skills.  Additionally, students develop individual, group, and organizational competencies throughout the program.

Area of Specialization.  Students investigate cognitive-developmental and socio-cultural theories and research-based strategies to design and modify classroom curricula as well as to create professional development experiences in schools.

Inquiry Strategies and Dissertation Sequence.  Doctoral students interpret and apply a full complement of in-depth research strategies to educational settings.  Students develop skills and extend their knowledge in the areas of evaluation, interpretation, and research implementation.

            Courses included in each area are listed below.

Courses in the EdD in Instructional Leadership, WCSU

The application is located online at our website: https://www.wcsu.edu/graduate/forms/edd-application.asp

You can find the admission requirements by clicking on the link below.

Admission Requirements

Costs are set by the Connecticut State University Board of Regents.  Graduate tuition and fees are located at https://www.wcsu.edu/registration/grad-tuition.asp 

Students applying for the EdD in Instructional Leadership must already have completed a Master’s degree in education or a related field.  There are no specific prerequisite courses, however applicants are asked to indicate their experiences related to the topics of curriculum and instruction, educational technology, foundations of education, measurement and evaluation, and special education.

A new cohort is accepted into the program every other year (e.g., Fall 2013, 2015, etc.).  Approximately 20-25 students are in each cohort.  Students complete courses together in the same sequence.  Accommodations can be made for students who request changes to the program sequence.  The model provides the opportunity for candidates to form study groups and to serve as a support system while advancing through the program.

This program is designed for full-time educators to complete a doctoral degree while taking classes on a part-time basis.  Participants are accepted into the program every other year (e.g., Fall 2013, 2015, etc.) and may complete all requirements over a 57-month period, or just under 5 years as a part-time graduate student.  Students have completed the program in 4 years.  Candidates are expected to complete all course work during 3 academic years, including two summers.  After completing the comprehensive exams in the summer of the 3rd year, the dissertation process begins in the fall.  An individual may take up to 6 years to complete the program, otherwise an application for an extension is required.  The overall sequence is illustrated below.

Program Sequence

Note. SH = Semester Hours.  Courses are 3 credits each.

The timeline for courses is available on our website: www.wcsu.edu/EdD-Leadership. The program is also designed to provide candidates with a variety of experiences including publishing, program evaluation, professional development activities, and conference presentations. Every other year, students and faculty members organize an Instructional Leadership Conference to highlight student accomplishments, activities of educators in local school districts, and pertinent research conducted by colleagues in other institutions.

Course Timeline: EdD in Instructional Leadership, WCSU

Note. Course sequence may be subject to change.

The EdD program includes 60 credits

• 15 courses (45 credits) over 3 years are followed by a comprehensive exam
• 5+ courses (approx. 15 credits) to complete the dissertation process through 5 or more semesterly seminars
• The seminar requirements “chunk” the dissertation process into manageable bits
• A dissertation committee under the guidance of a primary advisor directs the process

Year 1

• 2 courses in the fall, on the same night from 5:00-7:00 and 7:15-9:15 (once/week plus 1 Saturday class/course)
• 2 courses in the spring, on the same night from 5:00-7:00 and 7:15-9:15 (once/week plus 1 Saturday class/course)
• 2 courses in the summer, 1 during June/July, 1 the last week in July from 8:00 AM–4:00 PM

Year 2

• 2 courses in the fall, on the same night from 5:00-7:00 and 7:15-9:15 (once/week plus 1 Saturday class/course)
• 2 courses in the spring, on the same night from 5:00-7:00 and 7:15-9:15 (once/week plus 1 Saturday class/course)
• 1 course in the summer, during July

Year 3

• 2 courses in the fall, on the same night from 5:00-7:00 and 7:15-9:15 (once/week plus 1 Saturday class/course)
• 2 courses in the spring, on the same night from 5:00-7:00 and 7:15-9:15 (once/week plus 1 Saturday class/course)
• Comprehensive Exams, the last 2 Saturdays in July

Year 4

• Fall (dissertation proposal), Spring (data collection), Summer (dissertation chapters 1-3)

Year 5

• Fall (dissertation chapters 4 and 5), Spring+ (revisions/defense))

An individual may take up to 6 years to complete the program, otherwise an application for an extension of the 6-year time limit is required. This extension is subject to approval by the Graduate Council.

The dissertation process begins as soon as you start to think about possible topics for your investigation.  This should commence with your first course.  Collect ideas, discuss them with your peers and professors, and begin to investigate the feasibility of each by reviewing the literature.

You will formally begin the dissertation process after completing your comprehensive exams, which are scheduled in the summer of the third year of study. This program has been designed to assist you to complete your dissertation by having a series of seminars for each stage of the process.  The proposal, proposal defense, data collection process, and chapter revisions are incorporated into the seminars.  The dissertation process culminates in the Dissertation Defense.

Your major advisor will be determined according to the topic you choose and the type of research methodology that is best for your study.  While a major advisor is assigned by the Program Coordinator, changes might be made as a candidate refines ideas based on research content and procedures.

A doctoral committee includes at least three people who have earned doctoral degrees.  They will guide you through your dissertation process.  With guidance from your major advisor and the Program Coordinator, you will select and contact two individuals to serve as secondary advisors on your doctoral committee.  These individuals, in addition to your major advisor, will be your doctoral advisory committee.

This is a part-time program and there is no requirement for full-time commitment to coursework, therefore, there is no residency requirement.

