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. 

Each student will file a declaration of residency (pdf) for approval of the Department chairperson prior to entering into residency, and the Department chairperson will verify the completion of the residency. The declaration shall specify:

• how the student will allow adequate time to concentrate on doctoral level study and research during residency;
• how the student will become involved in the professional activities of the Department;
• how the student will obtain accessibility of libraries, laboratories and research tools necessary for doctoral level study.

Any exceptions to the above requirements must have the approval of the Department chairperson and the graduate dean.