Program Overview
Degree abbreviation
Ed.D. in Faith-Based Aviation Management
Total program length
120 semester credit hours
Maximum approved transfer credit
Up to 40 semester credit hours
Minimum credits completed through the University after maximum transfer
80 semester credit hours
Normal completion time
Three to six academic years, depending on approved transfer credit, enrollment status, academic progress, and completion of the doctoral project
Advanced faith-based aviation management and specialization courses
30 credit hours
Leadership, administration, and professional practice
21 credit hours
Research methods and program evaluation
18 credit hours
Professional application and doctoral residency
15 credit hours
Advanced electives or concentration courses
12 credit hours
Comprehensive examination and doctoral candidacy
6 credit hours
Applied doctoral project and defense
18 credit hours
Total
120 semester credit hours
The Doctor of Philosophy in Faith-Based Aviation Management, with a specialization in Air Transport Humanitarian Aid, provides an advanced interdisciplinary framework for scholars and practitioners seeking to lead in the complex intersection of aviation logistics and global humanitarian outreach. This doctoral program emphasizes rigorous research, strategic resource management, and the ethical deployment of air transport assets to serve vulnerable populations effectively. Students explore the technical dimensions of aviation alongside the organizational requirements of global aid delivery, ensuring that technical proficiency is balanced with institutional stewardship and the complexities of international operations. Through deep engagement with current industry challenges, the program cultivates leaders capable of navigating regulatory, economic, and logistical landscapes with a high degree of professional and moral clarity. Candidates are prepared to influence policy and practice within the nonprofit and nongovernmental organization sectors, integrating complex management theory with a commitment to service and long-term organizational health. By fostering a scholarly environment that values both technical expertise and ethical foundations, this program positions graduates to contribute meaningful, research-based solutions to the aviation humanitarian field.
The Doctor of Education in Faith-Based Aviation Management is an applied professional doctorate emphasizing advanced faith-based aviation management knowledge, organizational leadership, ethical stewardship, program development, community-care systems, higher-education instruction, and evidence-informed professional practice.
Students may receive up to 40 semester credit hours of approved graduate or doctoral transfer credit. Accepted transfer credits are applied toward the 120-credit graduation requirement and may reduce the number of courses and the amount of time required to complete the degree. A student receiving the maximum transfer-credit award must complete at least 80 semester credit hours through the University.
The applied doctoral project must address a documented faith-based aviation management-support, educational, organizational, or community-care need. The project must include scholarly research, an implementation model, measurable outcomes, ethical safeguards, an evaluation plan, and a successful oral defense.
DOCTORAL TRANSFER-CREDIT POLICY: The Doctor of Education and Doctor of Philosophy programs each require 120 semester credit hours. Students may transfer up to 40 semester credit hours of eligible graduate or doctoral coursework toward either degree. Transfer credit is not automatically awarded. Each request is evaluated individually according to: The academic level of the previous coursework; The relevance of the coursework to the doctoral curriculum; Course content and learning outcomes; Credit-hour equivalency; Grades earned; The age of the coursework; Official institutional documentation; The University's residency and transfer-credit policies. Accepted transfer credit may reduce the number of courses and the amount of time required to complete the degree. Students awarded the maximum 40 transfer credits will have 80 semester credit hours remaining in the 120-credit doctoral program. Comprehensive examinations, doctoral candidacy, doctoral residency, the applied doctoral project, dissertation research, and the final oral defense must ordinarily be completed through the University. These requirements may not be satisfied through transfer credit unless expressly permitted under a published University policy.