PhD in Management and Public Service

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The Hamline University PhD in Management and Public Service is a cohort program that starts every other fall term. This program is available at the Hamline University Saint Paul campus. The PhD is ideal for professionals who wish to build on the knowledge and experience they have already attained, are anticipating their next career step, and/or want to pursue the highest qualification in their profession.

The PhD is a part-time program designed for working professionals interested in the in-depth analysis of critical issues and leadership in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. The program integrates theory and practice to foster students’ critical thinking skills and scholarship. Students completing the PhD program should expect to meet the following learning objectives:

Critical and analytical thinking - Students will demonstrate the ability to solve and/or manage complex problems and evaluate the role of the public, private and nonprofit sectors in addressing these problems and issues.
Advanced research skills - Students will demonstrate skills as both producers and consumers of quantitative and qualitative research and know which methods are appropriate for a given project or study.
Ability to work with diverse groups and individuals across sectors - Students will demonstrate skills and knowledge to engage diverse communities, analyze issues through a lens of diversity and cultural competence and provide analysis and recommendations in a culturally sensitive manner.
Mastery of leadership and management concepts and theories as they apply to issues across sectors - Students will organize, synthesize and integrate public, private and nonprofit management theories and concepts in addressing complex problems/issues.

PhD Degree Requirements

48 credits, 2.8 GPA, comprehensive exam, and dissertation proposal and final defenses

Core Courses (24 credits):

Elective Courses (12 credits):

Elective courses may be chosen from graduate offerings in Business, Nonprofit Management, and Public Administration. Electives are taken in term 1 of Summer semesters. Elective courses may be taken in the same semester as core courses with permission of the program director.

Comprehensive Exam:

After completion of core and elective coursework, students must complete and pass the written comprehensive exam before registering for DMPS 8992 - Dissertation II. The exam is take-home. Students are given two weeks to complete the exam. They can use books and notes but cannot consult with others on their answers. Students have two opportunities to pass the exam. The students must take the exam for the first time by August 25th of their third year (before Dissertation I). If students do not pass on the first attempt, they can retake the exam but must pass it before registering for Dissertation II.

Dissertation (12 credits):

The completion and defense of a dissertation is the final requirement in the PhD program. The PhD candidate must demonstrate a high level of academic competence, which typically results in a contribution of new knowledge in the field. Students have the option of completing a single substantive work or three related papers that are of publishable quality in a peer or editor reviewed journal.

To advance to degree candidacy, students are required to complete the Dissertation I course then register for Dissertation II which can be completed over two semesters. In this course students will write and then defend their first three chapters, or first article which are considered the dissertation proposal. Upon the successful defense of the dissertation proposal, students will advance to candidacy and register for Dissertation III which may also be completed over two semesters. During this course students complete data collection and analysis and write their final two chapters or articles. Upon completion of this work, students defend their full dissertation.

Course Substitution or Waiver

Student requests for substitution of a required course or courses shall be forwarded to the Program Director whose decision on the request shall be final. No more than two required courses may be substituted.

If the basis for the substitution request is having already successfully completed coursework in a different program at Hamline University or another institution, the student must provide the syllabus or syllabi from the course(s) taken and an official transcript showing successful completion unless that transcript is already a part of the student’s application file. Under no condition may the course(s) used as the basis of the substitution have been completed more than 10 years prior to admission to the PhD.

Waiver of a required course(s) for reasons of extensive professional experience and expertise, documented to have occurred within the last 10 years, is at the sole discretion of the Program Director. No more than two required courses may be waived.

In all instances of substitution or waiver of required courses, the student is required to register and successfully complete another course or courses whose total credits equal the number of credits represented by the substituted or waived required course(s).

Time Limit

Students must finish their core and elective coursework in the PhD program within four years. Ten years is the maximum time allowed for students to complete the PhD in Management and Public Service including the dissertation.

New students enter in the fall semester, and normally complete their courses, including dissertation work, together. (Exceptions can be arranged with the approval of the program director.) Satisfactory progress is typically completion of one course per term in three terms per year.