Educational Leadership (Community College Leadership), Ed.D.

The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program in educational leadership with a specialization in community college leadership will prepare you to advance in your career in student affairs, academics, student services and other key leadership roles at a postsecondary education institution.

Our program focuses on the preparation of scholar-practitioners in the field of higher education and student affairs administration, with a particular focus on community college environments. It provides an in-depth study of organizations, administration, staffing, funding and student experience at postsecondary education institutions.

Features of the program include an intellectually challenging curriculum, award-winning faculty members with community college leadership experience and applied learning experiences, offered as part of the UNCW 3C Collaborative, an initiative created in 2019 in partnership with community colleges in eastern North Carolina.

The Ed.D. in community college leadership requires 60 credits of coursework and successful completion of the comprehensive examination and dissertation.

The program of study includes leadership core courses, which provide a foundation in leadership and organizational theory and practice. Other courses in the leadership core will help you develop skills and knowledge in research methodology.

Additionally, you will complete specialization core courses focused on the development of skills-sets needed for community college leadership and preparing you for advanced study of and work in student affairs and administration. The curriculum is designed to connect theory and practice and help you become a more effective scholar-practitioner in a postsecondary education institution.

You will have the opportunity to pursue a specialized course of study through electives, domestic internships and international study abroad opportunities at various colleges and universities. All students are required to complete an internship and take a corresponding internship course (three credits). 

The program delivery format is hybrid, with a combination of synchronous face-to-face instruction and asynchronous online instruction. This typically means that students meet for synchronous Zoom face-to-face class sessions bi-weekly. During asynchronous online weeks, students are responsible for completing readings, engaging in discussions with peers, and other activities related to course content.

Consistent with our commitment to applied and experiential learning, program faculty strive for a high level of social presence during asynchronous online weeks. The program also features a distance education option for students who reside outside of the Wilmington area. These students attend the synchronous face-to-face class sessions using Zoom, a platform that allows them to be part of the classroom experience virtually.

As a graduates of the educational leadership doctoral program, you will be able to:

1. Integrate social justice principles into practice;
2. Engage in research, evaluation and data-driven decision making to contribute to education practice, policy, and theory;
3. Lead systemic organizational change to facilitate educational reform;
4. Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability in order to be successful in rapidly changing, complex environments (e.g., technology, problem-solving);
5. Critically examine and imagine ways to change how our work as educational leaders is situated in economic, political and cultural systems; and
6. Develop a raised consciousness of global education policies and practices.

Students have an opportunity to participate in UNCW's Higher Education at Maynooth program which provides students with meaningful opportunities to practice administrative and leadership work, conduct assessment or research-based projects, or develop educational or social programming for student and academic service units at an international institution of higher education.