Program Overview
Mission
Students will use their Divine Design, God-given talents and passions, as Organizational Leadership scholars to serve Christ and the world in their life, careers and ministry, learning, and leadership. They will exemplify leader traits (Be), leadership studies (Know), and work in academia or business (Do). Courses contain face-to-face (F2F) residencies on SEU campus in Lakeland, Florida, and virtual asynchronous and synchronous components online.
Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Leadership (PhD)
A research-based, multidisciplinary program for individuals called to serve others in the advancement of Organizational Leadership scholarship through college/university teaching and conducting research, or being a researcher for business, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, government agencies, or think tank consultant.
Program Learning Outcomes (PLO)
Upon completion of the program, students will be able to do the following:
- Core 1: Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of leadership theory by analyzing and evaluating organization trends.
- Core 2: Apply qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research to study and advise organizations.
- PhD 1: Advance Organizational Leadership scholarship toward current and future applications.
- PhD 2: Conduct Organizational Leadership scholarship through regular publication, collaboration, and education.
Career Options
- College/University Professor - teaching and research
- Researcher for business, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, government agencies
- Think Tank Consultant
Program Summary
The PhD in Organizational Leadership consists of 16 courses (48 credit hours) plus a minimum of 12 credit hours of dissertation work. Our delivery model is hybrid. We will conduct residencies each semester. Summer residency is 5 days in early May, typically the week before Mother’s Day. Fall residency is 3 days, just before and during Labor Day weekend at the end of August, beginning of September. Spring residency is 3 days in March and coincides with SEU’s Leadership Forum. It falls during the middle of that semester. Courses are offered in 8-week sessions. Some courses contain face-to-face classroom time during residencies. Others are completely online. These will contain both asynchronous and synchronous sessions, like webinars and virtual lectures.
Graduation Requirements
- PhD students complete 48 hours of course work and 12 hours of dissertation for a total of 60 credit hours
- 3.0 cumulative GPA for all courses with no more than two “C” grades
- Give at least one presentation at an academic or professional conference
- Submit at least one article in an academic or professional journal for publication
- Pass all questions on comprehensive exam, proctored on campus at SEU
- Complete dissertation
Entrance Requirements
Prospective students must provide evidence of character, excellence in scholarship, experience with leadership, and potential to conduct scholarly research and presenting results at the doctoral level. Requirements:
- Master’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Official transcripts are required.
- Resume or Curriculum Vita. We will holistically evaluate this to determine how the person’s past education and work experience have established a basis for continued development of higher-level academic skills in the study of leadership.
- Two professional letters of recommendation that address person’s character, experience with leadership, and ability to complete the doctoral program.
- Admission Essay that addresses why you chose SEU for your doctoral studies, your goals for the program, talents and experiences that can lead to success, and how you will contribute to others. See specific requirements.
PhD Admission Essay: Please complete these essay questions to assist in evaluating your fit with our doctoral program. This is an opportunity to articulate your goals for the program, talents and experiences that can lead to success, and how you will contribute to others. Answer the following questions in approximately 1000 words. Your essay should be e-mailed directly to the Admission Office at admission@seu.edu.
- Describe your personal and professional goals and how a doctoral degree from the Jannetides College of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership will help. Program descriptions to assist you in your response:
- Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Leadership (PhD): A research-based, multidisciplinary program for individuals called to serve others in the advancement of Organizational Leadership scholarship through college/university teaching and conducting research, or being a researcher for business, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, government agencies, or think tank consultant.
- Why have you selected Southeastern University to help you achieve your goals?
- Doctoral programs in the Jannetides College of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership are rigorous and rewarding. Comment on personal attributes and experiences that demonstrate your ability to successfully complete a doctorate-level program. Include previous academic and professional experiences that document your capacity for learning.
- Servant leadership is important to the Southeastern University community. Comment on how your personal characteristics and faith inform your concept of servant leadership and how you will contribute to the program, faculty, and fellow students.
- Doctoral Writing Sample that demonstrate your research, writing, analytical, and problem-solving skills. See specific requirements.
Doctoral Writing Sample: Writing samples play an important role in helping the Admissions Committee evaluate a doctoral applicant’s research, writing, analytical and problem-solving skills. Please provide a 600-word essay addressing the topic. E-mail your doctoral writing sample to the Admission Office at admission@seu.edu.
- What is the most pressing leadership issue of today? We will evaluate it with the following criteria:
- Thesis Development and Critical Thinking. The thesis expresses the main idea of the paper in one sentence and informs the reader of the paper’s focus. Critical thinking is the act of examining, analyzing, and evaluating information followed by drawing accurate conclusions.
- Paper is a professional product. It is separated into clear sections. It includes a clear transition from one section to the next. Paper is free of capitalization, format, grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.
- Correct writing style. Professional publications require specific writing styles in order to get published. Compose the writing sample in APA, MLA, or other acceptable style. Please state the style you use. Ensure you use the styles paper format, in-text citations, and reference/works cited/bibliography section.
- Use one leadership book, one scholarly journal article, and one online news article in your essay.
Other policies specific to this program
Transfer credits
Doctoral coursework from regionally accredited universities may be transferrable to your doctoral program on a case-by-case basis. Transfer courses must have been at the doctoral level, earned a grade B or higher, and should be an appropriate match to the courses required in SEU’s doctoral program. If you have completed graduate coursework after your master’s degree that was not included in another degree and which you believe should be counted toward your doctoral plan of study, discuss these courses with your academic advisor in your first advising session. You must submit copies of your unofficial transcript, the course catalog description, and official information from the institution’s catalog. Transfer courses must be approved by the academic advisor at the point of admission to the program. Future courses from other universities will not be transferred without prior approval from the academic advisor and PhD Coordinator.
Overview of the Dissertation Process
Once you have passed your comprehensive exams, you must continuously register for dissertation credits. The dissertation is the capstone research and writing project designed to demonstrate program mastery and to make an original contribution to the leadership literature. The dissertation is required and all doctoral candidates must enroll in a minimum of three dissertation credits each semester while working on the dissertation. A minimum of 12 dissertation credits must be earned before students can graduate. Students will be actively involved in selecting their dissertation chair and committee members, and will be expected to collaborate and communicate with their chair and committee members on a regular basis throughout the entire dissertation process. The dissertation consists of six phases.
- Proposal & Chapter 1 Introduction. The first phase of the dissertation process is designed to prepare doctoral students to develop and defend a research proposal.
- Chapter 2 Literature Review. Second, students will conduct and write a review of literature related to their dissertation research.
- Chapter 3 Methodology. Third, students will write the research methods section of the dissertation and begin the data collection phase of the dissertation.
- Chapter 4 Results. Fourth, students will analyze their research data and write the results section of the dissertation.
- Chapter 5 Discussion. Fifth, students will write the discussion section of the dissertation.
- Defense. This is the final phase of the dissertation. Students will defend the research study and prepare the dissertation for dissemination to the public.
Course Plan/Sequence. See course plans and audit sheets.
- PhD Org Ldr Program Plan
- PhD Org Ldr Degree Audit
Program Plan
PhD in Organizational Leadership Program Plan
