Doctoral Program Pre-graduation celebration

Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership - Signature Pathway

Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership - Signature Pathway

*This program is taught in a hybrid format

The Signature Pathway, established in 2010, provides leadership preparation for individuals interested in leading educational (prek-12 public, private, parochial and independent schools) and related non-profit organizations serving the public interest.  This pathway to the degree involves earning 59 post-masters graduate credits and completing a dissertation. Up to 12 post-masters credits in educational leadership may be transferred from other accredited graduate schools.

This program builds on Manhattanville University's educational leadership master’s and professional diploma certification programs for building level and/or district-level leadership. Accepted students will have both early-career leadership experience and the initial licensure or certification program requirements for their chosen career path as leaders in education.

The Signature Pathway is offered in partnership with Putnam | Northern Westchester BOCES as a hybrid platform at Putnam | Northern Westchester BOCES in Yorktown Heights, NY.

Request Information Apply Now Register for an Event

 

  • This pathway to the degree involves earning 59 post-master’s graduate credits and completing a dissertation. Up to 12 post-master’s credits in educational leadership may be transferred from other accredited graduate schools.
  • The program builds on Manhattanville University’s educational leadership master’s and professional diploma certification programs for building-level and/or district-level leadership.  
  • Accepted students will have both early-career leadership experience and the initial licensure or certification program requirements for their chosen career path as leaders in education. 

Today’s educational environment is vastly different than it was just a decade ago. As America’s suburbs and small cities continue to change rapidly and become ever more diverse, the need for school leaders who are adaptable, innovative, and forward-thinking will only increase. The Manhattanville University doctoral program’s Signature Pathway prepares students to become the visionary, flexible leaders we need to usher in the next generation of educational excellence.   

Transfer Credits 
 

Students can transfer 12 post-masters credits toward the doctoral degree requirements, by completing a Transfer Credit Form with their advisor. Many in the Signature Pathway receive credits for their coursework from Manhattanville’s "Bridge" program, which is a vehicle to gain state qualifications for leadership positions before or concurrent to doctoral study.  

EdD in Educational Leadership: Signature Pathway Course of Study (requiring a minimum of 59 credits or semester hours)

 

The following is a typical course plan:

 

First Year, fall term:

EDAD 8050 Leadership: Self Assessment & Self Management (3-credits)

EDAD 8051 Developing & Influencing Education Policy (3-credits)

 

First Year, spring term:

EDAD 8057 Introduction to Qualitative Research I (3-credits)

EDAD 8056 Leading Educational Change: Critical Issues (3-credits)

 

First Year, summer term:

EDAD 8300 Professional and Scholarly Communication: Writing the Lit Review (3-credits)

EDAD 8181 Pro-seminar (1-credit)

EDAD 8035 Theories of Social Capital (3-credits)

EDAD 8170 Capstone1 (1-credit)

 

Second Year, fall term:

EDAD 8053 Introduction to Quantitative Research I (3-credits)

EDAD 8180 (or 8895) Fieldwork (3-credits)

 

Second Year, spring term:

EDAD 8183 Dissertation Seminar (3-credits)

Choice of one:

EDAD 8055 Advanced Qualitative Research (3-credits)

EDAD 8059 Advanced Quantitative Research (3-credits)

 

Second Year, summer term:

EDAD 8171 Capstone 2 (1-credit)

 

Third year:

EDAD 8152 Professional and Scholarly Communication (2-credits)

EDAD 8190   Dissertation Supervision (12-credits)

Transfer courses or electives (12-credits)

 

EDAD 8030 Using Information Technologies in Leadership & Scholarship (3-credits)

EDAD 8052 Professional and Scholarly Communication (2-credits)

EDAD 8054   Developing Human Resources and Teams (3-credits)

EDAD 8058   Community Relations and Education (3-credits)

EDAD 8181 Dissertation Pro-seminar (1-credit) - This course can be repeated for up to 3 credits

EDAD 8182 Dissertation Pro-seminar (2-credits)

EDAD 8195   Emerging Financial Issues in Education (3-credits)

EDAD 8295   Emerging Legal Issues in Education (3-credits)

EDAD 8200 History of HigherEd (3-credits)

EDAD 8210 Administration of Colleges & Universities (3-credits)

EDAD 8220 The Professoriate (3-credits)

EDAD 8230 College Student Experience (3-credits)

EDAD 8240 Financing HigherEd (3-credits)

EDAD 8250 Legal Issues in HigherEd (3-credits)

EDAD 8895 Independent Study (variable credit)

Descriptions of Courses can be found in the Course Descriptions section below.

