Doctoral Education Program Accreditation Requirements

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

• The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is the division of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools that accredits degree programs in colleges and universities located in the Middle States region. This region includes the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The MSCHE defines a doctoral degree as being the highest award that students can earn through graduate study. Doctoral degrees include such degrees as Doctor of Education and Doctor of Philosophy. Ph.D.s and other doctoral degrees require advanced work beyond the master's degree level. Curricula must provide for the development of research, as well as independent thinking. Appropriate assessments of student learning must be included in the program. Students must prepare and defend a dissertation based upon original research, or must plan and execute an original project that demonstrates a substantial amount of artistic or scholarly achievement. In addition, faculty members who serve as instructors within the doctoral program must possess appropriate credentials.

  Middle States Commission on Higher Education

  3624 Market St., 2nd Floor West

  Philadelphia, PA 19104

  267-284--5000

  msche.org

New England Commission on Institutions of Higher Education

• The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, a division of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, is the regional accreditation agency for colleges and universities located in the six New England states. These states include Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The CIHE requires that doctoral programs be designed to prepare students for scholarly careers. It places emphasis on the acquisition, organization, utilization and dissemination of knowledge. Doctoral degree programs must help students to acquire substantial mastery of the subject matter, literature, theory, and methodology of a field of study. Programs must require that students undertake original research that allows them to contribute new knowledge to their chosen field of study. Students who are successful in completing a doctoral program must demonstrate that they have acquired the knowledge and skills identified in the program's objectives.

  Commission on Institutions of Higher Education

  New England Association of Schools and Colleges

  209 Burlington Road, Suite 201

  Bedford, MA 01730

  781-271-0022

  cihe.neasc.org

Southern Association Commission on Colleges

• The Commission on Colleges, a division of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, provides accreditation to colleges and universities located in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. The SACSCOC indicates that doctoral degree programs must be progressively more advanced in academic content than undergraduate programs. Doctoral programs must include literature of the discipline and must ensure ongoing engagement in research, appropriate professional practice and training experiences. Students must earn the majority of credits through instruction offered by the institution. The institution must define and publish requirements for its doctoral programs. The program requirements must conform to standards and practices commonly accepted for doctoral degree programs.

  Commission on Colleges

  Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

  1866 Southern Lane

  Decatur, GA 30033

  404-679-4500

  sacscoc.org