Doctoral Residency Policy

The purpose of the doctoral residency in the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations is to:

• Orient and prepare graduate students to meet academic expectations and engage in activities which are associated with involvement in a scholarly environment as they pursue their doctoral degree in this Department and university;
• Engage graduate students in the process of inquiry appropriate to their area of interest, discipline of study, and method of investigation;
• Stimulate the intellectual, personal, and social development of graduate students to the educational administration profession through mentoring and other activities involving faculty, other students, and other professionals;
• Provide access to libraries, laboratories, and other instructional materials, including computers and other technologies, which support the intellectual development of students.

Residency Explained

A doctoral student (Ph.D., Ed.D.) must be enrolled for at least two terms in residency in an 18-month period. A term is defined as a semester or an 8-week summer session. Residency is defined as successful completion of at least 9 semester hours in the 18-week semester and 6 semester hours in the traditional eight-week summer session. Most practicing administrators choose to complete the residency requirement by enrolling in 6 semester hours for two summer sessions within an 18-month period. With the advisor's recommendation EAF 599: Dissertation Research may be included as part of the student's requirement for residency.There are three scenarios in which Residency is established.

• A: Student is enrolled in 6 credit hours for the summer semester and 9 credit hours for the next semester, the fall semester.

• B: Student is enrolled in 6 credit hours for the summer semester and 6 credit hours for the next summer semester.

• C: Student is enrolled in 9 credit hours for the spring semester and 6 credit hours for the next semester, the summer semester.