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Doctor of Education Program
| The Ed.D. degree is an Internet-enhanced research doctorate
that allows participants to remain in full-time ministry without having to
relocate to Southern Seminary. It is offered through the School of
Leadership and Church Ministry at Southern Seminary.
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| This page is your introduction to the
Doctor of Education degree. Scroll this page for a basic
introduction to the program. More information is available
through three sources. |
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Program Accreditation
Southern Seminary and this doctoral degree program are accredited as
follows:
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is accredited by the
Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097: Telephone
number 404-679-4501).
The Southern Baptist Theological seminary is accredited by The
Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada
(10 Summit Park Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15275-1103: Telephone
number 412-788-6505).
Description and Purpose
The Doctor of Education in Leadership degree is designed to
meet the learning needs ministry professionals who serve as leaders in
academic or educational ministry contexts. Admitted candidates have
substantive full-time ministry experience and desire to earn a research
doctorate but are unable to relinquish or suspend their full-time employment
or change locations in order to attend Southern Seminary.
The primary educational
objective of the Doctor of Education in Leadership degree is the development
of leadership, advanced research, and critical thinking and problem solving
skills in persons continuing in full-time practitioner status in local
church, denominational, or higher education leadership positions in the
field of Christian education.
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Instructional Format
The program of
study, including the dissertation, consists of consistent full-time,
non-traditional resident study that can be completed in a minimum of three
years of study. Four years of study is the likely timeframe for students
engaged in full-time ministry.
Students are enrolled in a cohort group that will move
together through a prescribed sequence of research seminars. These seminars
sessions are held in July, November and March in Tuesday-Saturday modular
format. Prospectus hearings will require additional attendance in July.
Dissertation hearings may require additional attendance in March. In total,
students will be in face-to-face sessions approximately four weeks per year.
This is an alternative residency program requiring
significant online discussion participation. Research seminars are preceded
by a foundational research component and followed by an advanced research
component, both completed at the student’s home location. Extensive use of
the Internet, seminary web site, and e-mail are required.
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Alternative
Residency
The Ed.D. program is
designed for non-traditional doctoral level students.
Full-time
residency equivalency is sustained in the alternative delivery system
through consistent, full-time academic research and dialogue with faculty
and peers for three full years. Resident-level study is maintained through:
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a cohort approach to the learning community in the
seminar experiences
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substantial research immediately preceding and following
each research seminar
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consecutive enrollment in full-time course work (fall and
spring semesters and summer terms) for three years
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required Internet access to Southern Seminary and other
research library resources
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required participation in weekly Internet-based
discussion groups on seminar issues
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required e-mail access to remain in contact with
professors and colleagues throughout the program
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Mediated
Learning Model and The Community of Learning
Each course in the Ed.D. in Leadership degree program is taught by a
graduate LEAD professor of Southern Seminary, or a instructional team
consisting of a graduate LEAD professor and an approved guest lecturer or
another graduate LEAD professor. Courses are offered in an accelerated
instructional format consisting of a research triad: 1) a foundational
research component; 2) a research seminar component; and 3) an advanced
research component. Each course syllabus reflects the three components with
educational objectives designed specifically to link each component of the
research triad. Internet-based discussion groups and seminar resources allow
for mediated instruction immediately prior to and following the on-campus
seminar experience.
Doctoral students in the Ed.D.
program are encouraged to abandon any competitive habits accumulated during
previous years of formal schooling. The idea of the research seminar is to
engage the doctoral student in the giving and receiving of ideas,
information, sources, and materials in the context of a community of
scholarship. This sort of exchange includes sharing foundational research
and advanced research manuscripts with other students for analysis and
evaluation.
Doctoral students are expected to
enter fully into seminar dialogues, and to participate constructively in
open hearings for research proposals and oral comprehensive examinations.
This community of scholars will be developed and maintained between seminars
through the use of E-mail and the online discussion groups.
Doctoral students are expected to
ground their research in significant and pertinent literature, and to share
ideas and resources with their colleagues. In sum, doctoral students are
expected to know what they are talking about and are expected to help one
another.
In the facilitation of community and
the networking for cooperative learning, two educational principles in the
instructional design of the Ed.D. degree are considered essential:
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The outcome of advanced graduate
education is the development of refined sustainable habits of scholarly
inquiry and professional integrity. These habits include engaging in
seamless and life long learning, and discerning, upholding and
accurately communicating truth.
