Program Description

Wenzhou-Kean University’s Doctor of Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) program is designed to help experienced educators acquire the key knowledge and skills needed for independent research capabilities, and encourage them to conduct education research and solve existing education problems in an innovative way. The program is based on an innovative, interdisciplinary, professional-oriented model that integrates coursework and practical experience, culminating in a full-year internship in a school district or community education agency. Further, this program trains the school leaders to be effective consumers of research. This program mainly offers courses such as: Leadership, Personnel Administration & Negotiations, Program Assessment and Evaluation, School, Community Partnerships and Educational Research, Clinical Practicum in School District, and other professional courses.

Important features of the program include:

1. Collaboration among leaders from schools, school districts, and other educational and community agencies;
2. Study of current research, theories and practices in education, leadership, policy, curriculum, and instruction;
3. Opportunity to engage in applied (action) research, resulting in a doctoral dissertation;
4. An extensive internship in a school district or other educational setting.

Admission Requirements

1. Master’s degree from an accredited college or university

*Applicants, if not graduated from U.S. institutions, must submit a course-by-course evaluation of their official university transcript by National Association of Credit Evaluation Services (NACES) (http://www.naces.org), such as the International Education Evaluation (IEE) or World Education Services (WES) (need to choose course-by-course evaluation).

2. Statement of purpose
3. Official transcripts of all colleges or universities attended, 3.0 minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) in last degree attained (lower GPAs may be considered based on overall strength of application)
4. Optional, not required: Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Miller Analogies Test (MAT) taken within five years of application
5. Professional résumé/CV
6. Substantial experience working in education or family-support agencies
7. Two letters of recommendation
8. Optional, not required: Letter of Endorsement from a superintendent or agency director
9. Official TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo score reports of test taken within the past two years of application

*TOEFL iBT / TOEFL at home: 79, paper-based: 550; IELTS: 6.5; Duolingo English Test: 105

10.Departmental interview may be required

Curriculum & Academic Standards

 * The Doctor of Educational (Ed.D.) Leadership requires the completion of 90 credits beyond a bachelor’s degree, of which 36 credits are bridging courses. If candidates who already possess a master’s degree in Educational Administration, and their master’s level coursework meet the requirements of the following bridging courses at Kean University (up to 36 graduate credits), they will not need to take the bridging courses.

36 credits of bridging courses are listed below:

Foundations and Fundamentals of Administration (6 credits)

• EL 5502 Public School Administration I
• EL 5503 Public School Administration II

Supervision, Curriculum, and Instruction (12 credits)

• EL 5606 School Supervision and Organizational Theory
• EL 5607 Supervision and Evaluation of Instruction
• EL 5613 Curriculum Development and Evaluation: Theory and Practice
• EL 5614 Learning, Instruction, Evaluation and Curriculum Development

Policy, Procedure, and Practice (9 credits)

• EL 5551 Basic School Law and Policy
• EL 5541 Computer Applications in Education Administration
• EL 5520 Management of Educational Finance

Research, Synthesis and Application (9 credits)

• EL 5030 Educational Research
• EL 5813 Field Study in Administration and Supervision I
• EL 5814 Field Study in Administration and Supervision II

The Graduate Admissions Committee of the program will evaluate the applicant’s background and decide whether the applicant needs to take bridging courses, and the credits that need to be taken. An applicant without having a master’s degree in Educational Administration usually have to take 18-30 credits of bridging courses.

After a graduate student attempts six (6) total graduate credits as a matriculated student, a 3.0 cumulative GPA must be achieved. Failure to meet this minimum may result in the student being placed on Academic Probation. Upon completion of twelve (12) attempted graduate credits, if a student fails to achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0, the student may be academically dismissed from the University at the discretion of the program/department. If a student who is on Academic Probation achieves a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, they will be removed from Academic Probation. However, if at any time during subsequent semesters the student falls below a cumulative 3.0 GPA, they will be academically dismissed from the University.

Graduation Requirements

The Doctor of Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) curriculum is comprised of 18 courses (3 credits each) for a total of 54 credits. Upon successful completion of 54 credits (and designated credits for bridging courses, if any), students must maintain their status as matriculated students (GPA no less than 3.0) until they successfully complete and defend their dissertation. To maintain their matriculation status, students must register for a 2-credit course (Dissertation Continuation EDD 7103), while they work on their dissertation. Finally, students will be conferred the Doctor of Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) degree of Kean University.

Contact Us

Email: edd@wku.edu.cn

Tel: 0577-55870587