Doctor of Education in Higher Education

Program Leader: Dr. Benjamin Baez                                                       
E-mail: baezb@fiu.edu                                                                      
Phone: 305-348-3214                                                                       
Department: Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Program Faculty: Dr. Glenda Musoba
E-mail: Glenda.Musoba@fiu.edu
Phone: 305-348-2450

Brief Description of the Program:

The Doctor of Education in Higher Education is practitioner oriented and designed to provide the opportunity for specially selected individuals to enhance instructional, administration, and research skills for leadership roles related to the continuing development and operation of higher education institutions. The program is offered in a format to make it attractive and available to place bound professionals in Southeast Florida and beyond. Graduates are prepared for academic and student affairs administrative positions, as faculty, or as policy analysts in federal state or institutional roles.

The program is designed to stimulate research related to higher education, particularly in the development of innovative administrative and instructional approaches appropriate for urban settings. A candidate for admission to the program will be judged not only on the basis of quantitative criteria, but also in relation to prior experience, especially as it relates to future career goals. The program caters to working professionals with evening and Saturday classes and offers courses at both the University Park Campus in Miami and the Broward-Pines Center in Pembroke Pines.

Admission Requirements:

1. Bachelor’s and master’s degrees (or equivalent) from accredited institutions;
2. A minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale in the last 60 hours of upper-division undergraduate coursework and at least a 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale in all graduate coursework;
3. A minimum combined score of 1000 on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) verbal and quantitative sections;
4. A résumé describing at least the past five years of employment history and significant community, professional, or college extracurricular activities;
5. A personal interview with the admissions committee;
6. Three letters of recommendation from persons knowledgeable about the applicant’s academic and/or professional competence;
7. A letter of intent explaining applicant’s career goals and their relation to the doctoral program.

 Program Requirements:

1. Total credits (minimum): 78
1. Higher Education Core: 21
2. Cognate Area: 18
3. Professional Education Core: 6
4. Research and Quantitative Statistics Core: 9
5. Doctoral Dissertation: 24
   

While subject to individual variations, the doctoral program in Higher Education requires a minimum of 78 credit hours and also includes a written, comprehensive exam that must be passed to advance a student to candidacy.

Program of Study:

Additional Program Information:

Time Limit: All program requirements, including the successful defense of the dissertation, must be completed within nine (9) years of first enrollment in the doctoral program.
• Transfer Credit: Doctoral programs may accept a maximum of 6 semester hours of graduate credit earned from another institution beyond a bachelor's degree. An exception is made for courses contained within an earned master's or doctoral degree. For such courses, the maximum is one fewer than half of the total credits required for the program. Graduate credit is not awarded for life experiences. Acceptance of transfer credits for a course is dependent upon the following provisions:
1. The student received a grade of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale;
2. The course was taken at an accredited institution;
3. The course was relevant, as judged by an appropriate committee of the department or program, to the graduate program in which the student is accepted;
4. The course is listed on an official transcript received by Graduate Admissions;
5. The course will be no older than 6 years or 9 years at the time of graduation with a master's or doctoral degree, respectively (does not apply to credits earned as part of a completed graduate degree).

   Additional information regarding graduate transfer credit may be found at the University Graduate School website/Graduate Policies and Procedures manual at http://www.fiu.edu/~ugs/gpm/.

• Faculty Advisor: A student admitted to the doctoral program is assigned a temporary faculty advisor to provide guidance in the initial selection of program courses. During the first semester of doctoral study, or upon completion of twelve (12) credits of advised doctoral coursework, the student is expected to choose a Major Professor and Supervisory Committee. The primary function of the Supervisory Committee is to oversee the preparation and completion of the program of studies and the development and evaluation of the candidacy examination.

 

back to top