View our EdD Early Childhood specialization completion requirements
Minimum degree requirements:
60 quarter credits
- Core courses (50 cr.)
- Capstone (10 cr.)
Minimum degree requirements:
60 quarter credits
Courses
In the EdD Early Childhood Education specialization, you’ll build skills and progress toward your final capstone project in every course.
Disclaimers: Walden students have up to 8 years to complete their doctoral program unless they petition for an extension.
In general, students are continuously registered in the dissertation/doctoral study course until they complete their capstone project and it is approved. This usually takes longer than the minimum required terms in the dissertation/doctoral study course shell.
To complete a doctoral dissertation, students must obtain the academic approval of several independent evaluators including their committee, the University Research Reviewer, and the Institutional Review Board; pass the Form and Style Review; gain approval at the oral defense stage; and gain final approval by the Chief Academic Officer. Students must also publish their dissertation on ProQuest before their degree is conferred. Learn more about the dissertation process in the Dissertation Guidebook.
For a personalized estimate of the number of your transfer credits that Walden would accept, call an Enrollment Specialist at 844-937-8785.
Courses
PhD completion program courses help you return to doctoral work, match with an advisor, and stay on track to finishing your dissertation.
Disclaimers: Walden students have up to 8 years to complete their doctoral program unless they petition for an extension.
In general, students are continuously registered in the dissertation/doctoral study course until they complete their capstone project and it is approved. This usually takes longer than the minimum required terms in the dissertation/doctoral study course shell.
To complete a doctoral dissertation, students must obtain the academic approval of several independent evaluators including their committee, the University Research Reviewer, and the Institutional Review Board; pass the Form and Style Review; gain approval at the oral defense stage; and gain final approval by the Chief Academic Officer. Students must also publish their dissertation on ProQuest before their degree is conferred. Learn more about the dissertation process in the Dissertation Guidebook.
For a personalized estimate of the number of your transfer credits that Walden would accept, call an Enrollment Specialist at 844-937-8785.
Courses
Develop the skills and confidence you need to tackle complex managerial challenges, contribute new knowledge, or teach at the graduate level.
Courses
Develop the skills and confidence needed for complex managerial challenges and research with Walden’s ACBSP-accredited PhD program.
Discover career opportunities in your area that match your interests.
“Leading from the Front!”
Dr. Alexandra Lawless is a native of Miami, Florida, but she resides in Baton Rouge, LA, with her husband and stepdaughter. Her hobbies include spending time with her husband and stepdaughter- they love to cook new recipes together. She enjoys traveling, going to the movies, eating at new restaurants, watching leisurely television, shopping, and reading peer-reviewed journal articles.
Dr. Lawless is an active Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC-S) in the state of Louisiana, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Florida, and a Nationally Board-Certified Counselor (NCC) and Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC). Her educational training consists of a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Counselor Education and Supervision with a specialization in Marriage, Family, and Couples Counseling from Barry University, a CACREP accredited program; a Master of Arts in Counselor Education and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Southern University.
As a licensed counselor, she has worked with individuals and their families using the following counseling modalities: individual, family, couples (including married couples), and group therapy. She has worked for Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice, a local charter school in Louisiana, and served as a Clinical Director and Consultant for several local community mental health agencies over the past few years.
Her teaching philosophy in counselor education and supervision begins with setting a standard of excellent clinical practice and creating an environment where students can learn and develop essential counseling competencies and skills, practice high-quality professionalism, and establish a professional identity as a counselor. She believes the most useful tool in effective teaching in counselor education is the parallel process of the client/counselor and student/educator relationships.
Dr. Lawless’ role as a Counselor Educator is to prepare counselors-in-training for clinical practice as an active change agent. To do so, she focuses on providing learning opportunities and experiences that generate high levels of self-awareness, critical thinking, professional and personal reflection, and one that cultivates and strengthens her students’ identity as a Professional Counselor.
To conclude, searching for relevance, meaning, and practical experiences is a task for educators and students alike. This is her priority and commitment to her students in every course she teaches. She hopes her classes become a meaningful experience that intensely affects students’ future careers as Professional Counselors.
Walden University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (www.hlcommission.org), an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
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