Educational Leadership and Policy

Visit the Hofstra campus or connect with the graduate admission team. We will answer your questions and put you in touch with program faculty or degree candidates to learn more. Contact us at graduateadmission@hofstra.edu, or call 516-463-4723.

To be considered for the doctoral study, you must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.

Start your application online where you can upload the following documents:

• A detailed resume of professional and related experiences.
• A statement of purpose for advanced study in context of personal and professional goals.
• Official transcripts of undergraduate and graduate study.
• Three professional recommendations.
• An interview with the doctoral program director.

In addition, applicants to the K-12 strand must provide:

• Proof of New York state certification in teaching or pupil personnel, and administration (if completed).

Interview with faculty members will be required.

International students: Please review additional admission requirements.

In addition to financial aid and payment plan options offered by Hofstra University, the EPL program offers a variety of financial aid options for candidates applying to the Advanced Certificate in Educational Leadership or the doctoral program in Educational Leadership and Policy (Ed.D.)

For more information, please visit the Office of Student Financial Services.

Doctoral Fellowships for Educational Leaders are designed for exceptionally qualified candidates who are currently employed in educational leadership positions, or those who will complete administrative certification requirements as part of the doctoral program - or “in Phase I” of the doctoral program. These awards offer tuition remission for qualified candidates of the doctoral program.

Doctoral Fellowship financial aid decisions are made by May 1.

Applicants to the doctoral program may apply for a position as a research assistant. These positions are only available to full-time students in the doctoral program; duties typically require a minimum of 15 hours/week. For details, contact the department.

Doctoral students who receive financial support are expected to provide service to the learning community through participation on one of several committees, organizing social events, participating in student recruitment activities, or developing the department newsletter.

Students are also encouraged to apply for fellowships and financial incentives awarded by professional organizations, such as the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) and 100 Black Women of Long Island.

Program Outline  - 79 Semester Hours Minimum

• Phase I: Professional Studies - Semester Hours: 30
  Prior to earning the EdD, the majority of students in the k-12 strand will have completed requirements for administrative/leadership certification. K-12 students who enter the EdD program and have not yet earned certification may complete these course requirements as part of the Advanced Certificate in educational leadership or school district business leadership. K-12 students who have already earned certification may transfer up to 30 s.h. from an accredited institution toward the course requirements in Phase I.
  
  Typically, higher education students who enter the EdD program will have an earned master’s degree in higher education leadership/administration from an accredited institution, of which up to 30 s.h. can be applied to the course requirements in Phase I. For those who do not have a prior master’s, a master’s in higher education can be earned at Hofstra, either in face-to-face or online mode.
• Phase II: Advanced Professional Studies - Semester Hours: 40
  Requirements consist of the doctoral core, advanced educational leadership courses and other electives. Candidates complete core requirements as a learning community. In addition to course work, candidates must satisfy residency requirements and complete written competency requirements in two areas: critical analysis and synthesis of scholarly work, and research design and analysis and also satisfy residency requirements.
  
  Prior to beginning Phase III, candidates meet with faculty for Doctoral Oral Examination A: A Self-Assessment of Personal Learning.
• Phase III: Doctoral Dissertation - Semester Hours: 9 minimum
  Following completion of the Doctoral Oral Exam A: A Self-Assessment of Personal Learning, candidates begin the final phase of the program, involving a minimum of nine semester hours.  Students may work with faculty and peers to develop a dissertation study or project or, depending on their readiness, they may develop the proposal through individual consultation with the dissertation adviser. The effort culminates in a presentation of the proposal (Doctoral Exam B) and, upon its completion, presentation of the dissertation, (Doctoral Exam C). Once the proposal is accepted, students may apply up to six semester hours toward dissertation requirements.
• Requirements beyond coursework and the dissertation students should expect to complete the following throughout their program:
  • A written competency examination consisting of two parts:
    • Competency in Critical Analysis and Synthesis of Scholarly Work
    • Competency in Research Design and Analysis
  • Doctoral Oral Examination A: A Self-Assessment of Personal Learning
  • Doctoral Examination B: Proposal Hearing
  • Doctoral Examination C: Dissertation Oral

Critical Literature Synthesis Competency: The Critical Analysis and Synthesis is a literature review on a topic relevant to educational leadership. While students normally complete requirements for the synthesis as part of EADM 320-321, Introduction to Doctoral Studies, evaluation of the document as the written comprehensive examination is separate from evaluation for the course grade.  Students who fail to meet the competency requirement by the completion of the second semester of the course have the opportunity to resubmit the synthesis by the end of August of that year. If a student fails to meet this deadline, or fails to produce an acceptable product, the second and final deadline for submission will be one academic year from the first due date. Failure to complete a satisfactory document within the given time period will constitute grounds for dismissal from the program. The student may not register for additional coursework until this requirement is satisfied.

• Research Competency: Students complete requirements for the competency as part of their work in either of the research courses. As part of either research course, students design and complete (data collection and analysis) a research study.  The requirement involves completion of the research project and preparation of a final report at the end of the research courses. Students must meet the competency in one of the two research courses. Failure to complete a satisfactory document in either of the research courses will constitute grounds for dismissal from the program
• Oral Exam/Self-Assessment of Personal Learning (Doctoral Exam A): On satisfactory completion of all the requirements of Phase I and the majority of the requirements in Phase II, including all distributed electives, the student may schedule the oral exam. The Oral Exam is usually scheduled at the end of August. The Oral Qualifying Exam (Doctoral Exam A) is a pre‑requisite for registration in any of the courses in Phase III. After successful completion of the oral examination, candidates begin the final phase of the doctoral program.
• Dissertation Proposal Examination (Doctoral Exam B)
• Dissertation Defense (Doctoral Exam C)