Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership

Pennsylvania Letter of Eligibility Certification

Eastern University’s Loeb School of Education in collaboration with the PhD in Organizational Leadership program provides The Pennsylvania Letter of Eligibility Certification for educators who seek to serve as Superintendent of a School District.

Purpose
Goals
Distinctives
Curriculum Delivery
Certification Requirements as part of the Ph.D. Program
Curriculum Applicable to Certification
Admissions Criteria
Application Schedule
Contact Information

Purpose

The mission of Eastern’s Letter of Eligibility Certification program is to prepare public school leaders through interdisciplinary studies and practical experience to effectively engage in the transformation of their school districts, communities and society as practitioners and scholars.

Goals

To synthesize organization and leadership theory with the professional knowledge and competencies required for leadership of a Pennsylvania school district.
Enable students to contribute to their respective fields through the creation and execution of a significant research project resulting in a dissertation.
Acquire an increasingly mature commitment to an outward-looking vision of organizational, community and societal transformation through the integration of faith, reason, and justice.

Distinctives

Aligned with Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Inspired Leadership Standards; focused on student achievement, best practices, field based experience, and instructional leadership.
Integrated into Eastern’s PhD program in Organizational Leadership.
Only active public school leaders (vice principals, principals, central office professionals) are eligible to apply for this certification program.
Interdisciplinary Community– only three to five certification students are accepted into the yearly cohort of 20 which includes peers from business and non-profits sectors.
The Eastern Tradition: Integration of our core identity which affirms the centrality of Christ in our concern for the poor, a global view, collaborative learning styles, critical thought and entrepreneuri-al thinking.

Curriculum Delivery

Cohort Model
Blended Delivery— Combination of on-line courses and residencies.
Calendar Framework
Three years of course work followed by research for the dissertation
Three 14 week semesters per year: fall, spring and summer
Two courses (6 credits) per semester.

Certification Requirements as part of the Ph.D. program

Certification—30 credits
15 credits from the core, 15 credits from the education concentration
Five years of professional public school experience
PhD—60 total credits (the certification requirements included)
Core (36), concentration (15), dissertation (9)
Comprehensive exams

Curriculum Applicable to Certification

Dept.	Num.	Course Title	Cred.
LEAD	720	Leadership, Theory, and Practice	3
LEAD	730	Models of Organizational Behavior	3
LEAD	810	Strategic Leadership	3
LEAD	820	Leading in Community: People, Problem-Solving, and Conflict	3
LEAD	850	Organizational Leadership, Governance, and Accountability	3
EDU	750	Leadership and the Chief Executive Officer in Education	3
EDU	760	Equity and Social Justice in Educational Leadership and Policy	3
EDU	770	Educational Leadership and Human Resource Development	3
EDU	780	Advanced Study of Finance and Law of Educational Institutions	3
EDU	880	Educational Leadership Practicum	3

Admissions Criteria

Five years of professional experience in a leadership capacity
Completed master’s degree from an accredited institution
Minimum cumulative master’s GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale
GMAT, GRE, or MAT scores within the last five years
Completed application packet, including: 3 letters of recommendation, official transcripts, current resume, statement of purpose, writing sample, leadership record, disclosure of online learning expectations, $75 non-refundable application fee

Application Schedule

Completed applications and supporting materials are due February 1st for the following September cohort. Admissions committee decisions are issued no later than March 15th.
If space is available, a second round of applications will be reviewed on May 1st with Admissions committee decisions are issued no later than June 15th.