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Department of Educational Theory, Policy, and Practice

Higher Education Administration
Information for Current Students

Higher Education Faculty | Admissions | Prospective Students
M.A. | PhD | Program Milestones | Good Scholarly Writing
Study Planning Guide | Professional Opportunities

PhD in Higher Education Course Planning Guide
Full-Time Student

Fall Semester 1

Spring Semester 1

ELRC 7601 Foundations of HE (3)
Higher Education Elective (3)
ELRC 7241 Educational Research Methodology (3)
Submit program of study.

 

Elective (3)
* ELRC 7006 Educational Statistics (4)
ELRC 7300 Professional Development Seminar (2)

Fall Semester 2

Spring Semester 2

ELRC 7603 Leadership in HE (3)
ELRC 7243 Qualitative Methods in Educational Research (4)
Higher Education Elective (3)

 

ELRC 7600 Race & Gender in HE (3)
Higher Education Elective (6)

Fall Semester 3

Spring Semester 3

Research Elective (3)
Higher Education Elective (3)
Other Elective (3)

 

ELRC 8900 Pre-Dissertation Research (variable)
Submit and gain approval of prospectus.
Pass General Exams.

Fall Semester 4

Spring Semester 4

ELRC 9000 Dissertation (variable)
Submit and defend proposal.

ELRC 9000 Dissertation (variable)

* 4006 is a prerequisite to 7006. If you have not had a course comparable to 4006 that is approved by the Research faculty, you will be required to take that course prior to enrolling in 7006.

This schedule is intended to provide doctoral students in Higher Education with guidance in their course planning. It is meant as a general guide, and should not be taken as a substitute for consultations with your advisor and a thorough reading of Graduate School regulations. Please note the following:

  • The schedule above is for full-time students. Part-time students may take fewer classes at a time than are indicated above, but should follow the general sequencing of the courses. Additionally, part-time students should take special note of the residency requirement. Specifically, all students must complete a residency requirement of two consecutive full-time semesters.
  • The time it takes to complete a dissertation is variable and should be planned with your advisor.
  • The Higher Education faculty will make every attempt to ensure that these courses are offered as listed. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, this will occasionally not be possible.
  • Summer courses are also available on occasion and may be taken to complete your course work.
  • All degree requirements must be met within 7 years of being classified as a doctoral student.

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PhD Program Milestones and Requirements

NOTE: This list is meant to describe in sequential order the milestones students encounter as they progress through doctoral programs in Higher Education. It is a general overview and should be suppllemented by student-initiated inquiry into detailed procedures and deadlines at each point in the process. Note too that there may be slight variations from program to program , and some requirements and their sequencing are subject to the discretion of the advisor/committee chair and may depend on the student's individual progress through the various stages.

Milestone/Requirement

Description

Timing/Procedure


Designation of advisory committee


Committee selected by student with advice of major professor/advisor


First semester in program


Coursework


Credit hour requirement for PhD degree comprised of departmental core, program core, and electives. Requirement varies by program.


Each program publishes list of course requirements. Lists are available in ETPP Department office.


Program of Study (POS)


Student contract for coursework to be taken; requires signatures of 3-4 advisory committee members.


Due to the Graduate School during the first or second semester following student’s formal admission to the doctoral program. Completed form is submitted by student to the ETPP Office for approval and transmittal.


Residency


Completion of one full academic year (2 contiguous semesters) of full-time study (9 hours).


Commences sometime after POS has been received by Graduate School


General Exams (GE)


Rigorous examination designed to assess student’s readiness to move forward independently with an original piece of scholarly research.
Exam format varies by program but is designed to assess student’s expert competence in broad areas of the major field. It may be comprised of both on-site and take-home written exercises focusing on a range of topics included in student’s coursework including research methods, statistics, and subject area knowledge.
An oral exam is held 2 weeks after written exam is submitted to the examining committee.


Written and oral portions scheduled by student in consultation with advisor after completion of coursework as specified in the POS.
The Graduate School must be petitioned at least 3 weeks before scheduled orals date and a final evaluation of the POS is conducted before an orals date is approved.
Examining committee is typically the advisory committee specified in the POS unless otherwise reconstituted in advance. One faculty member appointed by the Graduate School (dean’s representative) is added to the advisory committee to participate in this process.
After committee reviews written portions of exam orals are held.


Dissertation Committee


A committee of 5 faculty members who advise the student throughout the dissertation process.


