Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies Ethical & Creative Leadership

Our Ethical and Creative Leadership (ECL) Concentration aims to prepare diverse leader-practitioners and scholars to transform organizations, communities, and societies in order to achieve equity, belongingness, and true democracy.

Ethical and creative leadership profoundly matters for a world in chaos, communities torn by difference and indifference, and lives injured by systemic injustice. Ranging across cultures and professions, our ECL concentration offers each student an interdisciplinary journey tailored to their own aspirations as leaders, culminating in a dissertation that enlightens their own leadership path as well as others. Our students learn through critical evaluation of leadership and followership philosophies and practices around the world. They are motivated to question assumptions, interrogate power structures, and create new principles and practices that meld contemporary scholarship, experiential learning, and collective imagining to help resolve the storm of crises that beset us in every sphere of life.

66 Total credits

$1095 Cost Per Credit Hour

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What you can expect from this program

Become a creative leader who challenges societal norms to address social issues and overcome boundaries.
Help create a diverse society that works for everyone in it.
Gain a unique perspective on the role of leaders and leadership in a changing and complex world.

66 credit hour program
Full & part-time options
*Hybrid program
January & July start dates
Complete your degree in as little as 3 years

*100% online classes with a one-week residency in Cincinnati at the start of each term.

Cost of Program

Core Courses

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ECL 710

Foundations of Ethical and Creative Leadership

3 credits

Introduction to classic and contemporary theories and models of leadership. Focuses on (1) the intersection of leadership, ethics, and creativity; (2) the historical, philosophical, and moral contexts of leadership; and (3) leader/follower relationships in the attainment of organizational and societal goals.
ECL 720

Ethical and Creative Leadership in Group Dynamics, Organizations, and Society

3 credits

Introduction to theories and models of leadership within groups, including small informal groups, groups within communities and organizations, and groups within society. Focuses on analysis of group dynamics and processes within the contexts of power, conflict, cooperation, creativity, diversity, ethics and values, and change.

Advanced Courses

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ECL 804

Critical Leadership

3 credits

Study of critical theories, including critical race theory, feminist theory, and queer theory, to explore diversity and leadership.
ECL 807

Women, Leadership and Policy

3 credits

Exploration and analysis of the intersection and interaction between and among women, leadership and public policy. Aspects of policy development and leadership theory are discussed. A case method of analysis is employed providing the opportunity for investigation in a range of policy areas, e.g., social welfare, health, environment, arts, economics, international affairs and government. Students select a single subject or area for the development of their own case.
ECL 809

Leadership and Social Justice

3 credits

Study of theories and practice of social justice as an underpinning for an exploration of how leadership can contribute to greater equality, dignity, fairness, and justice in organizational, national, and global contexts.
ECL 812

Leadership for a Complex World

3 credits

Exploration of complexity theory, systems theory, futures studies, integral theory, and emergent leadership in the context of a complex and rapidly changing world. Case applications of various organizational leadership situations are integrated into discussion and theories.
ECL 813

Special Topics

3 credits

Examination of various topics of interest in Ethical and Creative Leadership.
ECL 814

Leadership and Creativity

3 credits

Examination of the relationship of creativity to leadership beyond notions of innovation including creativity as a life force, as a visionary and boundary-pushing endeavor, and as aesthetics.
ECL 815

The Call to Lead: Critical Thinking and Ethical Leadership Development

3 credits

Study of the ethical development of leadership including the role of human development, as well as the relationship of the individual to the collective in the context of leadership development, integral theory, and spirituality.
ECL 816

Empathy, Dialogue, and the Ethic of Care

3 credits

ECL 816
Examination of the roles that empathy, dialogue, and the ethic of care play in leadership, particularly to advance social justice and to sustain and transform organizations, communities, and the world.
ECL 817

Protest, Social Movements, and Social Change

3 credits

Study of theories of social change and the roles of protests and collective action (including social movements) in channeling injustice into social change.
ECL 818

Design Thinking in Education and Leadership

3 credits

This course explores the meaning, intent, and application of design thinking principles and practices in education and leadership forums. We will explore the broad reaches of this methodology that combines creative and analytical approaches to problem-solving and requires collaboration across disciplines for the purpose of creating multiple, innovative solutions to systemic issues.
ECL 819

