Ph.D. in Strategic Leadership and Innovation

You will earn a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Strategic Leadership and Innovation. The program combines advanced leadership study with rigorous research and applied scholarship focused on consequential organizational, professional, and community challenges.

Avila University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. HLC has approved Avila University to offer the PhD in Strategic Leadership & Innovation as part of the University’s institutional accreditation.

The program is designed primarily for experienced mid- to senior-level professionals and emerging executives who hold a master’s degree. Candidates may come from business, technology, healthcare, higher education, government, nonprofit organizations, public service, and other sectors.

Avila brings together a PhD research orientation, strategic leadership, innovation and technology, a curricular design for working professionals, and an embedded project-based dissertation. Candidates develop their research and dissertation alongside coursework, connecting scholarly inquiry with meaningful change in practice.

The curriculum emphasizes ethical leadership, equity, social responsibility, and global and intercultural perspectives. This approach reflects Avila’s Catholic identity and the Sisters of St. Joseph commitment to serve the dear neighbor without distinction.

The degree requires 54 semester credits: 12 in the leadership and innovation core, 9 in the research core, 15 in specialization study, and 18 in the project-based dissertation. An optional additional term of up to 3 credits is available when needed for final dissertation completion, bringing the possible total to 57 credits.

The program is designed for completion in approximately three years. Individual completion time may vary with academic progress and dissertation development. The optional additional completion term provides time for final dissertation work when needed.

Yes. The program is designed around experienced working professionals and connects doctoral inquiry with challenges in professional life. Candidates should plan for sustained reading, research, writing, collaboration, and faculty engagement, with additional time during intensive dissertation periods.

The program develops the capacity to investigate complex problems, lead ethical and innovative change, make evidence-informed strategic decisions, and communicate research to academic and professional audiences. These capabilities apply across organizations and sectors; career outcomes will depend on each candidate’s experience, goals, and professional context.

The leadership core addresses strategic leadership across sectors; ethics, equity, and global leadership; transformational change; and technology integration and innovation. The research core includes doctoral studies and project-based research design, quantitative methods, qualitative methods, and advanced research methods. Specialization courses and dissertation work connect these areas to your inquiry and professional goals.

Specializations are offered in four areas: Healthcare and Public Health Leadership; Strategic Business, Technology, and Systems Leadership; Digital Transformation and Innovation Leadership; and Transformative Leadership and Innovation in Higher Education. Each consists of five 3-credit courses.

Courses are primarily delivered in 8-week modules within Avila’s academic calendar. Dissertation work extends across terms to support continuity. Candidates participate in a cohort-based doctoral learning community.

Year 1 develops doctoral foundations, leadership knowledge, research methods, a focused inquiry, and the literature review. Year 2 includes technology and innovation, specialization study, research design, data collection, analysis, and the transition from Faculty Advisor to Dissertation Chair. Year 3 emphasizes advanced specialization study, implications of findings, dissertation completion, the defense, and dissemination or implementation planning. An optional additional 3-credit term is available if needed for final completion.

The program is primarily online and combines asynchronous activities, which are completed within established deadlines, with synchronous activities, which involve scheduled live participation. Students studying in F-1 status have required in-person academic engagement (See the international applicants FAQs below). Domestic students are not required to attend campus residencies or intensives but are given the option to choose to participate in the in-person sessions.

Yes. The program includes sustained faculty and peer engagement, feedback, advising, research development, and scheduled milestone reviews. The cohort structure supports collaboration and a connected doctoral learning community.

Live online sessions – synchronous activities – will be scheduled within individual courses or as part of dissertation milestones. Meeting dates, times, and participation expectations will be communicated in advance.

Candidates should plan for approximately 17 hours of academic work per week for each 3-credit course offered over an 8-week term. Expect substantial time for reading, scholarly writing, research, assignments, collaboration, and dissertation development. Weekly demands may vary by course and dissertation stage.

Avila uses Canvas as its learning management system for online coursework. Candidates may also be required to participate in live online learning and advising activities.

Candidates engage in scholarly writing, individual and collaborative analysis, research preparation, and application of theory to professional challenges. Course-embedded signature assignments and dissertation milestones contribute progressively to the project-based dissertation.

Faculty are selected through Avila’s faculty hiring process, which includes review of terminal degrees, relevant disciplinary expertise, and qualifications to meet the University’s graduate and doctoral teaching standards. Faculty Advisors support early development; Dissertation Chairs and Dissertation Committees guide and evaluate the formal dissertation phase.

Candidates have access to graduate student services, including library and research support, writing assistance, disability services, academic advising, information technology and learning-management-system support, and other services in formats appropriate for distance learners. If requested, the Dissertation Development and Research Support Coordinator may also provide consultation on research questions, research design, methodology, data collection, analysis, and ethical research practices, in collaboration with candidates’ Faculty Advisors and Dissertation Chairs.

Applicants must hold a master’s degree from a regionally-accredited institution, or an equivalent international credential, with a minimum master’s GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Admission involves holistic review of academic preparation, professional experience, leadership potential, readiness for doctoral study, and fit with the program.

