Education Doctorate (EdD)

The goal statement is a narrative explanation of how your professional goals are consistent with the program purpose statement and program outcomes. It also allows you to share potential research topics of interest for your dissertation. The goal statement should not exceed three pages double spaced and is evaluated for content and academic writing.

We encourage you to make every effort to obtain a faculty reference, however, if you are unable to obtain a faculty reference, contact us and we’ll give you further alternatives.

The EdD is focused on the practice of education. The PhD is focused on research. Both degrees contain content in the area of specialty, research, statistics and a dissertation. The EdD will have more emphasis in coursework related to education and the PhD will have more emphasis in coursework related to research and statistics. We do not offer a PhD option.

No. Most students will have taken some, or all, of the prerequisite courses in their master's program. If not, we have courses to meet these prerequisites after you are admitted and prior to entering the doctoral level courses. You may also transfer courses in from another college or earn credit for learning from previous experience through a portfolio process. 

You will participate in active learning with other students, meet with the faculty and engage with support personnel. 

All of our courses are offered once per year in the semester shown in the curriculum plan. The courses are carefully sequenced to provide necessary information needed for success in subsequent courses. Accelerating the program is not plausible. If situations arise that require you to slow down your plan, we will work with you to find a pace that works for you within the capacity of the program.

The dissertation is embedded within the doctoral curriculum. You will enter the dissertation phase of your program around the halfway point of your plan of study. At that time you will be assigned a dissertation chair who will be your facilitator through the process.

Your dissertation will be an independent research study within the realm of education. You will select your topic and narrow it to a study that can be completed within the timeframe of the program.

Our program has many processes built into the curriculum to assist students to complete the dissertation successfully. We have a course specifically for the literature review and a course for preparing the proposal. Our doctoral seminars facilitate interaction amongst the cohort and faculty about movement through the process. Further, we have divided the dissertation into three manageable courses so that there will be a grade and credits that check off requirements for the total completion of each dissertation milestone. 

Previous dissertations may be viewed on at Graduate Capstones & Dissertations

The goal of the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) is to alleviate the nursing shortage by contributing to the pool of qualified nurse educators. Up to 85% of tuition, fees and reasonable costs can be cancelled upon completion of an advanced degree with concentration in nursing education and four years of full-time or full-time equivalent teaching in a faculty role at an accredited nursing program. After completion of the degree, recipients have up to one year to find employment as faculty in order for the loan to be cancelled. Cancellation for the first three years of the loan is 20% and 25% for the fourth year, equaling 85% of the loan being cancelled.

NFLP is a program offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HRSA). Each year, BCHS applies for NFLP funding through HRSA. Funding is not guaranteed, as this depends on the annual application process and federal decisions. We are currently awaiting a decision on our funding application. Since Bryan College of Health Sciences has participated in the NFLP program since 2017, we are receiving limited funding from graduates who are repaying their loans. These funds will be made available to current and incoming students.