Jun 11, 2026  
2025-2026 Graduate Catalog 
    
2025-2026 Graduate Catalog

Professional Leadership, EdD


The Professional Leadership EdD prepares graduates for Professional and Instructional Leadership positions in a variety of settings and provides them with the tools to meet the needs of all students and learners.

The Professional Leadership EdD is a 51-credit hour program providing intensive research and applied skills for students grappling with real-world concerns in healthcare and education. Students bring the most pressing challenges experienced by the healthcare and educational community to each course. A Laboratory of Practice and Dissertation in Practice provide students an avenue to apply the specifics of these problems to their other courses, their research, and provide support to their community.

The program prepares graduates for Professional and Instructional Leadership positions in a variety of settings and provides them with the tools to meet the needs of ALL students and learners. Graduates are ready to assume positions as instructional coaches, consultants, directors, and instructional leaders who grapple with the challenges faced by many in the nation’s healthcare and school settings.

Admissions Requirements


https://www.uh.edu/education/admissions/graduate/

The University of Houston complies with all federal and state statutes pertaining to the admission of graduate and professional students. Oversight of all graduate and professional admissions policies and procedures is provided by the UH Graduate School.

All graduate applicants (regardless of citizenship status) must demonstrate proficiency in English to obtain admission to the University.

The College of Education considers various factors when making admissions decisions, including prior college or university performance, letters of recommendation.

The Program requires a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 for graduate coursework. The Professional Leadership EdD does not require a GRE for admission.

Applicants must have a master’s or other terminal degree

All graduate applicants (regardless of citizenship status) must demonstrate proficiency in English to obtain admission to the University.

Other required items for admission include a letter of intent, a writing sample, a resume or curriculum vitae, and three letters of recommendation, State of Texas Principal’s Certificate (for all candidates seeking superintendent certification): valid copy that clearly shows all borders and the state seal.

Degree Requirements


The Professional Leadership EdD is designed to be completed in three to three-and-a-half years. Specifically, students will take fifty-one (51) credit hours of coursework across eight (8) semesters to complete the degree.  There are four open specializations in the program including Literacy, Health Science Education, K-12 Leadership, and Special Populations.  Students must choose one of these specializations.

The required courses are as follows:

Cognate Courses (9 hours/3 courses)


Research Courses (9 hours/3 courses)


Dissertation in Practice (6 hours/1 or 2 courses)


Specialization Specific Courses (12 hours/4 courses) (Literacy, Health Science Education, K-12 Leadership, Special Populations)


Program Benchmarks


The non-course benchmarks for the Professional Leadership EdD are as follows (see table below for specialization requirements):

  • Advancement to Candidacy
  • Comprehensive Portfolio/Exam
  • Dissertation in Practice Proposal Paper and Defense
  • Dissertation in Practice Final Paper and Defense

Specialization

Comprehensive Portfolio/Exam

Advancement to Candidacy

DiP Proposal Paper/Defense

DiP Final Paper/Defense

Literacy

With this portfolio, students demonstrate a broad knowledge base in foundations and theories related to professional leadership in literacy education.

 

Students submit chapters 1 and 2 of their candidacy paper/DiP to their committee members for successful review.

Following advancement to candidacy, students complete chapter 3 of the DiP and conduct a defense.

Following IRB approval, students collect and analyze data and write their final chapters of the DiP and conduct a successful defense.

Health Science Education

With this portfolio, students demonstrate a broad knowledge base in foundations and theories related to professional leadership in health science education.

 

Students submit chapters 1 and 2 of their candidacy paper/DiP to their committee members for successful review..

Following advancement to candidacy, students complete chapter 3 of the DiP and conduct a defense.

Following IRB approval, students collect and analyze data and write their final chapters of the DiP and conduct a successful defense.

Special Populations

With this portfolio, students demonstrate a broad knowledge base in foundations and theories related to professional leadership in special populations education.

 

Students submit chapters 1 and 2 of their candidacy paper/DiP to their committee members for successful review

Following advancement to candidacy, students complete chapter 3 of the DiP and conduct a defense.

Following IRB approval, students collect and analyze data and write their final chapters of the DiP and conduct a successful defense.

K-12 Leadershp

Students complete the first two chapters of the dissertation in practice.

 

Once students have passed their comps and their chair has indicated this in MyAdvisor, students may apply for candidacy in MyAdvisor. The dissertation chair must approve the candidacy application in MyAdvisor prior to the student’s proposal defense.

 

Following advancement to candidacy, students complete chapter 3 of the DiP and conduct a defense

During DiP hours, students complete their IRB submissions, begin data collection and analysis, and work on their final paper.

More specific details are located in each specialization area’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

 

Academic Policies


Leave of Absence

Students are expected to maintain continuous enrollment in the doctoral program. Doctoral
students who cannot enroll in a given semester must apply for a leave of absence using a
Graduate and Professional Student Petition available at http://www.uh.edu/graduateschool/
forms/. Students who are not enrolled and have not filed the required paperwork are
considered to be not making adequate progress. A leave of absence may only be granted by the
Dean of the College of Education for exceptional circumstances such as educational
opportunities which will not require the use of university resources, personal problems which
temporarily interfere with the student’s ability to continue in the program, or other such
circumstances as the dean determines are extenuating. Leaves of absence shall be granted for
specific periods of time, e.g., one semester, one year, etc. and may contain requirements for
readmission into the program. A student who requests an extension of a current leave of absence
shall have that request considered as a new request. Before returning, the student must file a
second Graduate and Professional Student Petition, http://www.uh.edu/graduate- school/forms/,
and indicate the intent to return from leave.

Dismissal Policies and Procedures

The dismissal of a student from the program is a significant event for the student, the program,
and the program faculty and represents the conclusion of the faculty that the student has not
demonstrated appropriate, consistent matriculation; has engaged in academic dishonesty; has not
met multiple program milestones; has been charged with or convicted of a criminal offense; has
failed to demonstrate an adequate level of professional or personal competency, or for other
serious reasons (e.g., has been disruptive to the education and training process). Dismissal action
is typically the outcome of careful inquiry and collection of data from multiple sources as well as
communication with the student regarding his or her unsatisfactory performance in basic or,
where appropriate, remedial work, as outlined in a Performance Improvement Plan, also called
an Action Plan.

For additional information regarding specialization-specific academic policies, please see the specialization’s Standard Operating Procedures document.