Note: All doctoral candidates who complete the required minimum of 59-credits (including all transfer credits) are required to continue to register for 2-credits of Dissertation Supervision (EDAD 8190), with their dissertation chair, every semester (spring, summer, fall) until successful final defense of their dissertations.

Doctoral Course Descriptions

 

EDAD 8030 Strategic Leadership for Technology in Education (3-credits)

Students will explore how information technologies can be effectively used in educational settings and how leaders can support technology integration in schools. Students will investigate the use of technology to support student-centered teaching and learning and to support educational planning and evaluation.
 
EDAD 8035 Theories of Social Capital (3-credits)
This course will focus on the social and political forces within groups and organizations that shape individual behavior using the lens of Social Capital theory, as espoused and developed by Pierre Bourdieu, James S. Coleman, and Robert Putnam. The course will specifically focus on the implications of Social Capital for such issues as: 1) the causes of the racial/ethnic achievement gap, and which school organizational strategies are more or less likely to reduce the gap, 2) the organization of schooling for the instruction of English Language Learners and school discipline, and 3) understanding social interaction dynamics in families, schools and communities. The course is essentially a readings and discussion course designed to expose students to in-depth research related to various dimensions of social capital.
 
EDAD 8050 Leadership: Self Assessment & Self Management (3-credits)
Examine your own beliefs, patterns of behavior, and preferred leadership models. Investigate your leadership effectiveness and soft skills. Develop / perfect a vision that can guide an approach to leadership, and begin to explore and develop an ethical and moral ?compass? for decision making. The experience involves discussions, readings, case studies, use of selected tools for self assessment, analysis, planning, and management. A major leadership assessment center activity will help each participant formulate a professional growth plan.
 
EDAD 8051 Developing & Influencing Education Policy (3-credits)
Use case studies to explore the education policy landscape of contemporary America on three levels. At the national/international level we will look at the debates, issues, and efforts to change education policy using case studies that reflect proposals from differing political and influence groups. At the state level, we will explore the effectiveness of varied approaches to bring about change in public policy within the state. At the local level we will again explore ways of changing policy and reforming education.
 
EDAD 8054 Human Resources and Teams (3-credits)
This is an advanced doctoral course on human resource development (HRD) in education. The primary goal is to extend knowledge and experience in four aspects of HRD: (1) recruiting and selecting quality leaders and teachers, (2) creating/changing the culture/climate of a school, district, or agency to better support the mission of educating a diverse student body to successfully live in and contribute to a diverse, pluralistic, and democratic society, (3) creating and deploying innovative and successful staff support and development activities, and (4) using participatory methods of development in education (e.g., participatory action research). Students will study competing theories of HRD as well as look at theories, models, and case studies of HRD and professional development in education. Students will learn a range of development activities including team development, collaboration, conflict resolution, effective communication, effective feedback systems, and professional development methods. Cases and examples will be drawn from education, business and industry, and agencies/NGOs with a focus on real world issues and problems presented by education organizations in the region.
 
EDAD 8056 Leading Educational Change: Critical Issues (3-credits)
In this course, we will explore both reflective approaches to leadership and the theoretical foundations that support a mission of social justice. This exploration will include the question of what constitutes ethical behavior and policy making in American education. Because all teaching and learning contexts are complex and ill-structured, solutions to problems must be modified and adapted before they can support and serve the local context. One of the projects associated with this course is the development of local knowledge about a school or community.
 