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Competitive practices and
individualistic approaches to scholarly inquiry are considered
inappropriate outcomes.The preferred learning environment is one which
fosters a community of cooperative inquiry. Faculty and students alike
are to be engaged in this learning community toward the development of
all participants, not just the individual.
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Length of the
Program
The Doctor of
Education program may be completed in a minimum of three years although four
years is considered typical for students who are in full-time ministry. This
timeframe includes all seminars plus the dissertation. If a student requires
additional time beyond four years, that student must petition for an
extension of time. The petition must be submitted to and approved by the
Leadership and Church Ministry Doctoral Studies Committee. Students who are
granted extensions are assessed an additional fee for each semester of
extension beyond the four-year limit. The maximum time allowed for the
completion of the Ed.D. degree is six years.
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Program Overview
Year One Research Seminars
The titles and sequence of the first year research seminars are as follows:
- 95500 Critical Inquiry and Research Design (July)
- 96100 Leadership and Management Theory (July)
- 95100 Personality and Developmental Theory
(November)
- 96200 Leadership for Church Development (November)
- 95200 Social Systems in Ministry Context (March)
- 95300 Theological Analysis of Educational Assumptions (March)
Year Two Research Seminars
The titles and sequence of the second year research seminars are as
follows:
- 96400 Change, Power, and Conflict (July)
- 96800 Empirical Research Methods (July)
- 96300 Organizational and Development (November)
- 95600 Teaching and Learning: Theory and Practice (November)
- 96850 Analysis of Empirical Research (March)
- 96920 Comprehensive Examinations (March: Required--No Credit)
Year Three Research Seminars
The titles and sequence of the third year dissertation research are
as follows:
- 93980 Dissertation Research (July)
- 93980 Dissertation Research (November: No Campus Visit)
- 93980 Dissertation Research (March)
- 96990 Dissertation Continuation (As needed in following
terms/semesters--No Credit)
Students who need additional time to complete the dissertation enroll in
one Dissertation Continuation course each semester and Summer term until the
dissertation is completed or the statute of limitations expires.
Continuation courses are considered part-time status and carry no credit.
Students are allowed four years to complete the program before continuation
fees apply.
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EdD Program Tuition and Fees
Fees for the EdD program are detailed in the
Research Doctoral Studies Handbook.
To go directly to the page in the handbook that provides details program
fees, click on the link below. To return to this page, use the back button
on your browser.
PROGRAM FEES AND
REFUND POLICY
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Admissions Requirements
Admissions requirements are detailed in the
Research Doctoral Studies Handbook. To go directly to
the page in the handbook that provides details about the admission process,
click on the link below. To return to this page, use the back button on your
browser.
ADMISSIONS PROCESS
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Language and
Research Requirements
Foreign language is not
required in this program. Students are required to have taken a master’s
level course in research statistics. Students who have not taken a
statistics course before entering the program can do so through the Seminary
during the June or January term before entrance into the program.
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Comprehensive Exams
The comprehensive examinations mark the shift from “user
of knowledge of the field” to the “originator and extender of the knowledge
base of the field.” These exams also sample the critical thinking and
problem solving skills of doctoral students.
The comprehensive examinations consist of three written evaluations
integrating the concepts of the research seminars in the doctoral program.
These exams can be taken only after the completion of all course work and
program competencies. Comprehensive examinations must be taken within twelve
months following the successful completion of all course work. Doctoral
students must complete the comprehensive examinations successfully before
the dissertation prospectus can be approved and dissertation data gathering
can begin.
Two of the three comprehensive questions are derived from seminar content.
The third question is dissertation related and is generated from work done
for the advanced research assignment in the 96800 Empirical Research Methods
course.
In the EdD, comprehensive examinations are taken immediately after the first
research seminar in the second Spring term of the program of study. The
seminar preceding the examinations is the last seminar of the program of
study.
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Dissertation
Each candidate for the Ed.D. in Leadership must successfully complete a
dissertation based on the candidate's own systematic inquiry into an area of
advanced research in leadership. The dissertation is intended to: 1)
demonstrate the student’s competency in research methodology, 2) to
demonstrate the student’s ability to think critically and systematically,
and 3) to make a significant contribution to the literature base of the
field of leadership and church ministry.
The process of writing the dissertation is not a sudden enterprise, but a
progressive investigation of a line of empirical inquiry begun in the
research seminars. Students first encounter the empirical research model in
the first term during the Critical Inquiry and Research Design course.
