Degree Requirements

Doctor of Philosophy Program Requirements

Effective Aug. 1, 2021

Program Requirements as a PDF file

Higher Education Foundation Core (15 hours)

  • HIED 50803 — History and Philosophy of Higher Education
  • HIED 64203 — Trends, Issues and Problems in Higher Education
  • HIED 66403 — College Students in the United States
  • HIED 66503 — Legal Aspects of Higher Education
  • HIED 66803 — Governance and Policy Making in Higher Education

Higher Education Courses (15 hours)

Up to 6 credit hours of master’s-level Higher Education courses or self-directed Higher Education courses such as Practicum or Independent Study may be approved by the advisory committee.

  • HIED 60103 — The Professoriate: Problems and Issues
  • HIED 60203 — Introduction to the Study of Higher Education
  • HIED 60803 — Management Skills for Effective Leadership
  • HIED 60903 — Leading Change
  • HIED 63003 — Advancement in Higher Education
  • HIED 63203 — Design and Evaluation of College Teaching
  • HIED 63503 — The College and University Presidency
  • HIED 64803 — Strategic Enrollment Management
  • HIED 66603 — Finance and Fiscal Management
  • HIED 6990V — Seminar

Research Requirements (15 hours)

  • HIED 50903 — Research in Higher Education and Student Affairs (or an equivalent course approved by the student's advisory committee)
  • ESRM 64003 — Educational Statistics and Data Processing (or an equivalent course approved by the student's advisory committee)
  • HIED 66903 — Research Techniques in Higher Education

Advanced Research Methods Courses

Selected from the Following or as Approved by the Student's Advisory Committee (6 hours)

  • ESRM 64103 — Experimental Design in Education
  • ESRM 64203 — Multiple Regression Techniques for Education
  • ESRM 65303 — Qualitative Research
  • ESRM 65403 — Advanced Qualitative Research
  • ESRM 66503 — Measurement and Evaluation

Graduate Electives

Electives as needed to fulfill total graduate semester hours required. May include graduate hours completed as part of another graduate degree program as approved by the student's advisory committee.

Dissertation (18 hours)

  • HIED 7000V

Completion of the following doctoral program requirements:

  • Minimum of 96 total graduate semester credit hours that includes a minimum of 72 credit hours of post-baccalaureate graduate coursework and at least 18 credit hours of dissertation.
  • For students with master's in higher education, a minimum of 42 graduate semester credit hours completed beyond master's at the University of Arkansas, including a minimum of 24 hours of post-master's higher education coursework and at least 18 semester credit hours of dissertation.
  • Minimum grade point average of at least 3.25 on all course work presented as part of the degree program. No graduate degree credit will be granted for any course grades below “C.”
  • Satisfactory completion of all requirements governing the written and oral examinations for the candidacy examination, the dissertation, and the final oral dissertation defense.

Students should also be aware of Graduate School requirements with regard to doctoral degrees.