Doctoral training continues to grow in scale and scope in Australia, but has been subjected to far less design and improvement compared with other facets of higher education. Governments and universities engage in ongoing change which helps respond to opportunities and challenges but also leads to a proliferation of options and approaches. The…

This essay examines the tension between rigor and relevance in a newly designed EdD program in School System Leadership in a Research 1 institution. After a three-year redesign of this program that prepares students to become superintendents, our faculty continue to wrestle with questions around how to make methodology coursework meaningful,…

A persisting shortage of accounting Ph.D. program graduates has plagued academia for at least the last two decades. Despite suggestions fueled by research findings, traditional accounting Ph.D. programs appear to have not implemented substantial changes aimed at alleviating this problem. The present study surveys accounting Ph.D. program…

Early online course materials were text-based and relied heavily on discussion forums as the de facto tool for interactions. Faculty members today, however, have many other choices for course design and course materials. There is not consensus for online course design guidelines or principles, though. Choices in course design by faculty members…

This program profile describes a restructure of the PhD exam intended to enhance graduate-level instruction and advisement within the Rhetoric and Composition program at Georgia State University. We explain how a mix of institutional constraints and mentorship opportunities drove revisions to our doctoral exams and processes of doctoral…

Faculties of Education in North America are experiencing an increase in demand for professional graduate programs that provide flexible and accessible research pathways for working professionals. Our School of Education offers high quality professional graduate programs that increase access and respond directly to complex needs and problems of…

African PhD fellows who are interested in completing (part of) their research in Europe cannot always afford to leave their place of residency for prolonged periods of time. Yet, young researchers from African countries might be searching for particular guidance from experts in their field that might not be accessible in their home countries.…

In Spain, the organisation of doctoral studies has been substantially modified to come into line with the changes introduced by the agenda of the Bologna process. These changes have been specified in a number of statements by European Ministers of Education, and have required alterations to Spanish doctoral regulations. The aim of these changes…

This article describes the various aspects of developing a new EdD model at a large, urban university, the University of Southern California. The authors were all centrally involved in the change process and the conceptualization and implementation of the restructured program. The article summarizes the decade-long experiences and lessons learned…

This article tries to "put a face" on the complex and abstract process of program change in relation to key principles from the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED). We examine the principles of the "scholarship of practice," "laboratory of practice," and "signature pedagogy" within a…

This case study report will identify modifications made to a traditional leadership program's structures and the effects of the work on faculty perceptions of non-traditional doctoral programs. Union Free School District is the only school district to ever be taken over by the state. A nearby university's research-based educational leadership…

What type of individual pursues a nontraditional doctoral degree? Although answering this question is the main purpose of this chapter, there is an underlying story that provides context for how and why these individuals came to pursue a doctoral degree. The tremendous growth in the number of doctoral students and doctoral degree-granting…

This article describes the process of replacing a modest Master's level school leader preparation program with an innovative Ed.D. program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The new doctoral program is intensive, highly selective, intellectually rigorous, and field-based. The authors provide side-by-side comparisons of the difference…

The purpose of this study was to develop a theory for institutional change that explains the process and implementation of "Achievement-Centered Education" (ACE) from the faculty perspective. ACE is a new general education program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a public, doctoral/research-extensive institution. A constant…

The focus of "Social Justice Issues and Racism in the College Classroom" is faculty and students of color at postsecondary institutions and the racial challenges they encounter in college classrooms. To achieve this aim, the book highlights the voices of various racial/ethnic groups of faculty and students, including international…