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2012-2013 Graduate Programs Academic Catalog
Overview
The Doctor of Education (Ed.D) graduates com-
plete a concentration in one of the following four
areas:
• Christian School Leadership
• Curricular and Instructional Leadership
• Christian Higher Education Leadership
• Leadership in International Theological
Education
The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program is
designed to meet your professional development
needs as a Christian educational leader. Birthed
from CIU’s long-standing commitment to
Christian school and Christian higher education,
the Ed.D. program aims to develop you to lead,
model, think, communicate and research with
biblical excellence. In short, you will grow in your
ability to enhance God’s kingdom work in
Christian educational institutions and to represent
Christian education perspectives in the broader
society. Students are admitted in cohort groups
during the summer.
Objectives
The Doctor of Education program calls for stu-
dents to demonstrate learning in specified areas
of educational leadership. To this end, the pro-
gram specifies 17 competencies which students
must satisfactorily demonstrate for completion of
degree requirements. Six competencies are
addressed in a summative portfolio of student
assignments and projects; nine are addressed in
the qualifying exam taken near the conclusion of
coursework; and two are addressed through the
doctoral dissertation.
The competencies are supported by program
courses.
All candidates must demonstrate satisfactory
competence on all required outcomes. No com-
petencies will be waived. Students who do not
take a specified program course or elective which
is associated with a specified competency must
still prepare to demonstrate that outcome through
the portfolio or qualifying exam.
General objective categories are:
• Candidates will understand biblical perspec-
tives, foundational theories, research findings,
cultural/sociological dynamics and alternative
models for educating diverse learners in con-
temporary Christian educational institutions,
and they will analyze, synthesize and evaluate
these elements so as to enhance Christian
education.
• Candidates will understand biblical perspec-
tives, theoretical approaches, research findings,
and alternative models of effective leadership
and functioning of organizations, groups and
individuals within organizations; and they will
analyze, synthesize and evaluate these ele-
ments so as to enhance their understanding of
quality Christian education leadership.
• Candidates will understand the components
and process of quantitative and qualitative
research which produce new theory, knowl-
edge of effective practices and solutions to
educational questions/problems within an
educational institution.
Admission Criteria
A graduate faculty admissions panel reviews
applicants and recommends acceptance accord-
ing to their satisfaction of the following criteria:
• Master’s degree is from an accredited institu-
tion (or an institution which meets the aca-
demic standards of CIU) and provides a
relevant foundation for doctoral studies in edu-
cational leadership. (An education or educa-
tion-related field is the strongly preferred, but
not required, focus of the master’s degree.)
• Applicant’s performance in graduate course-
work indicates a strong ability to be successful
in doctoral-level studies.
• Applicant speaks and writes the English lan-
guage effectively as evidenced in a writing
sample that demonstrates abilities to do doc-
toral research and writing.
• Applicant’s Christian maturity is appropriate for
leadership.
• Administrative (K-12, higher education)
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION