Program Overview

The statewide Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership prepares practitioner-scholars for leadership in education at the local, state, and national levels. Program content is both practical and scholarly; it blends issues important to practicing educational leaders with scholarship that can help analyze and address these issues. Program faculty are highly experienced school professionals and nationally recognized academic scholars who contribute to the central purpose of the program: preparing practitioner-scholars for effective and meaningful leadership. The Ed.D. dissertation is intended to study and address a contemporary problem of practice in k-20 schools through a leadership lens.

This is a modified cohort program, with a new cohort admitted once each year in the fall. Students enrolled in two classes each semester will finish the coursework portion of their program in 2½ years. Students making continual progress could complete the degree in four years, though it is common for students balancing educational, professional, and personal demands to finish in five years. The program is offered on-site at all of WSU’s campuses (Everett, Pullman, Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver). Students who live 50+ miles from a WSU campus can seek approval to attend classes synchronously via Zoom Video Conferencing.