The Doctor of Education in Leadership Studies is designed as a 2-year program relevant to working professionals from a variety of fields such as education, non-profits, government, etc. The inaugural cohort enrolled in May 2024. The program emphasizes fairness, diversity, and social justice with threads related to these concepts embedded in the content coursework.

The WVSU Department of Leadership Studies is excited to offer the Doctor of Education (EdD) in Leadership Studies program. This innovative and online program is aligned with the WVSU Mission, Vision, and Core Values. Graduates of the program will contribute to societial needs of the state and nation through researching complex challenges in organizations. The program is designed for working adults and will continue WVSU’s long history of being student-centered. In keeping with the institution’s heritage as an HBCU, the EdD program emphasizes fairness, diversity, and social justice with threads related to these concepts embedded in the content coursework. Cohorts of students will progress through the program in two years, culminating in an action-research based dissertation.

Students in the WVSU Ed.D. in Leadership Studies will understand and critique organizational scholarship, design and conduct their own field-based inquiries with practitioners in their field. The goal of this approach is to enhance organizational practice and to effect profound change in organizations The program consists of a minimum of 16 3-hour courses. Twelve courses, 36 hours, are content coursework, with the remaining 4 courses (12 hours) dedicated to the research project and presentation. Students may exceed 48 hours of coursework in the event that additional hours are needed in order to complete the research project and presentation. The WVSU EdD program emphasizes fairness, diversity, and social justice with threads related to these concepts embedded in the content coursework. In this practitioner model, students will work throughout the program to consider the needs of an organization of their choosing. As the program progresses, students will develop a research project related to their organization. The culminating experience will consist of a dissertation based on an action research project. Students will start considering research needs of their chosen organization from the beginning of the program. Work on the research project will be partially housed within the classes and beyond that, students will choose a dissertation chairperson and work with a dissertation committee.

The next EdD cohort starts in May 2026. Additional details will be available soon.

The following materials are required for application to the Ed.D. program:

• APPLICATION FORM: Complete the Application for Admission.
• APPLICATION FEE: An application fee of $50 (resident) or $75 (non-resident) must accompany each application for admission. The application fee cannot be waived or deferred and is not refundable.
• TRANSCRIPTS: Provide an official transcript from each college or university attended and degrees earned. Graduates of West Virginia State University must provide official WVSU transcripts. Transcripts must be sent directly from the institution to the EdD Program Director.
• MASTERS DEGREE:  An earned Master’s degree, with a GPA of 3.25 or above, is a prerequisite for admission to the program.  Please provide proof of program completion.
• STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: Complete a 3-5-page Statement of Purpose, describing your professional work history, personal qualities, pertinent life experiences, aspirations, and awards/recognitions.  Please consider the foundational tenets of the EdD in Leadership Studies program including fairness, diversity, and social justice as they relate to the Statement of Purpose criteria.
• RESUME/CURRICULUM VITAE:  Submit resume or vitae documenting successful professional and educational experiences, community service and professional development. You are to include contact information, at least three personal references, and a detailed work history.
• LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION: Three letters of recommendation are to be included with the application. At least two of the letters are to be professional affiliates and no more than one letter is of a personal relationship (family, clergy, community member, etc).
• TEST SCORES:  If applicable, TOEFL scores will be submitted. 
• Interviews are planned during the admissions process.  A department member will contact you with interview parameters and possible dates and times.

The cost per credit hour will be the same as the university cost for graduate students for in-state and out-of-state students. For example, current (2023-2024) costs per credit hour is $476 for in-state students and $1,109 for out-of-state students. Students will also pay the literacy (library) fee and the College of Professional Studies program fee. Current cost for fees is approximately $300 per semester.