EDAD 8053 Intro to Quantitative Research (3-credits)
The purpose of this course is to prepare leaders to collect, manipulate, analyze and interpret data. The students will learn how to interpret and apply the descriptive and inferential statistics often used in the field of education. The students will also learn to analyze data using the popular statistical software package SPSS. The students will apply the techniques and skills they learn in the course by designing and implementing a mini, empirical research project. These projects will include the construction and administration of a survey instrument, the statistical analysis of the collected survey data, and the compilation of a research paper which incorporates the essential elements of a self-contained research project.
 
EDAD 8057 Intro to Qualitative Research (3-credits)
This course is designed to provide doctoral students with an introduction to qualitative research with an emphasis on its uses in educational settings. Qualitative research is characterized by the study of natural settings (as opposed to controlled or contrived settings as in experimental research) in which the researcher—the data-gathering instrument—collects data through forms of observation and/or interview (among other data sources).
 
EDAD 8055 Advanced Qualitative Research (3-credits)
This course is designed to provide doctoral students with further depth in qualitative research with an emphasis on its uses in educational settings. As a follow-up to the introductory course, we will consider theoretical foundations, methodologies, methods, and writing as they relate to qualitative inquiry.
 
EDAD 8059 Advanced Quantitative Research (3-credits)
In this course students will become familiar with common quantitative research methodology, data collection, and data analysis procedures. Emphasis will be placed on interpreting quantitative dissertations and scholarly research, and how these may be useful to school practitioners. Additionally, students will be expected to make significant progress on their dissertation work.
 
EDAD 8058 Community Relations (3-credits)
What role should school leaders play in community leadership? In what ways should school leaders endeavor to bring community agencies together to coordinate their work in order to enhance the quality of life for children and all residents? To what extent has there been a "disconnect" between what educators and the general public perceive as the purpose of public education? What strategies can leaders employ to reconnect schools to the communities they serve? How should leaders shape the mission of the school given the public's "mixed messages" about its purposes and priorities? This course will engage students in readings, discussion, and a field-based community project to answer these questions.
 
EDAD 8052 & 8152 Professional and Scholarly Communication 1 & 2 (2-credits each)
Develop strong written, spoken, and presentation skills in both professional and scholarly contexts. This course will support tasks and assignments that are required in other courses. Master the skills needed to write and present professional and scholarly personal narratives; write and present scholarly and professional papers (e.g., 5-chapter dissertations). This course can be repeated.
 
EDAD 8170 Capstone 1 Experience (1-credit)
EDAD 8171  Capstone 2 Experience (1-credit)
A major focus of the doctoral program in educational leadership involves linking theories, ideologies, and applied research to professional practice in changing suburbs and small cities. This course is one of the experiences that focuses on the linking process and provides students with an opportunity to learn about contemporary problems and solutions. Doctoral students engage in individual and group projects based on their applied research and field work (need prior approval of the instructor). Two credits (part 1 and part 2) are required.
 
EDAD 8180 Fieldwork (3 cr)
The purpose of this course is to prepare doctoral level education leaders to appreciate the relationship between theory, research, and leadership practice and be able to transfer this learning to new problems and situations. Through independently developed research projects, students will apply the knowledge and practice the fieldwork skills and strategies that they acquired in previous coursework, including but not limited to the following: sampling, observation, interviewing, artifact analysis, and data analysis, interpretation, and display. This course is intended for those students who have completed their first year of the doctoral program, have identified a research topic, and are preparing to develop their research plan. This course will provide students with an opportunity to utilize the introductory research methods learned in prior coursework.
 
EDAD 8181 Dissertation Pro-seminar (1-credit)
The primary purpose of this course is dissertation support, ranging from helping doctoral candidates develop a solid dissertation research agenda and complete the introduction chapter of the dissertation, to understanding dissertation formatting and APA compliance, as well as continuing to refine and develop research skills as a practitioner-scholar, and conceptualize how one will frame and design applied research. This course may be repeated.
 
EDAD 8183 Dissertation Seminar (3-credits)
This seminar is designed specifically for advanced doctoral students to coach and support them in the completion of the dissertation proposal toward advancement to candidacy. The Seminar is open to doctoral students who have developed a prospectus for their dissertation and have identified a faculty dissertation adviser who has made a commitment to serve in that role for the student. Students may enroll in this seminar more than once.
 
