PhD in Leadership Studies

An Interdisciplinary Path to High-Level Leadership

A PhD in Leadership Studies prepares graduates to make a difference in any industry.

Students immerse in an interdisciplinary learning experience that is designed to meet their professional interests and goals. Through a combination of research and coursework, students identify real-world problems and apply leadership theory to solve them. With a nexus of research and practice, students leave our program with a deep understanding of the nature of leadership in human groups and organizations.

Become an empowered leader who will challenge inequity, take action and support diversity and inclusion efforts. You can learn how to address the needs of your community as an ethical and impactful leader in this program.

Founded in 1979, first university in the nation to offer a doctorate in leadership studies

5 years average time to completion

400+

Dissertations written

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completing this program, graduates will be prepared to meet the needs of their communities by:

Articulating prominent leadership theories in leadership studies, analyze and critique these theories and apply them in the course of addressing a variety of organizational issues and problems.

Realistically appraising their personal strengths and weaknesses exercising leadership. They will actualize leadership in real and complex situations.

Using a range of perspectives and theoretical constructs from various social sciences, humanities disciplines and fields of study to analyze, critique and make decisions about an array of leadership and organizational issues and problems.

Demonstrating the methodological skills necessary to design, analyze, critique and conduct research using both qualitative and quantitative research techniques.

Employing written and oral communications that are clear, coherent, well organized and technically correct.

Critically examining cultures other than their own, and applying the knowledge gained within their personal and professional lives.

Who is this

PhD in Leadership for?

The program is intended for...

Critical Thinkers

Transformational Leaders

Global Solution Seekers

Community leaders

Bachelors and Masters degree holders

Financing Your Education

All students have a right to an education, regardless of income or circumstance. Over 60% of our students rely on financial assistance to cover part of their educational expenses.

The tuition rate is for the 2026-27 academic year. Tuition and fees are subject to change.

Units

$1,800

Tuition per unit

$102,600

Estimated total tuition

Financial Aid

In addition to external funding resources, students at SOLES may be eligible for various forms of financial assistance, including scholarships, grants, fellowships, and discounts.

Explore Financial Aid and Scholarships

Assistantships

Graduate assistantships open up doors to the future. SOLES hires hourly paid graduate or research assistants earning their leadership doctorate in the following areas:

Dean's Office
Research and Teaching assistantships with Professors
Leadership Studies Minor
The Nonprofit Institute
SOLES Assessment Support
SOLES Global Center
Student Affairs / SOLES Collaborative (SASC)

Applicants should be currently enrolled or newly admitted SOLES students in good standing.

Explore Graduate Assistantships

Accreditation

SOLES is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), Senior College and University Commission.

We regularly evaluate our academic programs to ensure that they provide students with a high-quality education and adhere to the standards of our accrediting bodies.

Get to know SOLES

Meet our faculty

Committed to uplifting and providing a better quality of life for our community.

Meet Faculty Meet Ambassadors

Department Chair and Assistant Professor

Leslie Boozer

Dr. Leslie Boozer’s work is anchored in her experience as an urban schools practitioner, researcher and leader. Her research topics include educational policy, leading for social justice and equity, K–12 leadership and change management in urban and suburban school districts and grassroots social movements and collective impact.

Meet Leslie Boozer

PROFESSOR

Robert Donmoyer

Dr. Robert Donmoyer received both a PhD in Education and a MA in Political Science from Stanford University. Throughout his career he has explored the use — or, often, the lack of use — of research and evaluation findings in policymaking and practice.

Meet Robert Donmoyer

PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND PROFESSOR

Venus Evans-Winters

Dr. Venus Evans-Winters' research and teaching emphasize qualitative inquiry, intersectionality, and understanding psycho-spiritual and sociocultural processes of resilience of people across the African Diaspora. She also advises national organizations advancing racial and gender justice.

Meet Venus Evans-Winters

PROFESSOR

Fred Galloway

Dr. Fred Galloway’s research interests are higher education policy, the economics of education and econometrics. He teaches graduate courses in several related areas, including quantitative research methods, advanced quantitative research methods, the policymaking process and others.

Meet Fred Galloway

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Hugo Garcia Gonzalez

Dr. Hugo Garcia’s research interestsesearch interests pertain to access in higher education, retention of underrepresented students at two- and four-year postsecondary institutions, international higher education, social issues in higher education, and P-20 education pipeline.

Meet Hugo Garcia

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Antonio Jiménez-Luque

Dr. Antonio Jiménez-Luque’s work, broadly speaking, explores how cultural, social and historical perspectives influence conceptualizations and practice of leadership understood as a relational process of mobilization, emancipation and social change.

Meet Antonio Jiménez-Luque

Associate Professor

Marcus Lam

Dr. Marcus Lam’s research focuses on identifying strategies for the sustainability of health and human service nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining SOLES, Dr. Lam was on faculty at the Columbia School of Social Work in New York City.

Meet Marcus Lam

Careers in Leadership

A PhD in Leadership Studies prepares students to become changemakers in various fields, including education, nonprofits, for-profits, and consulting. This degree enhances career opportunities, positioning graduates for leadership roles and high-earning consulting opportunities. Some of the roles graduates pursue include:

Note: Salary estimates sourced from salary.com and indeed.com in January 2025. Estimates are subject to change over time based on updates to available data.

Our Alumni

There are more than 300 alumni of the doctorate in Leadership Studies currently working as professors, researchers, educators, policymakers, school leaders, university administrators, consultants, executive directors of nonprofits, business leaders and more.

ORGANIZATIONS OUR ALUMNI WORK OR HAVE WORKED FOR:

What Our Students and Alumni Say

Thomas Reed

'21 (PhD), Leadership Studies

Yaw^ko, thank you in Oneida, SOLES for my PhD. It has changed my life for the better. I chose the program because out of the 21 PhD programs I was considering, SOLES' focus on leadership drew me in which allowed me to focus on Indigenous issues, which was important to me. SOLES has positively impacted my career in providing opportunities and opening doors to help me help others.

Yang Jiang

'15 (MA), Marital and Family Therapy; '19 (PhD), Leadership Studies

My PhD has helped me a lot more than I realized because we thought so much about how to consider the impact that you want to have on people around you and how much your own anxieties, fears, background, etc., can limit that and distort that. The leadership program gave me an understanding of what it feels like to deeply desire something different, to have to push against those ingrained patterns, and to have the courage to risk relationships and certain conflicts to break free and how something can be different.

John Hinck

'18 (PhD), Leadership Studies

SOLES really allowed me to lean into being me. Not only did it develop my mind, but it also developed my heart to a greater capacity in leadership for self and others. That’s probably the one thing that SOLES really did in terms of not just my career professionally, but also personally. It reinforced that interdisciplinary and integrated approach to leadership and life. I had the opportunities to practice teaching, to do research, and service. It really jumpstarted my career in academia.

Valerie Livesay

06 (MA), Nonprofit Leadership and Management; '13 (PhD), Leadership Studies

There were times in the classroom where we were just kind of grappling with what we were experiencing outside of us, within us, and in our interactions with each other. Those were hard moments, but also beautiful in their complexity and in our commitment to seeking out a more truthful knowing of self, and other, and system. There were so many moments that were rich with learning, and not just the rote learning, or the headspace learning, but the full-on I am engaged with all of my being learning.

Questions?

Connect with SOLES admissions

You can connect with the SOLES Admissions and Outreach team in a number of ways for more information about our degree programs and certificates

Schedule Advising Appointment Request Information Form