Yes. Up to 9 hours of prior coursework may be transferred into a program of study.  These courses can be no older than 6 years when the candidate graduates from the present program, each course must be at the doctoral level, and each course must be equivalent to the course it is replacing.  Consult with the Program Coordinator in order to apply to transfer any courses.  Both a course description and syllabus must be reviewed in order to make this determination.  No course can be transferred if it was a requirement for a formerly completed degree.  Courses from Sixth Year Certificate (SYC) programs are eligible for transfer into the EdD program.

After acceptance to the program, courses may be transferred if each meets specific criteria.  Each course must be: from an accredited institution, equivalent to a course in the EdD program, within the total course credit transfer limit of 9 SH, approved by the Program Coordinator.  Before registering for any course outside of the EdD in Instructional Leadership program, an approved form must be filed with the graduate office.

 The courses in this program are offered in a given sequence only.  When a cohort is accepted, it is expected that all students enroll in the set sequence of courses.  While these courses are offered in a presented sequence, a student seeking any change in the sequence must apply for a change through the Program Coordinator.  For example, changes could occur if a student transfers credits from another institution.

 Each semester, registration procedures are handled by the Program Coordinator, who sends the schedule and a list of students/course to the office for the Division of Graduate Studies. 

The Certification for Intermediate Administration and Supervision (Endorsement #092) is an optional program for WCSU’s EdD in Instructional Leadership candidates.  Four courses incorporated into the EdD program are a part of the course sequence for the accredited administrative endorsement (ED 800: Foundations of Educational Leadership, ED 804: Learning, Cognition, and Teaching, ED 820: Topics in Curriculum and Instruction, and ED 805: Research and Evaluation in Education).  Students who wish to obtain this certificate, apply to the “092” program and complete an additional 4 courses.  Two of these courses are offered in collaboration with Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) and the other 2 courses constitute the required program internship.  Students may complete the courses for the administrative certificate beginning in Summer 2, Summer 3, or after obtaining the doctoral degree.

A schedule for both programs is indicated in the program timeline (www.wcsu.edu/graduate/edd/edd-timeline.pdf).  This timeline represents a schedule for beginning the additional administrative courses in Summer 3.

Take some time to read the graduate catalog (www.wcsu.edu/catalogs/graduate/ ) and the EdD in Instructional Leadership website (https://www.wcsu.edu/education/graduate/edd/ ).  The catalog contains the basic academic rules and regulations of the university and provides course descriptions, while the program website contains all documents pertaining to the EdD procedures. 

Our greatest outcomes are represented by the accomplishments of our students.  Of the candidates who are eligible to defend their dissertations, we consistently have between 88-92% completion rate.  The national average for dissertation completion is 50% after 10 years.  Candidates are indeed becoming active leaders and researchers in their school communities both before and after they graduate.  They influence their local schools and districts by accepting the following roles: Department Chair, School Dean, Principal, Assistant Principal, District Language Arts Coordinator, Mentor Program Director, Grant Director, NEASC Coordinator, Director of Technology, etc.  They have also led their schools to becoming award-winning institutions at the state, regional, and national levels.

In order to prepare for one of our Accreditation Reviews, an external consultant, Dr. Dennis Shirley from Boston College, was asked to review all aspects of the program.  He reviewed all program documents and held individual and group interviews with faculty members, students, community members, and university administrators.  Among other comments, Dr. Shirley made the following two points:

As a professor of education who is well aware that one of the persistent criticisms of schools of education for decades has been that they are excessively theoretical and irrelevant to the concerns of teachers, principals, and superintendents, I found myself admiring the commitment, talent, and vision of the faculty and staff at WCSU who created and are sustaining the Instructional Leadership doctoral program.

Second, the collaborative nature of the instructional leadership doctoral program was evident throughout this site visit.  Within WCSU, the program is viewed by students, faculty, and administrators to be internally coherent and well sequenced.  Discussants held that the doctoral program is embedded in a broader, university-wide commitment to the improvement of public education that they find praiseworthy and worthy of emulation by other universities.  Significantly, local educational leaders on the Advisory Board agreed, confirming that the doctoral program is meeting their needs for highly qualified teachers and administrators.

Dr. Shirley’s very positive assessment of the program is reinforced by the following student comments:

The excitement of working with classmates who are experienced practicing educators and faculty members who are dynamic and engaging, challenges my thoughts and ideas about education.  Frank LaBanca, Oxford Public Schools

This doctoral program enables me to not only be a stronger, more knowledgeable leader, but it also inspires me to be a better educator.

Joan McGettigan, New Canaan Public Schools

I have learned so much about myself as an educator and a leader through participation in this program. Nora Marrinan, Ridgefield Public Schools

I have no regrets about choosing to participate in this challenging program.

Mike Obre, Danbury Public Schools

I came to WCSU’s Ed.D. Program for the education, but I am staying because of the inspiration. Lori Kolbusz, Norwalk Public Schools

The most recent Accreditation Report from NEASC included the following comments:

A survey of graduates shows significant career growth, such as teacher to assistant principal or principal to superintendent, following graduation.  The Team examined the process of outcome evaluation and found strong evidence of student success, careful assessment, and caring faculty.  The University is to be commended for its efforts to build a strong and rigorous program that is thoughtfully and effectively evaluated and managed. (Commission on Institutes of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, 2013, p. 13)