The degree is the latest fully online doctoral program offered by Texas Tech and one of just a handful of online education policy doctoral programs in the nation.
Texas Tech University is using the latest digital technology to push educational policymaking
forward with a doctoral program accessible to students regardless of geographic location.
This year, the College of Education launched a fully online, four-year doctoral program in Educational Leadership Policy.
The inaugural cohort of 12 students was admitted in the fall, and admissions are
now open on a rolling basis for the second cohort. Prospective students can apply
online through the Graduate School.
The 60-credit-hour program is designed to produce critically engaged educational
policymakers who can use data-driven methods to craft policy with a focus on making
educational systems more equitable for students and families. Students receive rigorous
training in leadership, organizations, policy theory, research methods, policy implementation
and advocacy.
“Policy drives everything that happens in education,” said Scott Ridley, dean of the College of Education. “From school lunch menus to required curriculum,
policy forms the basis for P-20, or pre-K through college graduation, educational
initiatives. Although often invisible to the daily functioning of education, policy
is the site of reform and progress. In light of this reality, the College of Education
has launched a new interdisciplinary doctoral degree program on educational policy
to meet the growing need for individuals with a unique skill set for change.”
Graduates will be prepared for leadership positions in a wide variety of settings
at local, state, national and international levels. Those include school districts,
universities, government agencies, nonprofits and policy think tanks.
A key focus of the program is bridging the gap between policy and practice, said
Alexander Wiseman, a professor in the College of Education who specializes in educational policy. The
curriculum involves application of theory to real-world issues such as racial and
economic disparities in student achievement or the role of charter schools in education
reform.
An emphasis on “policy to practice,” paired with the fact that all affiliated faculty
members have worked in K-12 settings, sets the doctoral program apart from others
like it, Wiseman added.
“We want to talk about how to create and enact policy that leads to actual change
that's sustainable,” he said. “A lot of policy is expecting or anticipating how you
should change things to make them better or run smoothly, but policy is often implemented
without a clear strategy for making that change. That's one of the problems this program
will address.”
The degree is the most recent addition to the College of Education's graduate-level
offerings and is the college's sixth doctoral degree program. It is the latest fully
online doctoral program offered by Texas Tech and one of just a handful of online education policy doctoral
programs in the nation.
Wiseman said he was excited about the learning possibilities opened by the online
format. Using video conferencing, students regularly engage in a virtual classroom
as if they were face-to-face. Instructors can share content like videos and slide
presentations or use virtual whiteboards to interact.
“What's great about the online program is the opportunity to work with a truly diverse
group of students with experience from communities that share different values,” Wiseman
said. “You are always trying to craft policy that does as much as possible for as
many as possible, so learning how to navigate those different backgrounds, perspectives,
cultures and values is one of the biggest advantages of an online student base.”
For more information, visit the College of Education website.
