Campus to launch new education doctorate

Sacramento State will begin offering an independent doctorate in educational leadership in fall 2007. The program will provide advanced training for administrators in elementary and secondary schools and community colleges.

The new program came about through legislation that allowed California State University campuses to offer doctorates, traditionally a role limited to University of California campuses or to CSU campuses which offered their program in conjunction with a UC campus. The CSU Chancellor’s Office identified Sacramento State as one of the campuses that will offer the doctorate in an announcement last week.

President Alexander Gonzalez will hold a meeting for the campus community on the new doctorate from 3 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7 in the University Union Ballroom.

“The goal is to give education leaders the knowledge and skills they need to be effective,” says Mike Lee, associate vice president and dean for Academic Programs at the University. “The independent degree will also allow professionals to earn a doctorate while working full time.”

The cornerstone of the program will be a solid partnership with K-12 and community college leaders in the region, Lee says. “They will play an active role in developing the curriculum and teaching in the program. Input from the partners will factor substantively in the program design.”

Lee says the campus will also rely heavily on its education faculty and faculty from other related disciplines in creating the new program. “They will help define the curriculum and admission standards. We’re looking for the optimal level of cooperation for all involved.”

Once the curriculum and structure for the program are established and approved by the campus, it will need to be approved by the CSU Board of Trustees, the California Postsecondary Education Commission and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Sacramento State is one of seven CSU campuses that will be offering the program. The others are Fresno, Fullerton, Long Beach, San Bernardino, San Diego and San Francisco. Lee says Sacramento State was selected in part because of the demand in the region for higher education leaders and because of the strength of its faculty. Other campuses will be added in future.

The University will continue its joint doctorate program with UC Davis and Sonoma State. In fact, Lee says, the joint program will be a jumping-off point for the independent doctorate. “The expertise and experience of the faculty here will be an asset as we develop and build the new program.”

For more information on the independent doctorate in education, contact Lee at 278-5933.