About

Appalachian’s Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership program prepares students for leadership roles in preK-20, including public schools, community colleges, universities and other community organizations. You will engage in a scholarly community of practice aimed at fostering relevant research to address the challenges of diverse communities.

In this doctoral program, you will choose one of six concentrations:

• Educational Leadership, General Concentration – Offers students the opportunity to select appropriate graduate-level electives that support the student's educational leadership goals in a wide variety of research and scholarly interests.
• Higher Education – Designed for students with professional backgrounds in community college and university settings who are interested in conducting research issues in the field. Graduates of this concentration obtain leadership roles such as vice presidents, academic deans and faculty.
• Educational Administration – Individuals holding a master's or specialist degree and licensure in School Administration who wish to acquire abilities to engage in scholarly inquiry in PreK-12 settings. Students seeking licensure may do so through dual enrollment in the Educational Specialist degree.
• Literacies in Exceptionalities – Focuses on school-based literacy, advanced reading instruction and assessment. Graduates of this concentration obtain leadership roles in public and private schools, consultants in the field and government organizations.
• Expressive Arts Education, Leadership and Inquiry – Will equip doctoral students with enhanced discernment and imagination that enriches leadership work across the spectrum of preK-20. Students in this concentration will become leaders using multi-modal expressive arts theory and inquiry to promote human flourishing.
• Instructional Technology Leadership – Designed to meet the evolving needs of the instructional technology field. Candidates will be prepared for positions such as chief technology officer or technology director.

More Information

People

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  Educational leaders share thoughts on challenges and solutions in K-12 schools and community colleges

  The annual Spring Symposium hosted by the doctoral program features successful alumni, including these five leaders. See who they are.

Application Essentials

Required Entrance Exam: GRE (score must be no more than five years old). All students must submit current GRE scores (unless the student is eligible for the GRE waiver).

Standardized Exam Waiver Eligibility: The standardized exam (GRE) requirement may be waived for applicants with:

• An earned graduate degree with a GPA of 3.0 or higher AND
• At least five (5) years of professional experience in education

OR

• An earned Education Specialist (EdS) degree with a GPA of 3.0 or higher from Appalachian State University

Required number of references to specify in the online form: 4

Supplemental Information: Resume (Required upload for application submission); letter of intent* (upload on the Additional Information page in the online application). Applicants should arrange an interview with the Program Director in advance of submitting their completed applications.

Letter of Intent:

1. Your letter of intent gives us a window into your history, motivation and goals for doctoral study, as well as your voice as a writer. It must be original work, and we will review it carefully as a sample of your writing ability. Please address the following, without exceeding five double-spaced pages. You may add an additional page for any references (using APA 7th edition citation style).
1. What energizes you to pursue a doctorate in educational leadership? How would earning a doctorate advance your personal/professional goals?
2. What educational problems are of greatest concern to you, given your context and standpoint as an educator? What experiences or theories have influenced your thinking about those problems?
3. How would you describe your commitment to, and/or experience with, diversity, equity and inclusion in education? How does that experience inform your educational practice?
4. How would doctoral study and dissertation research help you lead educational change, especially toward greater equity and social justice?

Basic Conditions for Consideration of Admission: Meeting or exceeding the conditions below does NOT guarantee admission. All applications for a given entry term will be weighed based upon the number of seats available and the quality of the complete application packages. With special permission from the Graduate School, a program may admit a limited number of students with exceptional circumstances who do not meet the graduate school minimums.

Graduate School: 3.0 GPA in the last earned degree and official scores from the appropriate admission test(s), OR 2.5 GPA in the last earned degree and official scores at the 25th percentile level from the appropriate admission test(s).

Admission to Educational Leadership: Master’s Degree from accredited college or University or the Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degree from Appalachian State University, GRE Writing score of 4.0.

Employers

• Public and private schools
• Colleges and universities
• Community organizations
• Government agencies
• Non-profits