Program Overview

Introduction to the Ed.D. in Education: Educational Leadership

The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership is a professional degree designed for practitioners in K-12 or higher education systems who seek a doctorate but do not intend to become researchers or build an academic career. The program prepares graduates for advanced leadership roles in primary, secondary, or higher education, including chief academic officer, superintendent, and other leadership positions in higher education institutions, school districts, and other educational organizations.

Program Overview

The Educational Leadership Ed.D. program prepares graduates at an advanced level for work in the professorial ranks of higher education or positions of leadership in schools and agencies with a scholar-practitioner focus. The degree provides rich preparation by exposing students to a wide variety of courses and experiences related to fundamental theories and current issues and trends in education with a focus on leadership needs.

Admission Criteria

Materials and criteria for the Educational Leadership area of emphasis are as follows:

• Undergraduate or graduate GPA of 3.00 or higher.
• Master's degree; applicants who hold a master's degree from a regionally accredited institution in an area appropriately related to educational leadership will have a preference.
• Resume or curriculum vitae.
• Statement of Intent that includes a Philosophy of Education.
• Three letters of recommendation.
• One sample of scholarly writing. In addition, the College of Education and Human Development recommends (but does not require) that applicants have at least three years of relevant professional field experience by the time they finish their degree.

Tuition and Fees

Please see the University tuition and fee rates.

Curricular Structure

A minimum of 60 units beyond the baccalaureate are required to graduate from this Ed.D. program. The curricular structure consists of the following three categories:

Research Core Courses

• This category includes three mandatory courses in statistics and a course in qualitative research methods.

Area of Emphasis (Educational Leadership)

• Students will work with their advisor to choose content courses from the options available at the College of Education and Human Resources to meet degree requirements and identify which courses better support individual career goals. These courses include higher education administration and K-12 education administration. Courses outside of the Educational Leadership program and the College of Education and Human Development may occur with advisor approval.

Dissertation

• The dissertation must involve empirical study of a professional problem.

Program Faculty

The program faculty includes:

• Alexandra Aylward, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership
• Ethan Ris, Ph.D., Interim Chair of the Department of Educational Studies and Associate Professor of Educational Leadership
• Jafeth Sanchez, Ph.D., CBESS Co-Director, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership; Director, Latino Research Center
• Laura Smithers, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Higher Education Leadership
• Nathan Tanner, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership

Additional Information

An Ed.D. program may include 24-36 units earned for the master's degree; the student's committee determines which units, if any, can transfer from the master's degree based on the relevance of the coursework. In addition to master's degree units approved for transfer to the doctoral program, a maximum of 16 relevant units in an accredited post-master's or licensure program may be applied to approved Ed.D.