Applicants should demonstrate at least five years of progressive leadership or management experience through a current résumé or CV. This requirement may be waived in exceptional cases based on demonstrated leadership capacity and professional readiness, through the admissions review process.

Yes. Relevant professional experience gained outside the United States is considered alongside experience gained in the United States, including through authorized CPT or OPT. Applicants should describe their roles, responsibilities, and dates of employment in their CV or résumé.
If additional verification is needed, applicants may be asked to provide an employer letter confirming their position, employment dates, and primary responsibilities, or other documentation acceptable to Avila. Documents in languages other than English must be accompanied by an English translation. Applicants who cannot obtain employer verification should contact Admissions to discuss alternative documentation.

The program welcomes experienced professionals and emerging executives from diverse sectors whose progressive leadership or management experience and leadership potential prepare them for doctoral study. Through the personal essay and admissions interview, applicants are given the opportunity to describe their responsibilities, professional trajectory, and readiness for the program.

Submit official transcripts from all institutions attended; a current résumé or CV; a 2–3 page, double-spaced personal essay; three short-answer responses; and two letters of recommendation. The admissions process also includes an interview. International applicants whose first language is not English must provide evidence of English proficiency that is accepted by Avila.

Describe your educational and professional trajectory and identify a significant real-world challenge, problem, or opportunity within an organization, industry, profession, or community that you may wish to investigate. The issue identified may provide a starting point for a driving question and potential project-based dissertation focus.

No. You are not expected to have a fully developed research question or proposal at admission. The issue in your essay is a starting point that may evolve through doctoral study; you are not required to use it as your eventual dissertation topic.

The three responses address your motivation for doctoral study, experience working in teams, and experience teaching or learning online.

Two letters are required. One should address academic and professional readiness for rigorous doctoral study. The other should address first-hand observation of your leadership and/or innovative interests. Choose recommenders who can provide specific evidence of these qualities.

No. GRE and other standardized admission test scores are neither required nor considered in admissions decisions for the PhD program.

Yes. Applicants complete an interview with the Program Director or a designated admissions committee

Avila accepts up to 12 semester credits of eligible graduate-level coursework, subject to approval by the Program Director. Credits must have been earned at a regionally-accredited institution with a grade of B or higher and may not be applied to dissertation coursework or required doctoral milestones.

Visit https://www.avila.edu/phd/ to submit the Request Program Information form to receive admission details, application timing, program updates, and invitations to information sessions. Submitting this inquiry does not constitute an application for admission.

Yes. Applicants who are not admitted may reapply for a future admission term. Before reapplying, contact Admissions to discuss how to strengthen your application and which materials need to be updated or resubmitted, including your personal essay, recommendations, and transcripts. Reapplications are reviewed under the admission requirements in effect for the new entry term. Reapplying does not guarantee admission.

Yes. The program culminates in a project-based dissertation that integrates rigorous scholarly inquiry with an applied contribution. It includes a written dissertation, an applied artifact or contribution appropriate to the study, and a formal oral defense before the Dissertation Committee.

A project-based dissertation is a doctoral inquiry into a significant real-world problem that connects scholarship, research methods, and evidence with an applied response. The work may develop, implement, or evaluate an intervention, framework, model, process, strategy, curriculum, training module, or other artifact. Candidates must demonstrate both scholarly rigor and relevance to practice

The driving question focuses the inquiry on a consequential challenge, problem, or opportunity. Candidates refine it through scholarship, research preparation, and faculty feedback so that it can support rigorous investigation and a meaningful applied contribution.

Dissertation development starts when candidates enter the program and continues throughout their studies. Coursework, research preparation, specialization study, advising, and signature assignments contribute progressively to the dissertation rather than postponing all dissertation work until coursework ends.

No. Your dissertation does not have to focus on your employer. It may address a significant challenge, problem, or opportunity within an organization, industry, profession, community, or broader system.
Your professional setting may provide a suitable context for the research. With faculty guidance, you will consider access, permissions, ethical requirements, and the availability of evidence to determine whether the setting supports a feasible doctoral research design.

Depending on the research question and project, candidates may use qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods, with faculty guidance to ensure that the research design meets the program’s doctoral research and ethical standards.

Five structured self-assessments, paired with faculty review and feedback, address entry into scholarly practice, grounding the inquiry, research design and implementation, analysis, and integration and contribution. Proposal review evaluates the problem, literature, research and project design, and implementation plan before full implementation

The program uses embedded, faculty-reviewed dissertation milestones as its comprehensive evaluation mechanism rather than a single comprehensive examination.

A Faculty Advisor supports early problem refinement, scholarship, research skills, and milestones. A Dissertation Chair becomes the primary academic mentor during the formal dissertation phase. The Dissertation Committee contributes disciplinary, methodological, and applied expertise and participates in proposal and final defense review.

Candidates must address ethical research requirements, including applicable Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements, as part of research design and dissertation oversight. Faculty guidance supports preparation for the appropriate reviews before research proceeds.

