Program Overview
The Organization and Leadership (O&L) Doctoral program is comprised of 60 credits of study beyond the master's degree and culminates in the completion of a doctoral dissertation.
To meet the needs of working professionals, the program follows a Teaching Weekend schedule of alternate weekend classes that convene nine times a semester.
Optional Focus Areas
The faculty of the Organization and Leadership Program are pleased to offer the following three focus areas of study. Our programs are designed to train instructional leaders and to address the shortages of credentialed principals, superintendents, directors, and administrative personnel in San Francisco Bay Area schools. The curriculum weaves together current research with direct application to the field with a focus on creating school leaders for social justice. Contact the specific faculty member listed in each area below for additional information about that focus.
K-12 Instructional Leadership and Administrative Services Credential Program
K-12 instructional leadership focuses on the research and practice of leadership development, leadership for social justice, instructional leadership, and program development.
Those interested in this focus area are encouraged to contact: Danfeng Soto-Vigil and Darrick Smith.
Leadership in the Community Context
The Leadership in the Community Context focus is an opportunity to address practices and issues of concern to 21st-century leaders and their management of a diverse work force. Students will explore topics that have received attention in recent years, including different leadership styles, organizational change, work teams, global leadership, managing diversity, and ethical leadership.
Those interested in this focus area are encouraged to contact: Jane Bleasdale, Ph.D.
Higher Education Leadership
Higher education leadership prepares aspiring administrators, leaders, and scholars of higher education to work in college and university settings. This emphasis exposes students to the challenges facing higher education in light of rapidly changing social, political, and demographic contexts. Common themes throughout each class are:
- issues of access and equity in post-secondary institutions and the experiences and problems facing under-represented groups
- complexities involved in transforming organizations and programs to achieve equitable outcomes for all students.
Those interested in this focus area are encouraged to contact: Jane Bleasdale, Ph.D.
Dissertation Development, Research and Writing
Dissertation support is provided by the student's dissertation chair. A close relationship develops between each student and his or her chair. Students are advised to consider their own intellectual and professional interests as well as the background and expertise of each faculty member in the process of making this choice. The dissertation chair may or may not have been the student's original adviser.
Specializations and Professional Interests
Students are assisted on an individual basis by a faculty adviser in making course choices based on their areas of interest. Students have the option to change faculty advisers at any point in the program as their specific interests develop. Directed studies are opportunities to explore particular interests with a student-selected faculty member. Instructors for a particular directed study may or may not be the student's adviser.