Ph.D. and ABD Completion

Ph.D. in Educational Leadership

The Saint Peter's University Ph.D. in Educational Leadership provides an alternative to the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership in K-12 or in Higher Education. The primary purpose of the program is to provide options for our Ed.D. candidates who are fully engaged at Saint Peter’s University and for new students who are seeking a quality preparation program for work as professors in Colleges/Universities or who seek careers in private or public educational research or advocacy. With its emphasis on contemporary research and university teaching, the Ph.D. provides an additional option to the Ed.D. which is more practitioner-focused. 

In the Ph.D. program, Saint Peter’s University included additional coursework beyond the Ed.D. to include university teaching and research methods and applications beyond the dissertation (e.g., writing for publication). Students in the program take an additional 12-15 credits for the Ph.D. to total 66 graduate credits. The program provides a liberal transfer policy of up to 15 graduate credits. With transfer potential, students opting for the Ph.D. will generally complete the program with one additional semester of study.

ABD Completion Program

The doctoral completion option is not a new program in the Caulfield School of Education, but rather a strategy to both support our enrollments and to provide needed resources and expertise to graduate students from other university doctoral programs who have not been able to complete their dissertation or program. 

At this time, the proposal will only apply to the K-12 Ed.D. If successful, we will consider adding to other programs including the Ed.D. in Higher Education and the Ph.D. Saint Peter’s University will consider a limited number of transfer credits (up to 9) from an accredited Master’s program; most other credits accepted will be at the doctoral level.

The program completion strategy, applied to K-12 EdD programs, includes a comprehensive transfer analysis with guidelines that maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA. 

Any dissertation work completed at another institution would need to be reviewed by faculty using a strong and validated rubric to determine an action plan for each student.

  • A minimum of 18 credits taken with SPU to include:

    • 6 credits in dissertation research

    • 3 credits in qualitative research

    • 3 credits in a New Course:  Writing a Literature Review

    • 3 credits in a New Course: Applied Research Course

    • 3 credits in additional dissertation support course

    • IRB approval in dissertation II 

  • Additional mentor support for students - we think that support will be needed in the following areas:

    • Time management

    • Writing skills and thesis / research skills

    • social emotional support / mentorship