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Admissions Requirements

Criteria for admission into the Ph.D. in Community College Leadership will include:

  • A completed master's degree in an appropriate discipline from an accredited university. Degrees that are equivalent to a master's degree such as L.L.B., J.D., and D.D.S. are also acceptable.
  • A minimum GPA of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) overall for the master's degree and in the major area of study in the master's degree.
  • Minimum of 1000 overall total score on the GRE with a minimum of 500 on both the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE. Prospective students must score a minimum of 4.5 on the analytical writing portion of the GRE. GRE scores expire after five years; however, candidates who have completed the exam prior to five years before the application deadline may submit those scores for consideration if the scores meet the minimum expectations and they are provided from an official source such as a transcript or form provided by the Educational Testing Service. Old Dominion University reserves the right to determine what is an "official source."These scores are minimums; other portions of the total application package will be considered for admission.
  • Applicants whose native language is not English must submit a current score for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOFEL) of at least 600.
  • Applicants must submit a 1500 word statement of their academic and professional goals with an emphasis on how the Ph.D. degree in Community College Leadership will contribute to the achievement of her/his stated goals.
  • Three letters of reference from sources capable of commenting on the applicant's readiness for advanced graduate study. At least one of these letters must be from a senior-level administrator in a community college.
  • An Admissions committee composed of Educational Leadership and Counseling Faculty and a Community College representative employed at the Executive level will review all applications. Any representative from the home campus of an applicant will excuse himself or herself from participation in consideration of that applicant.
  • Prior course work is assumed in statistics, student development, workforce development, and leadership theory. If this assumption is not met, then additional course work will be added to the candidate's graduate program of study.Please see prerequisites and additions at the bottom of the curriculum description for specifics.
  • View the complete candidacy guide