The Ed.D. higher education leadership degree is designed for professionals whose career goal is to advance and serve in leadership positions within higher education.The focus of the Ed.D. treatise is on problems of practice, addressing a specific problem or program in a given context and examining a particular issue raised in any educational institution. It could also be aimed at the evaluation of a specific program in any educational institution.
The Executive Ed.D. Treatise in Practice are grounded in qualitative research methodologies that support in-depth, contextually rich inquiry within higher educational settings. The Treatise in Practice may take the form of an action research project or a program evaluation, drawing on qualitative approaches such as interviews, focus groups, case studies (single or dual site), evaluations, and document analysis. If the student conducts an action research project, the primary goal is to collaborate with colleagues in a specific higher educational context to better understand and address a defined problem of practice through systematic, reflective inquiry. While action research and program evaluation are common approaches, students are not limited to these formats and may select qualitative methods that best align with their research questions and professional context with the approval of the program and committee chair/co-chairs. If students seek methodologies outside of the qualitative scope, approval will need to be requested and granted.
The Ed.D. treatise report will include five chapters:
Chapter I will present an introduction to the problem of practice and its context.
Chapter II will include the relevant literature.
Chapter III will contain the research methodology.
Chapter IV will feature the results of the project.
Chapter V will typically include interpretation, discussion, and implications of the research results. The focus of each chapter and the chapter order described here, are only what is typical and thus do not necessarily apply to all treatises. All decisions on these matters are completely in the hands of the dissertation chair and committee.
It is expected that the writing, the use of citations, the understanding of the research literature, and the research skills would reflect the quality of any culminating effort for a doctoral degree. In addition, the style guidelines would be those of APA, or the one made available by the University, or any other style format considered appropriate by the committee.
The committee for the Ed.D. Treatise in Practice must be comprised of four individuals. The preferred committee formation model encompasses a co-chair design, with one person as the lead chair. Chairs must have GSC status in the Department at the minimum. A solo chair committee format is also acceptable and is chair dependent. Many faculty within the Executive Ed.D. program have GSC status and can serve as co-chairs.
The third committee member must be a faculty member and/or a senior lecturer with GSC status in the Department.
The fourth committee member can be an individual with practical experience directly related to the proposed treatise, who holds a doctoral level terminal degree (i.e., Ed.D., Ph.D., MD), and who is not a member of the student’s GSC. The fourth member, if external to the University, will need to submit a curriculum vitae indicating their willingness to serve on the treatise committee.
You can find a list of faculty members with GSC membership at this link: https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/ogs/auth/gsc/nlogon/gsc_members/. Please search “Educational Leadership and Policy” (ELP), “all roles”, click enter to view the full GSC roster for the ELP Department. It is the responsibility of the student to secure a faculty supervisor and committee that meets the requirements of the Graduate School.
The process for completing the Ed.D treatise is fourfold:
First, a student will defend a proposal consisting of the first three chapters (complete description of the project) before the treatise committee, with all the members in attendance for this defense.
Second, upon approval of the project, the student must complete the advancement to doctoral candidacy application process (through ELP and the Graduate School), including a one-page description of the proposal and the IRB application.
Third, upon successful advancement, the student would conduct the research activities under the guidance of the treatise chair and committee.
Fourth, the student will defend the completed treatise before the committee, with all members in attendance for this defense.
After successfully defending and satisfactorily completing any required revisions, the student would earn the Ed.D.