The Ed.D. degree is designed for those whose immediate career goal is to be an educational administration practitioner, such as a school leader within any public or private k-16 institution. The focus of the Ed.D. treatise is on problems of practice. Accordingly, it should address a specific problem or program in a given context. Thus it could examine a particular issue raised in any educational institution. It could also be aimed at the evaluation of a specific program in any educational institution.
Any methodology could be used for an Ed.D. treatise. However, typically this treatise would be an action research project or a program evaluation in a specific educational setting, using the full range of quantitative and/or qualitative methodologies. If the student conducts an action research project, the main goal would be to work with a group of colleagues in a specific educational setting to understand and solve a specific problem in that context, using the full range of research methodologies. Whereas, program evaluation and action research may be the most common approaches, students would not necessarily be limited to these two.
The Ed.D. treatise report will include five chapters. Chapter I will present an introduction to the study and its context. Chapter II will include the relevant literature. Chapter III will contain the research methodology. Chapter IV will feature the results of the project. Chapter V will typically include interpretation, discussion, and implications of the research results. The focus of each chapter and the chapter order described here, are only what is typical and thus do not necessarily apply to all treatises. All decisions on these matters are completely in the hands of the dissertation chair and committee. (Committees are addressed below.)
It is expected that the writing, the use of citations, the understanding of the research literature, and the research skills would reflect the quality of any culminating effort for a doctoral degree. In addition, the style guidelines would be those of APA, or the one made available by the University, or any other style format considered appropriate by the committee.
The committee for the Ed.D. treatise must be comprised of four individuals. The chair of the committee must be a faculty with GSC status in the Department. The second and third committee members must be a faculty member and/or a senior lecturer with GSC status in the Department. The fourth committee member will be an individual with practical experience directly related to the proposed treatise, who holds a doctorate degree, and who is not a member of the student’s GSC. The fourth member, if external to the University, will need to submit a curriculum vitae indicating their willingness to serve on the treatise committee. You can find a list of faculty members with GSC membership at this link: https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/ogs/auth/gsc/nlogon/gsc_members/. Please search “Educational Leadership and Policy” (ELP), “all roles”, click enter to view the full GSC roster for the ELP Department. It is the responsibility of the student to secure a faculty supervisor and committee that meets the requirements of the Graduate School.
The process for completing the Ed.D treatise is fourfold. First, a student will defend a proposal consisting of the first three chapters (complete description of the project) before the treatise committee, with all the members in attendance for this defense. Second, upon approval of the project, the student must complete the advancement to doctoral candidacy application process, including a one-page description of the proposal and the IRB application. Third, upon successful advancement, the student would conduct the research activities under the guidance of the treatise chair and committee. Fourth, the student will defend the completed treatise before the committee, with all members in attendance for this defense. After successfully defending and satisfactorily completing any required revisions, the student would earn the Ed.D.