Through seminar course work, students continue to identify potential
research questions.
In the Empirical Research Methods seminar, the student receives formal
training in research methodologies. In the required research seminars,
students will develop their study of the literature base related to their
intended dissertation topic. In the Analysis of Empirical Research course,
students gain skills in instrument design and the selection of statistical
techniques.
After completing comprehensive exams (one of which is dissertation
related), the student develops a dissertation Prospectus that will present
the student’s research questions and strategy. The student’s Dissertation
Committee supervises the dissertation writing process including the writing
of the Prospectus. The student defends the Prospectus in an open hearing
held in July. The student cannot begin dissertation research until the
Dissertation Committee and the seminary faculty accepted the Prospectus.
Research methods utilized for the dissertation must be appropriate to the
type of research being conducted by the student. Qualitative and/or
quantitative social science research methodologies appropriate for the
dissertation include: descriptive research, ethnographic research,
historiographic research, and experimental methodologies and their variants.
On-campus, individual consultations are required of the student during the
writing of the dissertation.
Worthy topics for dissertation research generally will arise out of a
specific relational or conceptual problem in reference to human development;
theory and praxis of teaching and learning; organizational management;
leadership; decision-making; or other social-interactional dimensions of
Christian education and leadership broadly defined.
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Course Descriptions
The following are the catalog descriptions for the research
seminars and research processes in the order they are taken in the Ed.D. program.
95500 Critical Inquiry and Learning Assessment
Critical thinking and reflection processes are explored and are applied
to research evaluation and interpretation. Students develop the knowledge,
skills and disposition for critical inquiry and research development,
preparation, analysis, interpretation and evaluation. 4 hours.
96100 Leadership and Management Theory
A critical examination of contemporary leadership principles and
practices in the light of biblically-based models and criteria for Christian
leadership and administration. 4 hours.
95100 Personality and Developmental Theory
An evaluation of personality theories, educational psychology and
developmental psychology and an analysis of their contributions to the
practices of leadership, instruction and spiritual formation. 4 hours.
96200 Leadership for Church Development
An evaluation of a variety of contemporary ministry models and church
growth strategies and an analysis of their contributions to the development
of Christian leadership. 4 hours.
95200 Social Systems in Ministry Context
An exploration of the findings of sociology and
anthropology as they relate to Christian education ministry and the
development of Christian leadership across social groups and cultures. 4
hours.
95300 Theological Analysis of Educational Assumptions
An investigation of the theological presuppositions that
inform the education and leadership assumptions of ministry praxis. Students
will articulate and evaluate their working philosophy of ministry in light
of biblical theology and systematic theology. 4 hours.
96400 Change, Power and Conflict
An analysis of the change process, the role of power and
authority in the development of change and conflict, and approaches to
conflict management. 4 hours.
96800 Empirical Research Methods
A study of research methodology, including methods and techniques of
literary, quantitative, and qualitative analysis, data collection and
tabulation, statistical analysis, and the documentation of findings. 4 hours.
96300 Organizational Theory and Development
Explores psychological and developmental underpinnings of
organizations. Presents classical and contemporary theories and principles
of organizational development. Students gain skills in the analysis of
organizational culture, communication processes, and staff training. 4 hours.
95600 Teaching and Learning: Theory and Practice
An analysis of learning theory and contemporary models of teaching with
an emphasis on instructional techniques used in higher education. 4 hours.
96850 Analysis of Empirical Research
A study of the methods of empirical data gathering and analysis
including the design and validation of instrumentation, the selection of
statistical measures and options for data computation, and the documentation
and display of research findings. 4 hours.
96920 Comprehensive Examinations
A series of individualized research questions
incorporating and expanding upon the findings of doctoral course work.
Enrollment continues under Directed Doctoral Study until the comprehensive
examinations are passed. Prerequisite: Successful completion of all
requisite research seminars. No credit.
93980 Doctoral Dissertation Research and Writing
Self-directed research for degree candidates who have completed
dissertation research and who are now attempting to defend the final
manuscript in open hearing. If additional research is warranted following
the defense, enrollment continues in this course through the term the
revised manuscript is defended. No Credit until defense is successfully
completed. 16 credits are then awarded.
96990 Dissertation Continuation
Self-directed research for degree candidates who need to
complete additional research toward the completion of the dissertation
following the completion of the four dissertation research courses and prior
to dissertation defense. No credit.
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