School of Education
DEPARTMENTSPlanning for Doctorate Study
Practical Visionaries – Thinking Critically, Acting Ethically
Doctorate in Leadership
The doctoral curriculum emphasizes leadership development within the values-orientated, liberal arts tradition of St. Thomas.
The 66-credit doctoral curriculum has three strands – core courses, collateral courses and research courses. Core courses and cohort relationships are the heart of the program. Offered over a three-year period, core courses focus on ideas and issues central to leadership. Students enroll in collateral and research courses, including dissertation research courses, in a pattern that best fits their individual goals.
Core Courses – 18 Semester Credits
Core coursework begins with a weeklong summer residency on the St. Paul Campus. Courses continue on the Minneapolis campus over a three-year period with one-weekend-per month class meetings during fall semester (September-December) and spring semester (February-May).
The core curriculum addresses the reality that leaders today work within contexts of:
- Global interdependence
- Accelerating technological change
- Conflicting cultural values
- Dramatic economic shifts
- Increasing demands for justice
- Environmental responsibility
In this doctoral program, you will examine leadership and organizational issues in light of these larger social contexts. You'll explore interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks from history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, education and the humanities.
In core courses, you'll learn and grow together as members of a cohort learning community. You'll benefit from each others' diverse professional backgrounds while sharing in a cohesive, unified learning experience.
Collateral Courses – 24 Semester Credits
Concurrent with core coursework, you may select from a wide variety of courses in many areas. Collateral courses enable you to tailor your scholarship to areas of professional interest and take advantage of the wide array of graduate courses offered at St. Thomas. Most collateral courses are offered one evening per week during fall, spring and summer terms.
Working with faculty, you will outline a program of concentrated study.
If you do not have a master’s degree in education, 12 credits of the collateral area must be taken in education. If you do have a master’s degree in education you must take 14 credits in education or a collateral field and nine credits in a collateral field from the following graduate programs at the university:
- Business communication
- Business administration
- International management
- Computer software design
- Counseling psychology
- Social work
- Divinity
Opportunities are available for students to take collateral courses that meet criteria for licensure as a:
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Principal
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Special Education Director
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Superintendent
Fulfilling licensure requirements may require more than the 66 credits.
Research Courses - 24 Semester Credits
You will study research traditions in required courses. As a scholar-practitioner, you will plan and complete a research study linked to issues of leadership and change arising from professional fields and inspired by coursework.
You will become a doctoral candidate when your proposal for dissertation is approved. A faculty chairperson and two committee members mentor each doctoral candidate's research and writing.
