Wisconsin Idea Executive Educational Leadership Preparation Program, PhD

The Wisconsin Idea Executive Education Leadership Preparation PhD focuses explicitly on K-12 leadership for dramatically improving student performance and closing achievement gaps.

The theme of District and School Leadership for Equity and Excellence is infused through most courses and supported by theoretical and empirical, as well as practical, understandings. The program provides a coordinated plan that allows students to defend their dissertation within three to four years. The dissertation focuses on school, district, or community efforts to improve performance for all students. Cohort students receive training in qualitative and quantitative inquiry and analysis and are expected to develop a study design for the dissertation that is appropriate to address their research questions.

Participants in the Wisconsin Idea Executive Education Leadership Preparation PhD program can complete the requirements for Wisconsin’s Director of Instruction, Director of Special Education and Pupil Services, and/or Superintendent licenses as part of the program. For questions about obtaining these district-level K-12 licenses with ELPA, please visit our K-12 Administrator Certification webpage or contact Dr. Barb Sramek.

For program information, please contact Dr. Barb Sramek, WIE Program Director. For general application and/or admissions questions, please contact Shari Smith, ELPA Graduate Program Manager and Academic Advisor, at ssmith@education.wisc.edu