Academic Catalog
The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) is a post-master's program in education with five concentrations:
- Curriculum & Instruction
- Higher Education Leadership
- Learning Design & Innovation
- Multicultural/lingual Education
- PreK-12 Leadership
The concentration in Curriculum and Instruction meets the need of educators in areas such as staff development, program coordination, and curriculum development. Graduates may hold job titles such as Curriculum Specialist, Director of Elementary Programs, Director of Secondary Programs and Reading Specialist, to name a few.
The concentrations in Higher Education Leadership and PreK-12 Leadership are intended to prepare students to work in educational or training divisions in PreK-12 schools or any one of many other non-public school settings, such as higher education, business, healthcare, or public service. Both leadership concentrations will prepare graduates for careers in the management of professional organizations that value organizational and leadership skills.
The concentration in Learning Design & Innovation will teach students to become leaders in technology-enhanced learning environments. Graduates will work in schools, corporate settings, higher education, museums, libraries, and school media centers. Coursework includes design thinking, instructional design tools, and instructional product evaluation, among others.
The concentration in Multicultural/lingual Education will help doctoral candidates become leaders in diverse education. Graduates will work primarily in public and private schools and higher education, in community or government agencies, and in other educational settings. Coursework includes multicultural education, multilingual education, applied linguistics, and current topics.
Dual Concentrations
Students may seek dual concentrations with approval from the program coordinator. No courses used to meet requirements of one concentration may be substituted to meet requirements for the second concentration. Three concentration courses may be used to meet the elective requirement.
See program website at URL listed above.
Waivers to any of the following requirements require written approval of the Doctoral Admissions and Policy Committee (DAPC).
- A maximum of 12 graduate level credits may be applied to the Ed.D. if those credits have not been used to satisfy requirements for a prior graduate degree.
- Overall, at least 69 credits must be taken at FGCU. No substitutions are permitted for the dissertation hours (all dissertation hours must be completed at FGCU).
- Courses used in substitution must be no more than seven years old upon admission. Candidates must graduate within eight years of admission.
- Each candidate must complete a residency requirement as a part of his or her program of study. The goal of a residency is to enculturate candidates into the work of the academy. The following three criteria must be met: Candidates must:
(a) Take the required coursework with the cohort during the course of one academic year, including successive fall, spring, and summer semesters AND
(b) Submit a proposal to present at an international, national, state, or regional professional conference under the guidance of a faculty mentor. If the proposal is accepted, the candidate is expected to present the paper OR
(c) Participate in a project approved by the program coordinator; examples include, but are not limited to the following: co-teach a class at FGCU with a faculty member, supervise interns with the assistance of a faculty member, assist a faculty member in developing or redesigning a course, or collaborate with a faculty member on a quantitative or qualitative research project, which could be part of a program evaluation. - Successful completion of each course with a grade of B or better.
- Accumulated GPA of 3.5 or better prior to taking qualifying exam. Grades for all dissertation and internship courses will be graded satisfactory/unsatisfactory only.
- A qualifying examination is administered to all candidates at the end of their content coursework, as a prerequisite to enrolling in dissertation credits. Students must be matriculated in three credits of coursework during the semester in which the exam is administered. This exam determines whether students have an adequate command of knowledge in the field of study, and can organize, apply, and convey that knowledge in writing. Students who fail the exam will have one additional opportunity to retake it. If students fail, the second administration they will not advance to doctoral candidacy and will be dismissed from the program at that time by the DAPC. Students may appeal the dismissal to DAPC. There is no guarantee that students will be successful in passing the qualifying exam and no guarantee they will be permitted to develop a dissertation unless all of the above requirements are met.
- Candidates should work with their Dissertation Committee to determine the number of dissertation credits to enroll in each semester. The minimum is 3 credits per semester. The program coordinator must approve requests to take more than 9 credits per semester.
- Submit an application for graduation by the semester deadline listed in the FGCU Academic Calendar.
- Students must register for a minimum of one credit during the semester in which they apply for graduation.
