Doctor of Philosophy in Instructional Leadership - Social and Cultural Studies

The Instructional Leadership PhD with a concentration in Social and Cultural Studies is dedicated to the improvement of professional practice and to the work of school engagement. The program aims to develop scholars, researchers, and instructional leaders for schools, colleges, and other educational institutions. The work of the program is guided by the principles of reflective practice, professional growth, democratic action, and individual responsibility. The overarching goal is to prepare theoretically informed leaders with a critical understanding of social and cultural issues necessary to enact insightful organizational, curricular, and pedagogic decisions within their respective institutional settings.
The mission of the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Technology Studies is to prepare ethical and reflective practitioners, researchers, and scholars for work in K–12, higher education, and other educational settings. Through teaching and outreach, the department strives to promote the values, knowledge, and skills needed to improve education in the state and across the region, and, through the scholarly activities of its faculty and students, to advance a national research agenda. Leadership in all areas requires an understanding of curricular, instructional, supervisory, and administrative processes—as well as an awareness of the ever-changing social, political, legal, moral, and economic contexts of education. In line with the College’s conceptual framework, programs offered through the department meet these challenges by addressing the themes of student and community, disciplinary and pedagogic expertise, technology and assessment, collaboration and lifelong learning, and democracy and diversity. We respect diversity, honor difference, and promote social justice. The department also maintains an ongoing, open dialogue about educational improvement through its association with various federal, state, and local educational agencies and professional organizations.

Each international applicant must hold the equivalent of a U.S. four-year bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution to be eligible for graduate admission. While individual departments may have more stringent requirements, bachelor degrees from Bologna Accord certified institutions are considered to meet this criterion. We do also consider Indian three-year degrees to be equivalent to a U.S. four-year degree.TOEFL : The minimum score for admission to a degree program or for non-degree admission is 79 on the internet-based TOEFL (iBT).International English Language Testing System (IELTS): The minimum score for admission to a degree program or for non-degree admission is 6.5.TOEFL paper-based score of 550 and above