Doctor of Applied Leadership

DAL Curriculum Completion 

• 60 total credit hours
• Completion of DALP 800-809 with a grade point average of 3.00 or higher and no course grade below a B-
• Successful completion of the candidacy exam and the dissertation (DALP 901 - DALP 904)
• Average time to completion: 3-5 years
• All students entering the program are required to attend a two-hour online orientation (via Zoom) with the Executive Director of Applied Leadership before beginning their DAL coursework. This orientation will introduce the students to the program goals, class structure, mentors, and program resources. 

DAL Course Descriptions (60 TOTAL HOURS)

DALP 800 Directed Study in Applied Leadership (3)

DALP 800 provides a foundation of leadership literacy for the doctoral studies in applied leadership on which the student is about to embark. Exploration will be made of a student’s past and current lived experiences as a leader and/or as a follower of a leader, calling for the student to dive deeply into analyses and evaluations of those experiences and making conclusions about leadership and their path ahead. Pre-requisite: None 

DALP 801 Applied Research (3)

DALP 801 focuses on designs and methods for acquiring new knowledge and establishes a structure for the DAL program using four frames: the structural frame, the human resources frame, the political frame, and the symbolic frame. The course is intended to help students develop ways to answer questions and generate potential solutions to improve practice. The course examines three areas of applied research: evaluation research, research and development, and action research. As a group, students will draft an Applied Research Proposal that includes a research question that could be a potential topic for a dissertation, definitions of terms, limitations and delimitations of the study, significance of the study, and a literature review. Pre-requisite: DALP 800 or concurrently

DALP 802 Leading in Complexity (3)

DALP 802 focuses on the often volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) context of leadership and introduces theories and strategies to help students lead effectively in VUCA environments. The course also addresses the cultural, social, economic, legal, and political complexities surrounding organizations. It directs students to address the cause as well as the outcomes of crises. Special attention is given to effectively representing organizations, advocating for its needs, and cultivating a respectful and responsive relationship with all stakeholders in achieving a shared mission and vision while promoting appropriate plans and policies to help manage crisis and complexity. The course highlights the structural, human resource, political, and symbolic frames featured in the DAL program. Students will develop, plan, carry out, and summarize an Applied Research Project using a survey instrument. Pre-requisite: DALP 801 or concurrently

DALP 803 Leading Change (3)

DALP 803 focuses on bringing internal and external strategic change to an organization to meet its goals as well as establishing an organizational vision and implementing it in a continuously changing environment. Central to the course are the themes of change leadership and management, creativity and innovation, external awareness, flexibility, resilience, strategic thinking, and vision. The course highlights the structural, human resource, political, and symbolic frames featured in the DAL program. Students will develop, plan, carry out, and summarize an Applied Research Project using document data collection. Pre-requisite: DALP 801 or concurrently 

DALP 804 Leading People (3)

DALP 804 focuses on leading people toward meeting an organization’s vision, mission, and goals and providing an equitable and inclusive organization that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of situations. Central to the course are the themes of conflict management, leveraging diversity, developing others, team building, and follower-centric approaches to leadership. The course primarily highlights the human resource frame featured in the DAL program. Students will develop, plan, carry out, and summarize an Applied Research Project by conducting interviews with subjects of the research project. Pre-requisite: DALP 801 or concurrently 

DALP 805 Organizational Leadership (3)

DALP 805 highlights the difference between organizational leadership and management while focusing on meeting organizational goals and stakeholder expectations, making decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks. Central to the course are the themes of accountability, customer service, decisiveness, entrepreneurship, problem-solving, and technical credibility. The course also addresses major theories and approaches to organizational leadership. The course primarily highlights the structural frame featured in the DAL program. Students will develop, plan, carry out, and summarize an Applied Research Project using observation data collection. Pre-requisite: DALP 801 or concurrently

DALP 806 Organizational Management (3)

