Program Overview

Introduction to the Doctor of Education Program

The Doctor of Education (EdD) program at the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus is designed to inform, empower, and engage current and aspiring leaders in education. This program provides a unique opportunity for students to create meaningful changes in their local communities by applying newly learned knowledge, contextualizing practical insights, and analyzing and addressing problems of practice in their professional context.

Program Overview

The EdD program is a full-time, three-year program requiring the completion of 7 courses. The program is designed to deepen students' professional learning and unlearning, and is a bridge between scholarly research and practical application. The flexible delivery format allows students to stay in their community and continue working full-time, with the majority of coursework delivered online and opportunities to come to campus for a summer intensive in the first year.

Program Outcomes

The program outcomes include:

• Analyzing, mobilizing, and constructing knowledge from multiple perspectives to engage in scholarly dialogue and apply to complex problems of practice.
• Engaging in practical research and solutions to navigate complex problems of educational leadership practice that promote positive organizational change for diversity, equity, inclusivity, and innovation.
• Reflecting on and defending sustained thinking and evaluation around theoretical frameworks, identified problems of educational practice, and research activities.
• Demonstrating knowledge and comprehension of educational research practices and methodologies and how these may be thoughtfully used in students' own contexts.
• Building and deepening communication and collaborative skills through engagement in learning communities.
• Developing critical awareness of knowledges, values, policies, and practices that influence and inform leadership through examining personal, professional, and organizational ethics and moral purpose.
• Transferring program learning to professional learning in place in professional context and in local communities.

Schedule

The program schedule is as follows:

• Year 1:
  • EDLL 602: Setting Conditions for Transformative Leadership (July - August)
  • EDUC 600: Research Seminar I: Project Fundamentals (September - December)
  • EDLL 606: Culturally Responsive Leadership in a Diverse Society (January - April)
  • Students must complete a 3-credit elective, which may be chosen from courses offered within OSE graduate programs or from programs offered by universities within the Western Dean's Agreement.
• Year 2:
  • EDUC 601: Research Seminar II: Research and Project Design (September - December)
  • EDLL 608: Ethics, Governance and Reform in Contemporary Contexts (January - April)
• Year 3:
  • EDUC 698: Dissertation Seminar (September - April)

Courses

The core courses are interdisciplinary and provide grounding for all students in contemporary and historical educational discourses, perspectives, and traditions. The courses include:

• EDLL 602: Setting Conditions for Transformative Leadership
• EDLL 606: Culturally Responsive Leadership in a Diverse Society
• EDUC 600: Research Seminar I: Project Fundamentals
• EDUC 601: Research Seminar II: Research and Project Design
• EDLL 608: Ethics, Governance and Reform in Contemporary Contexts
• EDUC 698: Dissertation Seminar

Practice-Based Dissertation

The Practice-Based Dissertation provides an opportunity for students to intensively study a problem or set of circumstances embedded in their own practice, analyzed within relevant research literature, and may include carrying out research in practice. The project is a rigorous, intensive application of a field-based analysis and/or implementation of a structural change, and the research conducted will contribute or lead to professional innovation and creative excellence, exemplary professional practice, and/or the significant development of professional practice.

Field Mentors

Field mentors offer guidance, advice, and wisdom as they support students' research in the field. The role is collegial and offers critical friendship as they share time and expertise. A relevant field mentor will be determined in consultation with the student's supervisor at the end of year one.

Admission Requirements

The admission requirements for domestic and international students include:

• A master's degree (or equivalent) from an approved institution, with clear evidence of research ability or potential and a minimum overall average in the B+ grade range (76-79% at UBC) in all graduate courses.
• At least five years' work experience.
• English language proficiency test (if required).

Tuition and Funding

The estimated total cost for the EdD program is:

• Domestic: $34,336.26
• International: $62,730.45

Careers and Outcomes

Graduates of the EdD program can consider pursuing a career in a variety of fields, including:

• School superintendent
• Post-secondary administrator
• Elementary, middle, or secondary school principal
• Curriculum developer
• Education consultant
• Post-secondary lecturer or professor
• Policy analyst
• Researcher
• Education program manager

Research and Supervisors

The Collaborative Supervisory Committee (CSC) will be comprised of at least three members (faculty supervisor, field mentor, and course instructor). Students will be assigned a supervisor during year one as they identify their research topic and find alignment with research expertise and interests of faculty. A relevant field mentor will be determined in consultation with the student's supervisor at the end of year one.