Doctor of Education in Adult, Higher, and Community Education
91-97 credits
A doctoral program with three major concentrations that prepares graduate students for professions in a variety of educational, governmental, community, business, and industrial settings.
The adult and community education concentration emphasizes developing critical skills and conducting research in teaching and learning, program planning, leadership, continuing education, community organizing, organizational management, and evaluation using a social justice framework. Through the courses, learners understand how power issues, especially related to race and diversity, impacts decisions and policies within educational programs.
The higher education concentration emphasizes developing skills in higher education administration, organizational and policy development, teaching, curriculum development, and social justice advocacy related to post-secondary institutions.
The community college leadership concentration emphasizes developing administrative and teaching skills specifically for community college environments.
Admission requirements
Applicants must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate School. An applicant must also have a master’s degree from an accredited college or university, have earned a graduate grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.2 on a scale of 4.0 at the master’s degree level, and have acceptable scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The program faculty also consider the content of reference letters; the compatibility of the degree program and the applicant’s goals/needs; other evidence of advanced graduate academic skills (writing, research, etc.); and relevant career or life experiences/accomplishments. Applicants must speak and write standard English fluently, complete the application process for admission to the doctoral program, and demonstrate commitment to adult, higher, and community education.
General requirements
A minimum of 91 graduate credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. At least 48 of the 91 credits, and at least half of required credits in the research requirement, the major concentration, and the cognate must be completed at Ball State. A master’s degree is required; previous graduate course work may be counted toward the 91 total credits required in the program. Exact requirements will vary depending on the concentration. Students will earn 57 credits in the Core Courses, Research Courses, and the Major Concentration (Adult and Community Education, Higher Education, or Community College Leadership), and a single cognate of 24 credits or two cognates of 15 credits each. Completion of the dissertation earns 10 credits, at minimum.
Cognate requirements
The doctoral student must have either two cognate fields (or minors) consisting of a minimum of 15 credits each or a single cognate field consisting of a minimum of 24 credits. For the 15-credit cognate, 9 credits must be taken at Ball State University; 12 credits of the 24-credit cognate must be taken at Ball State University. Cognates are offered in higher education; community college leadership; and adult and community education. Cognates are also available in all university major fields of study for the master’s, specialist, and doctoral degrees.
Credits transferred from prior graduate study at Ball State University
Per the discretion of the student’s doctoral committee, past graduate credits earned from Ball State University may be transferred into the core, research, cognate, and/or major concentration portions of the student’s curriculum. In some cases, this may include entire Ball State master’s-level programs, totaling up to 42 credits.
Dissertation
Each student is required to write a dissertation on a topic approved by the committee. Students register for DISS 799 for a total of at least 10 dissertation credits.
Doctoral committee
The student’s doctoral committee is appointed after the student has been admitted to study for the doctoral degree – usually near the end of the first year of doctoral work. Until the committee has been appointed, the director of the doctoral program or a delegated representative will serve as the primary advisor for the student.
Residence requirement
The residence requirement for this degree is the completion of at least 15 credits in two consecutive semesters of graduate work beyond the master’s degree. Summer may be used as one of the semesters for residency purposes.
Additional admission requirements
After admission, the student must begin course work within two years, and all requirements for the degree must be met within seven years from the date of the first course taken after admission to the doctoral program.
Degree Requirements
Adult and community education concentration, 91-97 credits
Core required courses, 24 credits
Research requirements, 21 credits
3 credits from
Electives, 12 credits
Four courses are selected in consultation with the Doctoral Committee
Cognate(s) 24 or 30 credits
Dissertation course
| DISS 799 | Doctoral Dissertation | 1 TO 24 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 10 |
Community college leadership major concentration, 91-97 credits
Core required courses, 15 credits
Research requirements, 24 credits
Community college leadership major concentration, 18 credits
Required courses, 12 credits
Electives, 6 credits (select three courses from the following)
Cognate(s) 24 or 30 credits
Dissertation course
| DISS 799 | Doctoral Dissertation | 1 TO 24 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 10 |
Higher education concentration, 91-97 credits
Core required courses, 15 credits
Research requirements, 24 credits
Higher education major concentration, 18 credits
Required courses, 9 credits
Electives, 9 credits (select three courses from the following)
Cognate(s) 24 or 30 credits
Dissertation course
| DISS 799 | Doctoral Dissertation | 1 TO 24 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 10 |
Total Credit Hours: 91-97