EDAD 8195 Financial Issues in Education (3-credits)
Financial issues in education now assume a central and crucial stance in the scope of every school district administrator's responsibility and success. Much can be learned from examining the principles and problem solving approaches that underlie certain of today's controversies, in preparation for the continuing challenges that inevitably will unfold. With the expectation that the doctoral student has an established foundation in the fundamentals of finance, this class will provide for in-depth study of broad-based economic issues, as designated by the class and instructor in the first session. Our focus will be on the processes through which the leader can best address such issues, beginning with research and analysis, then followed by the development of a response that is aligned with one's own particular organizational context and theory of action.
 
EDAD 8200 The History of U.S. Higher Education (3-credits)
The History of U.S. Higher Education explores the history of American higher education. Two primary themes are examined: 1) the changing relationship between higher education and the larger social, political, and economic order in which it resides; and 2) the ways in which higher education has shaped, and been shaped by this complex and historically contingent web of relationships. Students will develop a historically grounded conception of the institution, a deeper understanding of the key policies and policy makers that created it, and a richer map of the ways in which going to college has evolved-and, in many cases, stayed the same-over the last four hundred years.
 
EDAD 8210 The Administration of Colleges/University (3-credits)
The Administration of Colleges and Universities addresses the organizational governmental, administrative, and financial underpinnings of colleges and universities in the United States. The course examines how colleges and universities emerged as one of the nation's most respected societal institutions; why decisions are made, and by whom; what challenges confront institutions and organization; and how colleges and universities can be made more effective and productive. Students learn about the core governance structures and processes of postsecondary education institutions, as well as classical and contemporary theories on higher education governance.
 
EDAD 8220 The Professoriate (3-credits)
The Professoriate focuses on the structure of the American academic profession with particular attention concentrating on institutional and disciplinary differences among college and university faculty. The teaching and research role performance of college and university faculty as well as the various psychological, sociological, and organizational forces that shape the performance of these professional roles are also examined. Additional topics include the assessment of teaching and research activities of college and university faculty members.
 
EDAD 8230 The College Student Experience (3-credits)
The College Student Experience studies the college student in contemporary society with a focus on characteristics of students admitted and retained, the impact of college on the student, student values, and peer group influence. A theoretical and research-based understanding of this experience is fundamental to effective leadership and day-to-day practice in colleges and universities.
 
EDAD 8240 Financing Higher Education (3-credits)
Financing Higher Education provides an introduction to the economics and finance of higher education, presents an overview of federal and state policies related to the funding of colleges and universities, and provides an introduction to finance and budgeting issues at the institutional level. Current issues such as privatization, ratio analysis, and federal and institutional financial aid policies are also examined so that campus administrators are able to understand and appreciate issues of budgeting and finance.
 
EDAD 8250 Legal Issues in Higher Education (3-credits)
Legal Issues in Higher Education provides an overview of areas of law that are particularly relevant to higher education and the leadership of higher education institutions. This course introduces methods of legal analysis and decision-making so that students can identify and anticipate legal problems as higher education administrators. Students will also learn to access court cases, regulations, and statutes to understand the legal relationships among these various sources of law.
 
EDAD 8295 Legal Issues in Education (3-credits)
Legal issues in education now assume a central and crucial stance in the scope of every school district administrator's responsibility and success. Much can be learned from examining the principles and problem solving approaches that underlie certain of today's controversies, in preparation for the continuing challenges that inevitably will unfold. With the expectation that the doctoral student has an established foundation in the fundamentals of law, this class will provide for in-depth study of broad-based legal issues, as designated by the class and instructor in the first session. Our focus will be on the processes through which the leader can best address such issues, beginning with research and analysis, then followed by the development of a response that is aligned with one's own particular organizational context and theory of action.
 
EDAD 8190 Dissertation Supervision (variable credit)
In this course doctoral candidates will explore and then work through the steps in the process of doing dissertation research on a topic relevant to educational leadership and approved by the dissertation supervision committee. The process includes selecting a topic, assuring that the research work meets ethical and professional standards, preparing a proposal, conducting and writing a literature review, collecting and analyzing data, developing conclusions and implications, selecting a format for your dissertation (e.g., traditional 5-chapter empirical, modified 5-chapter qualitative, or an innovative format such as the three-article dissertation). This course may be repeated as needed.
 
