Admission Requirements

In addition to the criteria below, applicants must meet general graduate admission requirements .

• Essay: This should be approximately 2,000 words in length. Be sure to address the following areas:

1. Reflect on your practice in higher education and how that practice relates to larger higher education issues.
2. Reflect on your capabilities for leadership in higher education.
3. Reflect on your preparation for doctoral-level work.
4. Reflect on what you will contribute to the Higher Education Doctoral Program and what you will gain from it.

• Resume or curriculum vitae: Include educational information and employment history.
• Two letters of recommendation: Recommenders should have worked closely with the applicant in an academic, professional, or community service setting. Letters should not be written by friends or family members of the applicant and should focus on the applicant’s abilities and past academic performance. The letters should also assess the applicant’s level of motivation for and commitment to a leadership role in higher education.  Former professors familiar with the applicant’s academic abilities could address the applicant’s capacity to perform graduate-level work. Supervisors or colleagues at the current place of employment could describe and give evidence of the applicant’s potential as an initiator and implementer of organizational change.
• Employer agreement form: This form shows year-by-year how the applicant and their employer will arrange the applicant’s work schedule to permit the applicant to meet the program’s requirements. These include three June sessions and a full weekday (Friday) on campus each week during the semesters leading up to the dissertation seminars.
• Official transcripts of previous academic work: This should include previous academic work (graduate and undergraduate degree programs), demonstrating that the applicant has earned a master’s degree or equivalent from a college or university of recognized standing.
• Applicants may also submit test scores from the Miller Analogies Test (MAT), the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), or Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Submission of these scores is optional.

The admissions committee will interview all finalists before making its recommendations for acceptance into the program.