LPO Doctoral Level Concentrations

LPO's doctoral-level program in Leadership and Policy Studies offers three concentrations. LPO adheres to the mentor-apprentice model of preparation in this program. As a doctoral candidate, you will work closely with an assigned faculty advisor to craft a program of research that will serve as the basis of your career in academia in any organization in which research is an essential part of doing business. Students focus on their selected area of inquiry throughout the program, and are expected to conduct research, present papers at national academic conferences, and publish in academic journals.

Educational Leadership and Policy
The Educational Leadership and Policy concentration is designed for those who intend to build an academic career focused on the study of education and policy. The concentration will prepare you for a career in a college or university, to enter the field of practice as a state or federal policy analyst, or to join a research group focused on the evaluation of education policy. As a doctoral student, you will be matched with an LPO faculty member whose research interests align with your own, and you will design an individualized program of study that reflects your specific interests and background. In addition to conducting research, presenting papers at scholarly conferences, and submitting journal articles for publication, you will work alongside a collection of esteemed faculty with expertise in areas including accountability, education and international development, urban school reform, state finance and education policies, and intergovernmental relations.

Higher Education Leadership and Policy
The Higher Education Leadership and Policy concentration will prepare you for an academic career dedicated to the study of higher education and higher education policy. The concentration will allow you to conduct research projects that could include such topics as comparative study on international higher education policies, the delineation of a normative structure for undergraduate college teaching or an analysis of state higher education policy initiatives. You might also develop and test theories of student persistence. Additionally, your course of study will include a focus on a cognate field (such as sociology, organizational theory, or economics) in order to bring those theoretical traditions to bear on the study of higher education. As a doctoral student in this program, you will develop your own program of research, present papers at academic conferences, and submit journal articles for publication.

International Education Policy Management
The International Education Policy Management concentration is designed for those who intend to build an academic career dedicated to the study of education and its effect on social and economic development. It prepares you for a career in university scholarship or to take a analytic leadership role in a development assistance agency or international education foundation.

In addition to acquiring expertise in the analysis of education problems in other countries, students are trained to use international analysis as a tool for responding to educational and social problems emanating from within the United States. Building on LPO’s considerable intellectual capital in school administration and higher education leadership, IEPM incorporates course requirements in both K-12 and Higher Education programs but benefits from independent work on human capital, international organizations, and trends in education policy reform often utilizing international data bases. The IEPM program emphasizes a rigorous training in social scientific methods, both quantitative and qualitative, including economics, sociology and political science. Students have the choice of applying this training to the study of OECD or developing countries.