Leadership Across Cultures & Societies

3 credits

The course explores the influence of culture and societal values on leadership theory development; questions the universality of U.S.-centric leadership scholarship; reviews culture-specific, comparative as well as multicultural and multinational leadership research; and focuses on unique local methodological approaches (e.g., Indigenous theory development).
ECL 821

Community Based Leadership

3 credits

Examination of the theory and practice of community-based leadership in a global world, including emergent leadership and concepts such as stewardship, empowerment, resilience, and transformation, particularly in response to challenges and crises.
ECL 822

Leadership and Change

3 credits

This course focuses on professional experiences and reflective practice as they come together in the examination of leadership theories and strategies for transformative change in organizations. The course will include an exploration of the relationship between the organization’s leader and the effectiveness of that setting.
ECL 850

Individualized Study I

3 credits

Individualized and advanced study of specific questions and issues related to the student’s dissertation research. Focuses on the development of a preliminary literature review/intellectual contextualization for the dissertation proposal.
ECL 851

Art of Social Justice and Leadership

3 credits

This course examines reflective practices of reasoning and skill-based critical thinking to explore alternative, refreshing, and new solutions to old problems. Visual cognitive skills, social justice theories through the lens of art, and leadership principles through visual culture will lead to new implications for problem-solving in education.
ECL 855

Leadership Project: Living Case Study

3 credits

This course is designed to provide students with leadership practice or a brief externship with coaching sessions in the student’s area of focus. The student identifies a leadership problem or project to work on related to their field of interest and then works on the project as a way of practicing and demonstrating knowledge and leadership skills. The course is designed to assist students in creating a portfolio of leadership artifacts that can be used in seeking new leadership roles.
ECL 860

Individualized Study II

3 credits

Individualized and advanced study dedicated to students' individual research objectives supervised by the dissertation chair. Focuses on the generation of a draft dissertation proposal.
ECL 870

Individualized Study III

3 credits

Individualized and advanced study dedicated to students' individual research objectives supervised by the dissertation chair. Focus on dissertation research and writing. (elective)
ECL 880

Individualized Study IV

3 credits

Individualized and advanced study dedicated to students' individual research objectives supervised by the dissertation chair. Focus on dissertation research and writing. (elective)
ECL 891

Capstone Course

3 credits

The Capstone Course provides students the opportunity to expand upon work toward the dissertation research begun in ECL 850 with emphasis on developing each student's scholarly skills. This course includes the proficiency review in both Foundational Themes and Content in the Concentration.

Electives

You have the option of exploring courses outside the ECL concentration or using electives for a certificate (e.g. Executive Leadership) or for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Studies specialization.

EMBEDDED CERTIFICATES - No extra time or cost to complete

Graduate certificates provide you with a distinguished addition to your Ph.D. focus. All students in the Ph.D. Program in Interdisciplinary Studies have the option to pursue one of these graduate certificates embedded in the program:

Creative Writing
Design Thinking
Educational Leadership
Ethics and Philosophy

Executive Leadership
Museum Studies
Women’s & Gender Studies

Meet Our Faculty

Dissertation Information and Examples

The program supports a variety of formats for doctoral dissertations, including theoretical, historical, and interpretive research, social action research projects, empirical research using qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods, and creative dissertations. Here are some examples from our Ethical & Creative Leadership graduates:

Crudup, Larry Terrell (2021). Walk Together Children: Black Congregational Leadership-as-Social Ethic.
Worthen, Merritt (2020). Showing Faith through Work(s): Examining how Christian-Based Businesses are Practicing Faith in a Materialistic Society.
Bradbury, Douglas S. (2019). Quantum Reconciliation: A Framework for Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Inescapable Mutuality.”
Washington, Michael A. (2019). Prince Hall Masonic Order Leader and Leadership Development.

Funding Your Future

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Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies Ethical & Creative Leadership

What you can expect from this program

Electives

EMBEDDED CERTIFICATES - No extra time or cost to complete

Meet Our Faculty

Dissertation Information and Examples

Funding Your Future

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