Required Courses in the Major (33 credits)
EDA 7066 Organizational Leadership (3)
EDA 7110 UDL in Leadership (3)
EDA 7205 Applied Prog Evaluation (3)
EDF 7416 Quantitative Analysis (3)
EDF 7475 Qualitative Rsrch Desg & Anls (3)
EDF 7483 Mixed Methods Analysis (3)
EDF 7886 Multicultural Education (3)
EDG 7017 Reading & Writing for Research (3)
EDG 7367 Research Methods Seminar (3)
EDG 7925 1st Year Doctoral Colloquium (3)
Select one of the following:
EDA 7940 Internship in Leadership (3)
EDG 7940 Internship in Curr and Instr (3)
EME 7941 Design Studio Practicum (3)
Restricted Electives in the Major (9 credits)
Select 9 credits from the following or other courses with prior approval of the program coordinator.
The following courses are grouped by area of interest.
Research, Assessment & Measurement
EDF 6449 Survey Research Design (3)
EDA 7204 Program Evaluation (3)
EDF 7478 Advanced Qualitative Analysis (3)
EDF 7943 Cur Iss Ed Assess Dec Making (3)
Instructional Technology
EME 6408 Universal Design for Learning (3)
EME 6607 Instructional Program Analysis (3)
EME 6609 Instructional Media Resources (3)
EME 6696 Media Ecology (3)
EME 6936 Current Trends in Ed Tech (3)
Entrepreneurship
ENT 6248 Opportunity and Lean Launch (3)
ENT 6441 New Venture Launch (3)
ENT 6628 Mindset and Differentiation (3)
Higher Education Leadership
EDF 6808 Global Context in Higher Ed (3)
EDH 6041 Higher Education Advising (3)
EDH 6042 Helping Skills in Advising (3)
EDH 6044 Career Development (3)
EDH 6045 Student Development Theory (3)
EDH 6635 Org Structure-Higher Ed (3)
Curriculum & Instruction
EDG 7362 Advanced Learning Theory (3)
Special Education
EDA 7355 Legal Foundation of Spec Ed (3)
EDA 7359 Leadrshp Instrsctn Gen-Spec Ed (3)
EEX 7936 Critical Issues in Spec Ed (3)
Concentration (18 credits)
Select no more than two of the following concentrations in consultation with the program coordinator:
Curriculum & Instruction Concentration
EDA 7193 Instructional Leadership (3)
EDG 7065 Hist Persp Crit Literacies (3)
EDG 7221 Curriculum Theory (3)
EDG 7286 Curriculum Design Evaluation (3)
EDG 7325 Multiple Pedagogies (3)
EDG 7635 Curr Persp Exceptionalities (3)
Higher Education Leadership Concentration
EDA 7281 Education Policy Analysis (3)
EDH 7065 History/Philosophy-Higher Ed (3)
EDH 7367 Contemporary Stud Svces (3)
EDH 7408 Higher Education Law Seminar (3)
EDH 7502 HE Finance Seminar (3)
EDH 7935 Contemporary Issues in HE (3)
Learning Design & Innovation Concentration
EME 7235L Design Studio (3)
EME 7465L Design Tools for Learning (3)
EME 7608 Innovations in Learning (3)
EME 7623 Design for Virtual-Aug Reality (3)
EME 7672 Educational Design Research (3)
EME 7677 Design Thinking & Problem Solv (3)
Multicultural/lingual Education Concentration
EDF 6748 Soc Justice/Critical Pedagogy (3)
EDF 6938 Curr Topics, Multic & Multilin (3)
EDF 7883 Comp Res & Pedagogy in MCL Edu (3)
EDF 7889 Multilingual Education (3)
EDG 7707 Diversity & Global Stud in Ed (3)
LIN 6018 Applied Linguistics (3)
PreK-12 Leadership Concentration
EDA 7193 Instructional Leadership (3)
EDA 7197 Current Issues Educ & Ldshp (3)
EDA 7235 Seminar in School Law (3)
EDA 7247 Advanced Public School Finance (3)
EDA 7281 Education Policy Analysis (3)
EDF 7517 History of American Schooling (3)
Dissertation (21 credits minimum)
EDG 7980 Dissertation
