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Our doctorate of education in Higher Education includes major concentrations in higher education and in community college leadership.

The higher education concentration emphasizes developing skills in higher education administration, organizational and policy development, teaching, curriculum development, and social justice advocacy related to post-secondary institutions. The community college leadership concentration emphasizes developing administrative and teaching skills specifically for community college environments.

Additional Benefits

Our programs offer practical applications of theoretical constructs you’ll learn in the classroom.

Our instructors have practiced in the field themselves. Also, thanks to our low student-to-faculty ratio, you’ll benefit from high-quality mentorship.

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You’ll have numerous opportunities for continued professional engagement through research and project collaboration, conference presentations, and scholarly writing.

Program Requirements

For this doctorate of education, you will take a minimum of 91 credits of graduate study beyond your bachelor’s degree.

You will need to earn:

  • 15 credits in the core courses
  • 24 credits in research courses
  • 18 credits in the major concentration
  • Either a single cognate of 24 credits or two cognates of 30 credits each
  • 10 credits for your dissertation

For a complete list of required courses and their descriptions, see the course catalog.

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Concentrations

Higher Education

Our major concentration in higher education emphasizes the development of skills in higher education administration, organizational and policy development, teaching, curriculum development, and social justice advocacy related to post-secondary institutions. 

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Our major concentration in community college leadership emphasizes the development of administrative and teaching skills specifically for community college environments, an area where Ball State is uniquely qualified in developing community college leaders.

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Paying for Your Education

Graduate Assistantships

A graduate assistantship is an excellent opportunity to gain meaningful professional experience while helping cover the costs of your degree. Learn more.

Ready to Apply?

Review our admission requirements, dates and deadlines, and instructions. Then complete our online application.

Apply Now

More Information

Do you want to learn more about our program or have questions about the application process or financial aid? We’re here to help! You may either request more information by completing our simple online form, or you may contact program director Dr. Thalia Mulvihill directly by phone or email.

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