This paper offers a meta-analysis scoping study of doctoral dissertations completed in the last 20 years in one doctoral programme of Educational Leadership (EL) at a higher education institution in Texas, aiming at identifying topical foci, epistemology, methodology and main themes. Therefore, we systematically collected, documented, securitised…

Real-world experience is often considered subordinate to academic learning at the doctoral level. Lessons from experiential learning at the doctoral level show higher education can be equity-minded and focused on the needs of learners without sacrificing depth and quality even at the highest levels of educational attainment. Doctoral faculty…

Despite high attrition rates and abundant criticisms, online graduate programs continue to grow. This paper describes the efforts of one online doctoral program that focused on developing programmatic support structures to increase community. Utilizing a qualitative, case study research design, including surveys and semi structured interviews,…

There are many studies on the role of technology in facilitating equality, quality, and effectiveness in higher learning in the last decade. This study aims at exploring the sustainability of a postgraduate program in a USA context following the COVID surge. Relational assurance is employed through qualitative methods, and frameworks to make sense…

Preparing students for the transition to graduate-level education with greater learning demands in a condensed time frame is a challenging process for health professions educators and incoming students. Prematriculation programs offer a solution for exposing students to the foundational sciences in preparation for the academic rigor of a doctoral…

The purpose of this study was to examine our music teacher educator (MTE) identity construction. Our research questions were: (a) How did we describe our MTE identity construction during our doctoral education? and (b) What experiences were most salient in our MTE identity construction during our doctoral education? We used basic qualitative…

For online doctoral students, learning the habits, cultures, and practices of the academy can be particularly challenging without informal, in-person interactions. As novice scholars and educators, engagement in the culture of the academy is an important component of the scholarly formation process. In this conceptual article, three online…

In 2009 the Texas legislature created the National Research University Fund (NRUF), intended to encourage a select group of public doctoral universities in the state, known as emerging research universities (ERUs), to increase their institutional status related to academic research by awarding supplemental financial support for meeting specific…

In this collaborative autoethnography, 3 scholars of color, who were enrolled in the same doctoral program at a Hispanic Serving Institution located in South Texas between 2012 and 2017, engaged in systematic self-reflection through writing and dialogue to coconstruct meaning regarding the ways in which their interests in giving back through the…

Higher education institutions are faced with pressure to graduate more doctoral students, but universities are faced with an increasing population of doctoral students who identify themselves as first-generation; however, there is not much known about this specific population as well as other generational students (i.e., second and other…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of master of music education degree program directors and alumni from selected schools regarding the ways in which their music education master's programs balance the varied needs of program participants. Findings are presented in the two broad categories of improvement in P-12 teacher…

As members of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED), universities across the United States are restructuring EdD programs to better prepare professional practitioners with the practical skills and theoretical knowledge needed to improve the educational environments that they serve. The hallmark of these programs is often the…

The Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) project in 1991 as one of the six initial awardees. As part of these efforts and upon reaching eligibility, the TAMUS LSAMP applied for and received additional funding to support a…

This article discusses a systemic change that expanded the doctorate in Learning Technologies at the University of North Texas to include a distributed option, delivered primarily online. It provides an overview of the development process from concept to initial implementation. The article examines the specific differences that make the online…

Twenty-first century learners in post-secondary educational environments find themselves involved in online learning. Acquiring graduate degrees, especially for working professionals, has precipitated the need for effective, rigorous, relevant, and timely coursework online. Utilizing the qualitative research method of auto-ethnographic reporting,…