A:  You must have earned your master’s degree before applying. Your master’s degree must be “in hand” and not in progress. If you have graduated before the application deadline, you may apply for admission to doctoral studies. If you will graduate after the application deadline, you will have to wait for the next cycle of admission.

 

 

A:  Admission is highly competitive, and every document submitted will be evaluated using standard admission criteria. Those who receive the highest rankings on the application and its supporting documents will be invited for an interview, which also involves a writing sample done on-site at that time. An invitation to the interview also does not guarantee admission. The interview and writing sample are also evaluated and count toward a final admission ranking.

 

 

A:  Yes, this is a separate program from the Master of Science programs offered by the Department of Graduate Education. Transcripts must be official, unopened and sent directly from the applicant to the Graduate Education Department, attention Pamela Koslosky. If you need a Wilkes transcript, you can request transcripts free of charge because it is issued “in house." Please e-mail pamela.koslosky@wilkes.edu and we will order these for you. Indicate your name, WIN number, years of attendance, and levels: undergraduate or graduate.

 

 

A:  You need to determine what to send based on the criteria for this submission: an original scholarly or professional project, product, report or paper. Your selection should evidence leadership and scholarship in your field. It can be professional or academic work. Your abstract must clearly explain, in two to three paragraphs, how your submission reflects your potential for leadership in education and scholarship at the doctoral level. The submission and abstract are important components of the admission process. We cannot provide specific suggestions but encourage you to select your submission and construct your abstract very carefully. We do not encourage submission of multiple documents, portfolios or videotapes. We do not return these materials to you, so copies are encouraged, not originals.

 

 

A:   The website http://www.wilkes.edu/pages/564.asp contains information about graduate aid. In addition, there are limited openings for doctoral graduate assistants each year to support research and scholarly efforts of faculty working in the doctoral program. Doctoral graduate assistants will be eligible for 18 credits of tuition remission per year and receive an annual stipend for 20 hours of work per week during regular semesters (fall and spring). Applicants interested should indicate this in the appropriate area of the application for admission. The academic coordinator of the Ed.D. Program will then be in touch with eligible students to set up an interview. 

 

 

 

 

A:   The doctoral program is based at the Wilkes campus. While some courses may be offered as "hybrids," which are live courses with online components, as well fully online, the majority of courses in the doctoral program will have live class sessions on campus. At this time, there are no plans for off-campus sites or a fully online degree. Because this is a new program with many new courses being implemented as the program unfolds from year to year, new courses are developed prior to the semester they are to begin, which is when the semester schedule is also developed.

 

 

A:   Classes will be offered to accommodate work schedules of students as much as possible. In summer, some class sections may be offered in the day for non-working students, as well as in the evening and on weekends for working students. We also take into account school district schedules.

 

 

A:   The doctoral program is more prescriptive in terms of course offerings and length of time to complete the program. The timeline to complete the degree is seven years. You cannot take more than one semester off without obtaining special permission for extraordinary circumstances. This  is granted on a case-by-case basis by filing a sepcial application. If you go beyond that time period, special permission must be obtained to extend studies  beyond that timeframe. Again, a special application must be filed on a semester-by-semester basis to obtain permission to extend your studies. 

 Q:   How many credits do I have to take each year?

A:   The program is planned to be completed in seven years by taking an average of 12 credits of coursework each academic year in the first four years of study, with the exception of the residency year. Eighteen credits are required in any calendar year of the program  to fulfill the residency requirement mandatory for students in doctoral programs. This does not require that students reside on campus, but does require doctoral students to engage in intense scholarship that integrates them more fully into the academic atmosphere of the university. This residency requirement is mandatory and can extend over fall, spring and summer semesters of one calendar year. Most core and major coursework will be completed in the first four years of the program, with dissertation core courses taken in years five, six and seven, as needed. Once coursework is complete, doctoral students are required to register for three billable credits of ED 699 each semester (fall and spring) to fulfill their individual dissertation research requirements under the advisement of their dissertation committee chair until the successful completion and defense of the disseration.

 

A:   Students will receive notice as to whether or not they have been invited to an interview, which is the next step in the admission process. After the interview, students will be notified in writing as to their status for conditional admittance into the program. All accepted students are conditionally a minimum of 15 credits and before completion of 24 credits.

 

 

A:   Upon initial acceptance, students will be invited to attend an orientation session, where the Wilkes University Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Handbook will be distributed. This handbook contains detailed information on program requirements and procedures. At that time, an explanation of academic requirements, benchmark assessments and program procedures, such as moving from conditional admittance to doctoral candidacy, will be explained.

3/28/07