Candidates defend the written dissertation and applied artifact or contribution before the Dissertation Committee. The defense takes place either in person or through a live online session, with the format determined at the discretion of the Program Director or Dissertation Chair. During the defense, candidates present their research and findings, explain the scholarly and practical significance of their work, and respond to the Committee’s questions

The program is designed for domestic and international candidates. International applicants must meet the academic and professional requirements, including an equivalent international master’s credential. Applicants whose first language is not English must provide accepted evidence of English proficiency.

International applicants must meet one of the following minimum English proficiency scores:

• TOEFL iBT: 79
• IELTS: 6.5
• Duolingo English Test: 110
• PTE Academic: 55
Test scores must be current—within two years—and officially submitted or verified.

Applicants may also satisfy the requirement through qualifying prior education, including a completed degree from an institution where English was the language of instruction, supported by appropriate documentation, or qualifying prior education from an Avila-recognized English-speaking country or province. Other examinations or English-language pathways recognized by Avila may be considered if an appropriate doctoral-level equivalency can be established.

Conditional admission based on English proficiency is not available for the PhD program. Applicants must meet the full doctoral-level English proficiency requirement before beginning the program.

F-1 international students will be required to participate in an in-person academic residency at Avila University’s Kansas City campus once each 16-week semester as an integral component of their full course of study and in accordance with federal F-1 requirements. Enrollment of F-1 students in the Ph.D. program is subject to SEVP approval. Domestic students are not required to attend the in-person residencies but may choose to participate.

PhD residencies will take place at Avila University’s Kansas City campus once each 16-week semester and will last approximately 4-5 days per semester.

Domestic students are not required to attend campus residencies, intensives, or mandatory campus visits but may choose to participate.

F-1 international students may participate in the PhD program through its approved low-residency format. Students in F-1 status must reside in the United States, maintain the required full course of study, and attend the required 4-5 days in-person residency in Kansas City each semester. Attendance at the residency is a required component of the program and is necessary for maintaining F-1 status.
Students who live outside the United States and do not require F-1 status may generally complete the program from abroad while participating in the required residency as applicable. F-1 enrollment and I-20 issuance will begin only after the PhD program has received SEVP approval.

Enrollment of F-1 students in the PhD program is subject to SEVP approval. Applicants should contact the Executive Director of International Admissions (rafraf.barrak@avila.edu) regarding eligibility, I-20 issuance, and the required full course of study and in-person participation.

Tuition is $850 per credit hour. For the 54–57-credit program, estimated tuition is $45,900–$48,450.
Students also pay a $27-per-credit-hour instructional technology fee, which provides access to technology tools and course materials delivered digitally through course shells. Estimated tuition and instructional technology fees combined are $47,358–$49,989 for 54–57 credits. These estimates exclude the application fee, any additional course-specific fees, residency charges, and personal expenses. International students required to attend in-person residencies also pay a $300 residency charge per semester.

Financial aid for domestic students is available through traditional federal student loans after completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), subject to eligibility requirements. Scholarships may become available, but none have been announced at this time.

Eligible students may finance their education through federal student loans, outside scholarships, and employer tuition assistance. Avila’s Financial Aid Office can help students understand available options and determine their eligibility.

U.S. citizens and eligible noncitizens who meet federal aid requirements and enroll at least half-time in an eligible graduate program may qualify for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans. The maximum for graduate students is generally $20,500 per academic year, subject to enrollment status, cost of attendance, other financial assistance, and applicable borrowing limits. Annual loan limits are reduced for students enrolled less than full-time.

Interest begins accruing when loan funds are disbursed. Students generally are not required to make payments while enrolled at least half-time or during the six-month grace period that follows graduation, withdrawal, or a drop below half-time enrollment.

To request federal financial aid, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year at StudentAid.gov, selecting Avila University with school code 002449. Submit the FAFSA as soon as the form for the appropriate academic year becomes available.
For individual assistance, contact Avila’s Financial Aid Office at financial.aid@avila.edu or 816-501-3600.

You may wish to ask your employer about tuition assistance or professional development support. When making the request, consider explaining how the program and your potential inquiry relate to organizational goals. Employer funding depends on your organization’s policies and approval.

The application fee is $50.

In addition to tuition and the $50 application fee, students pay a $27-per-credit-hour instructional technology fee for access to technology tools and course materials delivered digitally through course shells. Additional course-specific fees may apply based on faculty determinations.

International students required to attend in-person residencies pay a $300 residency charge per semester. Students attending campus residencies should also budget for travel, lodging, meals, and transportation.

Avila offers graduate tuition remission to employees, their spouses, and eligible dependent children. Full-time employees and their spouses receive 65% tuition remission; eligible dependent children receive 40%. Part-time employees and their spouses receive 33%; eligible dependent children receive 20%.

The benefit covers tuition only. Students are responsible for course and technology fees, books, and supplies. Tuition remission cannot be combined with other institutional awards, including Avila merit grants or tuition exchange benefits. Contact Human Resources to confirm eligibility and how the benefit applies to the PhD program.