The PhD curriculum encompasses three core areas of concentrated study that will build your capacity to serve as a qualified leader. The colloquium courses provide a platform for scholarly discussions and in-depth research analysis.
School of Education
Department of Graduate Education
Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership in Innovation and Continuous Improvement (LICI)
A research-intensive PhD program that will build your expertise and confidence to be an influential leader.
Program Overview
Mission statement
The LICI PhD program is inspired by a Christian worldview, stewardship, and service. The mission of this program is to prepare scholarly leaders who will bring positive and impactful change in their vocations.
Program highlights
This is a doctoral experience that allows life-long learners to hold a full-time job and successfully progress through this educational journey. It is a PhD that centers on building your expertise in three core areas:
- Leadership
- Research
- Improvement Science and Innovation
Key details
- Interdisciplinary focus that will benefit individuals serving in education, business, healthcare, non-profit, and other fields.
- The main format of our courses is asynchronous online learning, allowing you to access lessons at your convenience over an 8-week timeframe. While this flexible format gives you control over your schedule, it's important to note that assignments still have set deadlines to keep you on track towards your goals.
- Colloquium courses are built for scholarly discussions and analyzing research with faculty and your doctoral peers. Colloquiums have periodic Zoom sessions that take place at a scheduled time during a 16-week session. Here are the required courses
- The Christian Leader Journey Colloquium
- 360 Thinking and Analysis Colloquium: Thinking Critically about Research
- Education and Learning Colloquium
- Psychology and Human Behavior Colloquium
- Dissertation process is broken down into separate and manageable components that you will work on one at a time for course credit starting in your first semester
- Establish connections in the community through presentations and other professional engagements
- Individualized journey with support from an assigned research advisor, Ph.D. faculty, and your academic advisor
- Inspires and empowers students to draw strength from their faith, fueling their passion to create a meaningful influence in both the global community and within the church.
Concordia University offers another doctoral degree if the research-intensive PhD doesn't fit your needs and goals. Discover how the EdD for the LICI program is different and if it is the right fit for you.
What to Expect
- 60-credit requirement
- 3-year program
- Cohort model - You start with a specific group of doctoral students and progress through the program with these peers for improved learning and greater collaboration.
- A majority of the course time is online and asynchronous. There will be periodic synchronous sessions via Zoom during the colloquium courses.
- Assigned a research advisor (dissertation chair) within the first semester
- Complete a dissertation including your public defense to a committee
- Submit a manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal
- Submit scholarly material to a conference or do a face-to-face presentation in a professional group setting
- Attend a conference and/or participate in dissertation defenses for other PhD students
- Attend two required in-person residences. Each residency is 3-4 days in length.
- 1st residency takes place as you begin the doctoral program
- 2nd residency occurs sometime after you have completed your first year
