About the Program
Core Values
APU's Department of Doctoral Higher Education Programs are driven by these core values:
- A Christian worldview that enables students to become "big picture thinkers" who are people of character and integrity
- A strengths-based perspective on learning and leadership that encourages students to become the persons they were created to be
- A commitment to rigorous research that makes a difference in real-world settings
- A belief that diversity is a strength that enhances learning for all
- A passion for learning and for learners of all ages
- A commitment to mentoring doctoral students academically, personally, and spiritually
Program Format
The Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership Program meets on campus full time for two weeks each July and two weeks each January. At each visit, students conclude two courses and begin two new ones. Between sessions on campus, faculty and students are in communication with one another and assignments are submitted electronically. This schedule enables working professionals from the U.S. and abroad to participate in the program.
The APU Experience
APU's doctoral programs in higher education are intensive programs for the working professional. As such, there are distinctive features of these programs that make the APU experience a life-changing one for our students.
The Cohort Model
Students are admitted to the intensive program as part of a cohort. Cohorts are typically 10-15 students who are employed full-time in higher education or a related field. They take courses in a carefully designed sequence and stay with their cohort throughout the program, as much as possible. This affords students the benefit of a network of professional colleagues with whom to study and conduct research. Our students report that their fellow students are one of the highlights of being in the intensive program.
Course Schedule
In the intensive program, students come to APU twice a year for 10 days each time. Morning classes are offered 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m./12 p.m. and afternoon classes meet from 1:30-5 p.m. Two courses are offered each term. Each class consists of five days in July and five days in January; each term, two classes are starting and two classes are concluding. In between terms, students are working online on course assignments.
Registration and Books
Students register for classes when they arrive on campus. Payment for doctoral courses is due each term. A textbook list is sent in advance to students. Doctoral students are expected to complete some assigned reading in advance.
Housing
Campus housing is available during the summer only. Attractive, air-conditioned residence hall housing is available for Ed.D. students, including kitchen facilities. Ph.D. students have modular housing options available, which contain full kitchens. A complete housing packet is sent in advance to doctoral students. Summer food service is available at APU and there are many restaurants within easy walking distance of the Azusa campus. In January, doctoral students must arrange for their own off-campus housing.
APU also provides housing resources through the Office of Asset Management. Asset Management manages Azusa Pacific University’s non-campus rental properties reserved for graduate, international and ALCI graduate, married undergraduate, other non-traditional students, and faculty/staff, as well as maintains up-to-date listings of housing opportunities for the larger APU and local communities. Please contact Asset Management for additional information about available housing options near APU.
Program Outcomes
Graduates of APU's doctoral program in higher education leadership are expected to be change agents for students' learning: culturally aware, strengths-focused, outcomes-driven, and skilled in motivating diverse learners. To this end, candidates are encouraged to make the transition from the role of "student" to that of "scholar." This involves diligent preparation, active participation in the community of scholars within the department, intellectual engagement, self-regulation, coherent professional writing, and collegiality. In addition, they are expected to give thoughtful consideration to the application of principles of academic integrity in their academic work and professional practice.
Essential Competencies for Graduates of the Program to Possess:
- Visionary Leadership: The capacity to identify critical issues, participate actively in complex problem solving, to find integrative solutions across boundaries, and be proactive strategic thinkers
- Commitment to Social Justice: The knowledge, values, and skills necessary to recognize and confront institutional and personal injustice, the marginalization of individuals and groups, and incongruence between institutional mission and reality
- Strengths Focused: The insights and abilities to help individuals identify, affirm, celebrate, develop, and apply their talents and strengths; a commitment to fostering a strengths approach into teaching, learning, and leadership development
- Integrity and Congruence: Moral, ethical, and spiritual commitments that are reflected through honesty, truth-telling, and a servant-oriented approach to leadership as best exemplified by Christ
- Research Skills that Make a Difference: The ability to conduct, evaluate, and disseminate both qualitative and quantitative research that has been undertaken in order to answer meaningful questions
- Commitment to Fostering Student Learning, Motivation, and Achievement: An understanding of the processes involved in student learning and a commitment toward influencing individuals and institutions to become student-centered
- Administrative Competence: The skills necessary to be an effective administrator in the management of finances, planning processes, employee supervision and evaluation, student enrollments, and legal issues
- Cultural Competence and Global Literacy: The knowledge, values, and skills needed to relate to diverse populations and to appreciate educational leadership practices in diverse societies and cultures
- Capacity for Creative Interventions: The desire, creativity, and resourcefulness needed to design and implement new programs and interventions to address educational problems
- Ability to Form Working Alliances: The relational skills necessary to work across functional boundaries in forming collaborative partnerships
- Ability to Facilitate Effective Change: An understanding of systems theory, the value of making data-driven decisions, the ability to form strategic partnerships, and an awareness of self that facilitates an effective change process
- Ability to Articulate a Christian Worldview in Educational Leadership: An understanding of the values, ethics, and principal teachings of the Christian faith and its integration within the field of higher education