EDAD 8300 Professional and Scholarly Communication: Writing the Literature Review (3-credits)
This course is designed specifically for advanced doctoral students to support them in the completion of an integrative review of the literature on a proposed dissertation topic and research question.
EdD in Educational Leadership: Advancement to Candidacy
 
The Advancement to Candidacy process is intended to assess the doctoral student’s preparedness to design and conduct a research project that contributes to the professional field’s understanding of the practice of educational leadership. Once the following requirements are completed, a student is (self)identified as a Candidate for the Degree of Doctor of Education.
 
Coursework
 
Successful completion of two-thirds of the doctoral coursework (not inclusive of transfer credits). “Successful completion” shall be defined as earning a minimum grade point average of 3.25 out of a possible 4.0 GPA.
 
Self-Assessment (ePortfolio)
 
An electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) is a self-assessment that calls upon students to reflect upon and demonstrate knowledge and application of content and skills reflected in program themes.  Students will begin developing an ePortfolio during the first academic year using Digication, the college’s platform for portfolio development. The ePortfolio will include evidence of one's learning and growth, e.g., leadership philosophy statement, epistemological and methodological development, and Capstone project.
 
Review of the ePortfolio will occur annually, with first year reflection due by end of year one (as part of EDAD 8170: Capstone 1); and final submission of ePortfolio will be by the beginning of the third year of coursework (as part of EDAD 8171: Capstone 2).
 
  • At the end of a student's first year of coursework, each must submit a reflection on what has been learned, through the coursework, about self, and about leadership. Each student must submit the reflection essay to one's advisor and Program Director, and upload a final copy of the essay to the ePortfolio as part of course requirements in EDAD 8170 (Capstone 1). View the prompt for this reflection.
 
Successful Defense of Dissertation Proposal
 
The final requirement for Advancement to Candidacy shall be the formal acceptance by the student’s faculty dissertation committee of the written dissertation proposal, following defense of proposal. This typically occurs at the end of the second year of coursework. During the student’s first year of coursework, s/he will write a 3-5 page research prospectus which is presented to one of the core faculty members as an invitation to serve as chair of the dissertation committee.
 
The student shall consult with the dissertation committee chair to determine who will be invited to serve as second and third members. It is understood that both the student and chair may choose to veto the nomination of the second and third members. With the committee membership determined, the student will draft and defend a full research proposal. The proposal shall be defined as follows for each dissertation format option:
 
  • In a five chapter dissertation: Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Review of the Literature; Chapter 3: Research Methodology
  • In the three article dissertation: Chapter 1: Introduction; Review of the Literature as publishable article; with proposed Research Design (consistent with requirements for IRB application).
Student Responsibility During the Dissertation Phase of the Program
 
The EdD dissertation is an exercise in the student’s independent application of theory to a problem of practice. In sharp contrast to the doctoral coursework phase of the program where the professor takes the lead responsibility for teaching a course, in the dissertation phase the professor assumes the role of counselor or tutor, asking questions of the student rather than providing direct guidance about how to conceptualize and conduct the study.
 
Once the dissertation proposal development phase of the program begins and continuing through to the final oral defense of the completed dissertation, the doctoral student shall assume lead responsibility for conceptualizing the study, designing its methodology, conducting the research, preparing the remaining dissertation chapters, and (in consultation with the dissertation chair) scheduling the final defense. In the event that a student fails to show evidence of assuming lead responsibility in either the proposal development or research phases of the dissertation requirement, a majority of the dissertation committee members may determine that the student does not possess the skills to complete the dissertation and may counsel the student to withdraw from the program.
 
Successful final defense of the completed dissertation affirms the student’s competence as a scholar-practitioner.
Doctoral students can apply for graduation three times a year in January, May, and August, however commencement only takes place in May.

Students must apply for graduation through their Servicehub account.  

 

Contact Us