More information about this degree program can be found in the College of Education and College of Leadership and Public Service sections of the catalog.
To see course descriptions, click on any linked course number, or click on “Course Descriptions” in the side banner, or view course descriptions in Lipscomb’s online digital catalog.
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Leadership with a concentration in either Strategic Innovation or Policy is an interdisciplinary studies degree that aims to prepare students for high-level careers in leadership and service across a range of professional sectors. The goal is to equip professionals to pursue challenging, high-level responsibilities requiring advanced knowledge, training, and rigor, and to do so with the highest levels of integrity, ethical understanding, and behavior.
The program aspires to produce graduates who have developed exceptional skills to lead effectively, understand policy development and implementation processes, organize substantial amounts of information, research subjects broadly, independently manage and bring to successful fruition complex and in-depth projects, adapt to changing environments, and who are subsequently prepared to be a valued resource to the professional community.
The concentration in Strategic Innovation focuses on developing knowledge and skills of strategic planning, entrepreneurship, innovation, change, conflict, organizational turnaround, strategic advocacy, proposal writing, and how to produce relevant and original research. The curriculum explores how organizations and communities imagine, conceptualize, analyze, resource, and implement innovative solutions to organizational and social problems. Embedded in the curriculum is exploration of effective integration of technology and artificial intelligence to improve operations, enhance decision-making processes, and create competitive advantages.
The concentration in Public Policy focuses on developing understanding of public policy theory, research and practice. The curriculum develops knowledge and skills of how public policy is conceptualized, developed, adopted, and implemented, how to analyze policy issues, develop evidence-based solutions, and contribute to the field through relevant and original research.
Ph.D. Course of Study
EG 7403 Doctoral Seminar I
EG 8403 Doctoral Seminar II
EG 8473 Global Perspectives in Leadership
EG 7133 Organizational Theory and Practice
EG 7213 Qualitative Research Methods in Education
EG 7433 Statistics for Social and Behavioral Science
EG 8213 Advanced Quantitative Research Methods
EG 7173 Applied Research Seminar
EG 8323 Special Topics in Leadership (repeatable)
EG 8013 Dissertation Research I
EG 8023 Dissertation Research II
EG 8033 Dissertation Research III
Strategic Innovation Concentration:
EG 7233 Strategic Planning and Resource Allocation
EG 7203 Change and Conflict
EG 7323 Governance, Decision-Making and Communication
EG 6533 Cross-Functional Teaming
EG 7243 Contemporary Issues
EG 8323 Special Topics in Leadership (repeatable)
EG 7263 Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Innovation
EG 7273 Organizational Turnaround and Renewal
EG 8233 Strategic Advocacy and Proposal Writing
Policy Concentration:
EG 8453 Global Perspectives in Policy (currently includes travel experience)
EG 8313 Policy Analysis and Change
MPA 6113 Intersection of the Federal System and State Leadership
EG 7383 Finance and Policy
EG 7343 Policy Seminar
EG 8323 Special Topics in Leadership (Repeatable)
EG 7323 Governance, Decision-Making and Communication
EG 8233 Strategic Advocacy and Proposal Writing
EG 7203 EG Change and Conflict