DALP 806 highlights the difference between organizational leadership and management while focusing on making good judgments and timely decisions by strategically managing financial, human, and information resources. Central to the course are the themes of financial management, human capital management, and technology management. The course also addresses major theories and approaches to organizational leadership. The course primarily highlights the structural frame featured in the DAL program. Students will develop, plan, carry out, and summarize an Applied Research Project using Q-methodology. Pre-requisite: DALP 801 or concurrently 

DALP 807 Building Coalitions (3)

DALP 807 focuses on building internal and external coalitions within an organization, with other organizations, and with the sectors of a community. Central to the course are the themes of power and conflict, political savvy, advocacy, developing agendas, partnering, and influencing/negotiating. The course also addresses major theories and approaches to organizational leadership. The course primarily highlights the political frame featured in the DAL program. Students will develop, plan, carry out, and summarize an Applied Research Project using focus group data collection. Pre-requisite: DALP 801 or concurrently 

DALP 808 Ethics and Culture (3)

DALP 808 examines the way organizational cultures and policies help to promote or prevent ethical behavior. The course presents ethical theories and models to help leaders make sound decisions and to use their position of leadership to foster positive change. The course primarily highlights the symbolic frame featured in the DAL program. Students will develop, plan, carry out, and summarize an Applied Research Project using artifact data collection such as organizational policies or other artifacts to determine their ethical implications.Pre-requisite: DALP 801 or concurrently 

DALP 809 Area of Concentration Seminar (4)

DALP 809 serves as a culminating experience that brings together the content from across DALP 801 – 808 to re-examine the content to ensure that a coherent whole has been made within the framework of one’s Area of Concentration. It also allows for the exploration of new and additional components of the Area of Concentration not previously or sufficiently addressed. The course is designed to help prepare the student for the DALP candidacy examination. Pre-requisites: 801 – 808; however, may be taken concurrently with the one remaining course of the 801 – 808 series.

DALP 901 Candidacy Exam and Defense (4)

DALP 901 is a directed study during which time a doctoral student works with their Candidacy Examination Committee to prepare for, sit for, and defend the Candidacy Examination. The DALP 901four-member Candidacy Examination Committee (three doctoral-level faculty members and one non-voting field mentor) will be selected in collaboration with the Executive Director of Applied Leadership. DALP 901 will be graded S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory). Pre-requisites: DALP 800-809

DALP 902 Dissertation Proposal (6)

This directed study assists the student in articulating a research question(s) for their dissertation to, reviews the research methodologies that were introduced in the program, and selects the research method to best answer the articulated question(s). The course culminates in the development of a dissertation proposal complete with introduction, review of literature, and methodology to be submitted to the student’s Dissertation Committee for approval. The DALP 902 four-member Dissertation Committee (three doctoral-level faculty members and one non-voting field mentor) will be selected in collaboration with the Executive Director of Applied Leadership. The Dissertation Proposal is considered a binding agreement between the student and the Dissertation Committee. Any changes to the proposal need prior approval from the Dissertation Committee. DALP 902 will be graded S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory). Pre-requisite: DALP 901.  

DALP 903 Data Collection, Analysis, and Interpretation (10)

The course is a directed study during which time a doctoral candidate works under the supervision of their Dissertation Committee to collect the data outlined in the approved dissertation proposal. Upon the completion of data collection, the doctoral candidate works with their Committee in the analysis and interpretation of the data collected. DALP 903 will be graded S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory). Pre-requisite: DALP 902 and Approval of Dissertation Proposal by Dissertation Committee.  

DALP 904 Dissertation Writing and Defense (9)

A minimum of six (6) semester-hours of dissertation writing is required for the completion of the dissertation. A doctoral candidate needs to register for one or more hours of DALP 904 during any semester they wish to have the assistance of their Dissertation Committee. This DALP 904 requirement is expected to be completed within three semesters of their first registration for the course. By the conclusion of the last semester for which a candidate is registered for DALP 904, they must sit for their oral defense of the dissertation. The DALP 904 four-member Dissertation Committee (three doctoral-level faculty members and one non-voting field mentor) will be selected in collaboration with the Executive Director of Applied Leadership. DALP 904 will be graded S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory). Pre-requisite: DALP 903.