Online PhD in Higher Education
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Online PhD in Higher Education
The face of education is changing rapidly in our nation. The K-12 system is hampered by funding constraints that threaten to undermine the classroom experience, while higher education is having to develop new strategies to cope with the influx of older students determined to make a mid-course career correction. Who will be the architects of new education models relevant for the times we live in? If you are pursuing an Online Doctorate in Higher Education, one of those leaders could well be you. Online Doctorate Degrees in Higher Education provide candidates with both the solid academic foundation and the practical experience necessary to help shape the nature of education and educational institutions in the 21st Century. The PhD is essentially a research degree, and enrolling in one of the top Online Doctoral Programs in Higher Education prepares students to conduct research and scholarship on all dimensions of higher education. Graduates of Online Doctoral Programs in Higher Education go on to become faculty members, university or college administrators, institutional researchers, and public policy analysts. Increasingly, adult education strategies, electronic learning and other distance techniques are dominating the higher education landscape. Pursuing your Ph.D. in higher education online will give you not merely a theoretical basis but also first hand knowledge of the e-learning techniques that are transforming postsecondary education.
Online PhD in Higher Education Requirements
A doctoral candidate must be dedicated, hard-working and ambitious in whatever the medium he or she is pursuing educational objectives. In addition, candidates for an online doctorate in higher education must demonstrate a flair for both analytical and innovative thinking since in the course of their prep work they will be called upon to critique existing educational systems in an objective fashion and to recommend answers to long-standing problems that are more than simply rehashes of solutions that have been unsuccessfully tried before. Online Higher Education PhD candidates often have one of two masters degrees:
- Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.)
- Master of Education (M.Ed)
Most if not all online Higher Education doctoral students have worked either teaching at the elementary, middle school, high school and community college levels, or as principals, assistant principals, central office administrators, academic deans, administrators associated with regional education boards, admissions directors, student affairs directors, or financial aid directors.
Online PhD in Higher Education Education
Completion time varies from student to student, but on average it takes between three and five years to complete the required class work and internship, and write the dissertation necessary for earning an online PhD in Higher Education.
Information on Higher Education Courses
Core curriculum in the best online Higher Education degree programs will focus on teaching research and analysis skills that can be used across a wide variety of subject and disciplines. Students will receive a thorough grounding in educational and organizational theory. Students will learn how to think critically and communicate effectively within the collaborative medium that is the educational institution. Coursework frequently includes the following types of instruction:
- Qualitative Research Methods: This course is designed to teach candidates the fundamentals of research design, conducting interviews and observations, and analyzing qualitative data.
- Introduction to Statistical Inference: This course is an introduction to basic statistical methods designed to teach candidates how to test hypotheses and apply statistically valid designs to basic studies.
- Survey Course in U.S. Higher Education: This course is an overview of the most popular models, methodologies and theories prevalent in U.S. postsecondary education today.
- Ethical Issues in Higher Education: This course is an examination of how social justice-related issues may affect American education today.
- Policy Analysis in Higher Education: This course is an examination of how government policies at the federal, state and local level impact education today.
- Leadership: This class will teach the fundamentals of effective leadership within a classroom setting.
In addition, candidates will have opportunities to take electives and seminars in their area of concentration that deal with specific educational issues of interest to them, in subjects ranging from organizational leadership, educational change, measuring student success, financing higher education and drafting educational policy.
Specializations and Concentrations
Higher education is a very broad field that can be divided into five main focuses, each with distinct academic requirements beyond the core curriculum, as well as specialized opportunities for research:
- Administration Leadership: This specialty is designed for candidates who are interested in working as education administrators at the pre-school, elementary school, middle school and secondary school level
- Higher Education Leadership: This specialty is designed for candidates who are interested in working as education administrators at both two- and four-year colleges and universities.
- Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: This specialty is designed for candidates who are interested in organizing learning experiences in order to enhance effective instruction.
- Adult Education: This specialty is designed to optimize the skill sets of candidates who are interested in teaching adults.
- Education Policy: This specialty is designed for candidates who want to influence education policy at the local, state and federal level.
Careers in Higher Education
An online PhD in Higher Education equips candidates for a variety of lucrative careers:
- Teaching at a two- or four-year college or university: PhDs have the best prospects for teaching jobs at the postsecondary level. This is an occupation that’s expected to grow by 15% by 2018 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Salaries for full tenured professors average $108,749 per year, $63,827 for assistant professors, and $52,436 for lecturers. Faculty members at four-year institutions earn more than faculty members at two-year institutions, and faculty at universities earn more on average than faculty at colleges.
- Consulting: Consultants leverage their expertise in the field of higher education into lucrative assignments, working to resolve internal challenges within departments and schools. Their income is variable, but potentially higher than what they might be able to earn working for an institution.
- School Principals: School principals are responsible for administering school operations, setting internal policies in accordance with local, state and federal educational policy mandates and making sure that students meet learning objectives set forth in those mandates. High school principals average $97,486 per year, while middle school principals average $91,334 per year and elementary school principals average $85,907.
- Educational Materials Specialists: Educational materials specialists work at schools and museums formulating course curriculum materials and educational materials. They earn between $35,000 and $60,000 per year.
- Education Analyst: An education analyst works for the government helping to assess the potential impact that changes in educational policy can bring. The average salary for a legislative analyst is between $41,399 and $64, 651 per year, while analysts who work for the Government Accountability Office make between $75,000 and $93,000 per year.
The nation’s educational system faces more challenges today than ever before, some of them familiar difficulties whose solutions educators have been struggling to provide for decades, others quite new. The need for leaders in the field of higher education has never been greater – and with an Online Doctorate in Higher Education, students will advance quickly to the head of the class.
