Educational Leadership, EdD

Program Rationale:

The doctorate of practice in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) is designed for delivery to a cohort of full-time educational and administrative professionals in diverse formats, including: weekday evenings, summer and winter sessions, some weekends, and online. The Ed.D. is based on the premise that learning takes place through an integration of course work and experiences that stem from a clear conception of leadership, the knowledge base of the field, and a structure that allows doctoral students and faculty to collaborate on shared work improving educational organizations at all levels. The Ed.D. includes two strands that support the learning needs of two different groups of professionals. Students in the two strands take some courses together (e.g. research methods) and separate to take other courses related to their strand specialization. Both strands require 48-63 credit hours for completion.

The P12 strand serves teachers and administrators in early childhood through high school educational settings who want to prepare for a variety of leadership positions: principals, teacher leaders, department heads, curriculum and assessment specialists, assistant superintendents, and superintendents. Some graduates also eventually move into careers as college or university faculty; however, the program is not formally designed as a preparatory experience to enter faculty roles in higher education.

The Higher Education strand serves professionals employed in higher education institutions who aspire to a wide range of administrative and leadership positions in academic or student affairs at a broad range of institutional types. This strand is not designed as preparatory experience for faculty roles in other content areas or disciplines.

Program of Study:

The total credits required for the program range from 48-63. Up to 15 credits of eligible post-master’s graduate coursework may be applied to the required credits for the specialization.

Candidate Assessment:

The curriculum of the Ed.D. program is aligned with applicable professional and accreditation standards and with the program learning outcomes. Throughout the first two years of the program, each Ed.D. candidate completes a comprehensive leadership portfolio which uses a variety of evidence (artifacts, evaluations, projects, and reflections) to document mastery of program learning outcomes. This portfolio must be successfully defended before a faculty committee before commencing dissertation work. Candidates then also complete and defend a dissertation prior to being awarded the Ed.D. degree.

P12 Strand Course and Capstone Requirements:

Higher Education Strand Course and Capstone Reqirements:

Total Credit Hours: 63