UM Launches Professional Doctorates in Math, Higher Education

OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi now offers professional doctorates in the fields of mathematics instruction and higher education.

The UM School of Education‘s new Doctor of Education program is designed for secondary mathematics teachers or college administrators who already hold a master’s degree and wish to pursue doctoral studies with an emphasis on professional practice.

The Ed.D. is designed to be completed part-time over three years and both emphases require at least 48 hours of post-master’s credit, including a “Dissertation in Practice,” which will be a major research project focused on solving real-world problems in Mississippi education.

The new program is the result of an ongoing collaboration with the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate, or CPED, a consortium of more than 80 institutions undertaking an examination of professional doctorates in education.

“CPED is a knowledge forum where institutions work together to improve doctoral education that affects practice,” said Amy Wells Dolan, associate dean of the education school, who has worked with CPED as a UM representative since 2011. “Our institution has long attracted students who seek doctoral study for the purpose of professional practice. Establishing an Ed.D. program with CPED principles makes us more responsive to those students’ needs and goals.”

While the Ed.D. program’s initial focus is mathematics education and higher education, it could soon expand to other fields such as English education or educational leadership. Both emphases will share a joint core of educational research courses that are completed alongside other graduate seminars in either mathematics education or higher education.

The fundamental difference between the new Ed.D. and UM’s existing Ph.D. programs in these fields is that the Ed.D. is designed to help teachers and administrators advance existing careers, whereas the Ph.D. is intended to prepare graduate students for new careers in collegiate teaching and research.

“We believe the Ed.D. will better serve doctoral students in higher education who are currently administrators and see themselves advancing on this path,” said John Holleman, coordinator of higher education. “The professional doctorate utilizes a consultancy model allowing students to develop research and assessment skills and then directly apply them to an ongoing, real world environment.”

The program is also designed to make doctoral study more accessible to teachers and administrators across Mississippi. One plan in the works could include cohort sites for both emphases at the Oxford  campus and at the Medical Center in Jackson, as well as other areas where a demand can be identified.

“We are looking to provide maximum opportunities for mathematics educators who want to stay classroom-based in their careers,” said Allan Bellman, associate professor of mathematics education. “This program will allow teachers to identify something that they want to improve, design a solution and apply it. The research will have a direct impact on their practice and even practice across their whole district.”

The application deadline for the first cohort of both Ed.D. tracks is April 1. For more information about curriculum and admissions, visit http://education.olemiss.edu.