Student selects committee members in consultation with the advisor or committee chair. Committee must include 2 faculty with full Grad School status and 2 from ETPP. These faculty are typically those on the general exam examining committee.


Continuous registration


Doctoral candidates must maintain continuous registration for a minimum of 3 semester hours of credit each semester.


Beginning the semester following the completion of GE and extending until the end of the semester in which the approved dissertation is submitted to the Graduate School. Summers are excluded.


Prospectus


A 10-15 page summary of proposed dissertation research.


May be required at the time GE is scheduled. The prospectus may be used for a variety of purposes: to solicit funding in support of the research; to brief faculty members on your project and assess their potential contribution if you are seeking committee members, etc.


Dissertation Proposal


A document describing your proposed research which must be approved by your dissertation committee before you move forward with the project.


The proposal consists of an introduction to the study which includes relevant background, the problem statement, a review of relevant literature, description of conceptual framework, research questions, and methodology.


Defense of the Dissertation Proposal


Student meets with the committee to present the proposal, defend the project and the approach used, and take input from the committee.


Committee approves or disapproves proposal. With approval the student proceeds to conduct the study.


IRB Approval of Proposed Research


Before research begins, project must be reviewed by LSU Institutional Review Board to insure rights of human subjects are protected.


Filing requirements should be discussed with dissertation chair. Filing guidelines and forms can be found at http://www.fas.lsu.edu/osp/irb/


Dissertation


A contribution to knowledge in the major field of study. Project must demonstrate student mastery of research techniques, ability to do original and independent research, and skill in formulating conclusions that enlarge upon or modify existing knowledge.


Refer to Graduate School guidelines for proper form and preparation requirements. Only electronic submissions of dissertations will be accepted.


Dissertation Defense


Student presentation of the dissertation to the dissertation committee earlier named.


Scheduled by the student in consultation with advisor/committee chair at a time mutually agreeable to committee members.


Submission of Dissertation


Submission of completed manuscript to the Graduate School.


Submitted once committee members have signed off on the manuscript.

 

Good Scholarly Writing

Academic writing considered of high quality advances existing knowledge and exhibits the following content and form characteristics:

Content

  • Synthesizes what is already known (i.e., extant literature).
  • Evaluates the current base of knowledge as to a) its relevancy to question under study; b) methods used to draw conclusions; c) gaps or unexplored areas; and, d) its significance in advancing theory/practice
  • Achieves an appropriate balance of a)description, b)synthesis, and c)analysis or evaluation. Ordinarily, descriptive narratives of literature or another researcher’s work should be kept brief and to the point unless there is justifiable reason to go into detail, e.g., in critiquing another’s argument or method.
  • Arguments and conclusions are supported with appropriately cited evidence from the literature. Cited evidence is important in linking the ideas of the writer to the existing base of knowledge. Such a linkage is critical in defining quality research and writing in a field.
  • After reading the work, the reader should be clear on its contribution and why the topic is an important one to study.
  • Arguments made are compelling.
  • How does this piece of work, or the topic of the work, influence larger contexts? For example, if the topic is an analysis of a particular phenomenon, how might this analysis make a contribution to our understanding of the phenomenon in similar contexts?

Form

  • The writer's point of view, and the fact that she has one, should be evident to the reader. If the writer is absent in point of view then it should be make clear in the narrative why such is the case, the dilemma, conflicting evidence, etc.
  • Lays out up front the purpose of the piece and how the writer intends to go about conveying it. The question is What is the expository framework to be used by the writer? Without such a framework, the piece risks rambling from one subtopic to another with no meaningful connection between them. This confuses readers, but more importantly it makes any argument less compelling.
  • Uses headings to guide the reader. Headings can be used also as an expression of the writer's expository framework as set forth in the introduction.
  • Adheres to APA style.
  • Is edited before submittal to catch grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.

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Professional Opportunities

It is important to your professional development to become affiliated with organizations related to your scholarly and professional interests. When you graduate with your doctorate, you will be expected to know the key ideas and themes within higher education and your particular interest area. You will also be expected to know who is doing what kinds of work within our field. Attending conferences and professional organizations (as well as reading scholarly literature) allows you to do this.

  • Association for the Study of Higher Education
  • American Educational Research Association
  • Association for Institutional Research
  • National Association of Student Personnel Administrators
  • American College Personnel Association
  • American Association of Colleges and Universities

 

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