Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis PhD - Higher Education

This is a named option in the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis PhD.

The Department's focus is to develop a knowledge base that includes an understanding of the institutional context of higher education, academic leadership, culture and governance, and student services administration. Program faculty have expertise in a variety of institutional types and educational contexts, including research universities, historically black colleges and universities, community colleges, vocational technical colleges, adult learning in non-traditional settings, and the view that education should be approached as a K-16 system. Students receive a strong foundation in research methods (both qualitative and quantitative), and an understanding of the institutional dynamics and policy context of post-secondary education.

Students who have received their Ph.D. in Higher Education in our department have successfully pursued a wide range of leadership, faculty, and senior administrator and staff positions in colleges and universities across this country and the globe. To illustrate, some graduates have gone on to become presidents of community colleges, four year colleges, major research universities, and liberal arts colleges. Others have taken on a wide range of senior administrative and staff positions, such as vice-presidents of statewide systems of higher education, chief diversity officers, colleges and university provosts, and university-wide assessment directors. Still others have taken on faculty and staff positions at a wide range of colleges and universities, including major research universities as well as regional colleges and universities.

A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution is required. International applicants must have a degree comparable to a regionally accredited U.S. bachelor’s degree. You must have completed your undergraduate degree, or similar, before starting graduate school.

A minimum undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 on the equivalent of the last 60 semester hours (approximately two years of work) or a master’s degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required. Applicants from an international institution must demonstrate strong academic achievement comparable to a 3.00 for an undergraduate or master’s degree. The Graduate School will use your institution’s grading scale. Do not convert your grades to a 4.00 scale.

Every applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English, must provide an English proficiency test score. TOEFL scores must be submitted electronically via ETS. IELTS scores can be submitted electronically or by paper.  Our office address is: UW-Madison Graduate School, Office of Admissions, 232 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI 53706.  Your score will not be accepted if it is more than two years old from the start of your admission term. Country of citizenship does not exempt applicants from this requirement. Language of instruction at the college or university level and how recent the language instruction was taken are the determining factors in meeting this requirement.

Applicants are exempt if: