Northern Illinois University

The Ed.D. in Higher Education specializing in Community College Leadership consists of 54 credit hours beyond the master’s degree and is designed to be completed within three years. Students will take two courses per semester. Summer courses are blended format to foster connections with faculty and other students. Fall and spring courses are delivered online. The cumulating experience for the program is a Dissertation of Practice (12 credit hours) that takes an innovative practice-based problem approach to research.

By completing the program, students are expected to be a member of a community of practitioners and scholars actively pursuing educational research. Students will engage in learning opportunities through coursework focused on theory-to-practice and inquiry based educational practices.

The Higher Education Program at NIU also offers a graduate-level certificate in Higher Education, a master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs, and Ed.D. programs with a Higher Education Administration emphasis and a College Teaching emphasis.

HESA 555: Seminar in Community Colleges
HESA 570: Organization, Personnel Management, and Academic Administration
HESA 575: Public Policy Studies in Higher Education
HESA 704: Strategic Marketing and Enrollment Management
HESA 710: Evaluating Higher Education Programs
HESA 720: Review of Research in Higher Education
HESA 721: Applied Research Design in Higher Education
HESA 740: Pedagogical Innovations & Student Learning
HESA 751: Community College Students
HESA 770: The Administration of Higher Education
HESA 771: Legal Aspects in Higher Education Administration
HESA 772: Financing of Higher Education
HESA 798: Research Seminar in Adult and Higher Education

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