Administration, Leadership, and Technology

Higher and Postsecondary Education

Ed.D. and Ph.D.

Ph.D. & Ed.D. Application Deadline for Fall 2010 - December 15, 2009

New York University's Program in Higher and Postsecondary Education offers two doctoral programs:

Both programs emphasize broad knowledge of the field, including an international dimension; issues of access and equity; state and federal policy; student development; workplace learning and institutional development and assessment. While the programs share some commonalities, the goals and objectives are quite different.

Our doctoral students come from a broad range of backgrounds. Some students have extensive previous experience as higher education administrators and some have held teaching positions within universities. Others have had significant experience in higher education policy. The program takes advantage of the wide range of backgrounds of our students to create a vibrant educational experience, embracing important contemporary issues shaping culture and practice in higher education. 

Before applying to the Ph.D. or Ed.D. program, prospective students are strongly encouraged to speak with faculty via a campus visit (see below for Fall Information dates). If a campus visit is not possible, please arrange a telephone appointment with a faculty member who shares a mutual research interest with you.  To arrange a visit or a phone appointment, please contact Steinhardt.highered@nyu.edu

Fall 2009 Information Session Dates

All information sessions are scheduled from 2:30 - 4:30 pm.  For more information, please contact Steinhardt.highered@nyu.edu

Ph.D. 

The Ph.D. curriculum embraces issues of access and equity; state and federal policy; student development; workplace learning; and institutional development and assessment. The strength of our Ph.D. program stems from the range of interests and expertise of our faculty in research, policy development and institutional leadership.

The curriculum includes an extensive and rigorous sequence of research courses that prepare students for the dissertation, which focuses on a question that requires the combined use of literature, and a research problem that is empirically investigated. The curriculum offers significant flexibility to ensure that students can construct an individualized program to support their research interests.

To be admitted to Ph.D. candidacy, students prepare and defend a candidacy paper, which is an analytical synthesis of the research and related scholarly literature on a researchable problem of significant interest to higher and postsecondary education. The Ph.D. dissertation will be an empirical study that results in the creation of new knowledge.

To be considered for the Ph.D. program, applicants typically plan to study full-time. Applicants are evaluated based on a number of factors, including their prior academic history; GRE scores; statements of interest, academic and professional recommendations, writing sample and an interview with program faculty.

Program Outline

The Ph.D. program requires 54 points beyond the masters degree. Full-time students can generally complete the degree in three to five years.  A limited number of Graduate Assistantships are available to support full-time study, NYU scholarships are also a possibility.

The Curriculum (click on link for a pdf of the Ph.D. Course Guide)

The curriculum requirements for the Program include:

Ed.D. 

The Ed.D. program is a part-time cohort program that focuses on issues of research utilization to inform professional practice.  Candidates must have a current higher education professional position or corporate education position with significant responsibility to be considered eligible. An extensive program of coursework in higher and postsecondary education can include the history of higher education; organizational theory; globalization; finance and governance; adult and workplace learning; and organizational studies. The culminating experience is a prospectus and project designed to improve professional practice through an intervention in the workplace that builds on knowledge of how others have dealt with the issue and incorporates an appropriate theoretical perspective.

Candidates must exhibit appropriate combinations of the following characteristics:

Program Outline

The Ed.D. program of study consists of 51 points beyond the masters degree. Part-time students are expected to complete the degree within three years of continuous study. During their first two semesters, students enroll in a higher education colloquium and a professional seminar where they are introduced to the literature of higher and postsecondary education and provided with the guidance that will help them in preparing for the sequence of research projects that will lead first to candidacy and subsequently to completion of the degree.

The Curriculum (click on for a pdf of the Ed.D. Course Guide)

The curriculum requirements for the Program include:

Steinhardt Institute for Higher Education Policy 

The Steinhardt Institute for Higher Education Policy is vitally connected to the doctoral program and provides both research opportunities and a forum for top-level policy discussion and debate. The Steinhardt Institute addresses critical challenges facing higher education such as access and equity; affirmative action; funding of higher education; commercialization; and competition among institutions.

The Institute supports faculty research and currently sponsors The Alliance for International Higher Education Policy Studies, led by Professor Richard Richardson, which studies linkages between public policy and higher education performance in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Professor Robert Teranishi leads two studies. Funded by The College Board, The National Commission on Asian American Research in Higher Education examines access and performance of Asian Americans in higher education. Another study looks at how residential migration patterns among African Americans affect access to higher education in California.