Become a Leader in Higher Education

Our doctorate program is designed for future leaders in higher education. Upon completion of the doctoral program, graduates will be qualified to assume educational leadership roles in a variety of contexts. Graduates can also qualify to teach at colleges and universities.

Careers

Find your niche in higher education.

Career Possibilities and Current Median Salaries

Post-secondary Education Administrators
$96,910
Post-secondary Instructors
$79,640

US DOL Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2020

See Yourself Succeed with a Degree In Higher Education

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Hands-On Training

Put your skills and knowledge into practice in a classroom setting with guidance from a mentor-teacher during your clinical teaching experience.

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Career Readiness

Learn from others in your program as you share your diverse backgrounds and varied professional goals. 

Outstanding Faculty

Enjoy the opportunity to learn from distinguished faculty who are respected researchers and leaders in their fields. 

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Education Success

Join the ranks of our graduates who have gone on to become successful administrators, university professors and leaders.

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What You will Learn

An advanced degree in higher education will offers the opportunity to:

  • Apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to make decisions about policies and procedures
  • Effectively utilize qualitative and quantitative research methods
  • Hone your organizational leadership skills

Alumni Spotlight

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Course Delivery

This 60-semester-hour program is designed specifically for you. Building upon your master's degree, our program requires a major field of 48 semester hours, including the dissertation, plus 12 semester hours of research tools. Classes are completely online and offered during the fall, spring and summer semesters.

Please check the schedule of classes for locations and times. Locations and times are subject to change.

PROGRAM COSTS

Tuition and fees for graduate students taking nine credit hours are $3,669 for Texas residents and $7,341 for non-residents.

Admission

Your Path to Becoming a Lion

Note: This program is not currently available to international students.

Deadlines

Application: 60 days prior to first class day of the desired admission semester at the latest.

Application documents: 30 days prior to first class day of the desired admission semester.

Submit Application

  • Select “Create a new graduate school admissions application.”
  • Select “Texas A&M University-Commerce (Commerce)” as your “Target University.”

  • Select “Higher Education, EDD” as your “Major.”

Domestic Application Fee 395064

  • Pay the $50 application fee.
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Wait to receive an application confirmation email before proceeding to the next step.

  • After you submit your application, the Graduate School will send a confirmation email within two business days to the personal email account you used for ApplyTexas.

Submit the following documents to your graduate coordinator after you receive an application confirmation email.

Graduate Coordinator Dayla Burgin

Your Graduate Coordinator

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Contact your previous institution(s) and request that they send your official transcripts to your graduate coordinator

  • We recommend that you request transcripts for all of your academic work.

All international transcripts must be evaluated and the evaluation submitted to the Graduate School.

We accepts evaluations sent directly from the following Agencies.

  • If a normal evaluation is submitted, official original transcripts with all marksheets will still need to be submitted.
  • If a WES ICAP or equivalent is submitted, we will not need the official transcripts to be submitted separately.

You must hold one of the following GPA requirements to be considered for doctoral admission:

  • An awarded bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited university with at least a 3.00 GPA on the last 60 hours or an awarded bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited university with at least a 2.75 GPA or higher or
  • An awarded master's degree from a regionally accredited university with at least a 3.4 GPA or higher in the field of counseling or closely related field.

If your institution is unable to submit a digital copy, hard copies may be mailed to:

Texas A&M University-Commerce
Attn: Graduate School
PO Box 3011
Commerce, Texas 75429-3011

We will need official/original documents. If those documents are the only copies you have, the Graduate School can mail them back to you upon request. Contact your graduate coordinator for more information.

Submit the Statement of Goals Form

Submit a resume or curriculum vitae (CV) which includes your academic and professional history and achievements.

Submit a writing sample on any topic of your interest in the field or profession of higher education using APA Style Manual (6th or 7th ed.)

  • Must be a solo-authored (not collaborative) paper
  • Can be a scholarly essay addressing a problem of practice that you want to investigate and can include related work and academic experiences
  • Must contain a reference/bibliographic list at the end with corresponding in-text citations
  • Must be at least four double-spaced pages and should not exceed 30 pages.

Request two signed letters of recommendation, on letterhead, from professionals who can attest to your goals and ability to succeed in the program. Those individuals should:

One or both of the references should hold a doctoral degree.

Look for application updates in myLeo > Apps > Check Application Status

  • Once an admission decision has been made, you will receive an email to your student email account at myLeo > Apps > Leomail.

  • Apply for scholarships and graduate assistantships once you are admitted.
  • Apply for financial aid by submitting a FAFSA and sending it to school code 003565.
  • Contact your financial aid advisor with any questions.

Once registration opens and you are eligible to enroll, your graduate enrollment specialist is here to help you complete registration.

Contact your graduate enrollment specialist if you have any questions regarding your degree plan and registration.

Graduate Enrollment Specialist Jennifer Faunce

Your Graduate Enrollment Specialist

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we are here to help!

Contact Us

  • Young Education North #126
  • P.O. Box 3011
  • Commerce, TX 75429-3011
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