Education Doctoral Program [BETTER]
We encourage you to visit the EdD and PhD program pages to learn more about the curriculum and other differences between the two programs. Also visit our EdD vs PhD Career Path page to learn more about the opportunities from each program.
education doctoral program
The PhD program is available in two formats: part-time and full-time fellowships. The part-time program is a self-paid program with courses taken on campus in the evenings and can be completed in 4-5 years. The full-time model is a fully-funded (no tuition cost) program where students where students complete a 20-hour a week fellowship and receive a generous stipend and health subsidy. The fellowship model can be completed in four years.
Looking for a top-notch Doctor of Education? Discover which 21 schools offer the best Ed.D. programs in the country. Use our quality checklist to choose an Ed.D. degree that will work for you. Learn more about admissions requirements and doctorate in education specializations & coursework. And ask yourself the hard questions about earning an Ed.D. before you apply for an online or on-campus program in your area.
Better yet, many schools offer career-focused Ed.D. specializations. For example, a teacher, principal, or dean might opt for a concentration in Curriculum and Instruction; an education administrator might choose Educational Leadership; and a nursing director, military officer, or business executive might be interested in Organizational Leadership.
Like 2021, our list of the Best Ed.D. programs in 2022 is an intriguing combination of big-name players (e.g. Harvard, Vanderbilt, UCLA, NYU & Columbia) and lesser known schools with a history of positive student outcomes, a track record of consistency, CAEP accreditation, and membership in the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED).
UF also offers a companion LEAD in Higher Education Administration Ed.D. for college & university educational leaders. This blended, cohort-based doctorate is one of the first Kellogg Foundation Community College Leadership Programs in the nation. Students are expected to visit UF campuses on 2-3 weekends per semester.
This on-campus Ed.D. sets itself apart by offering annual summer forums where stakeholders create strategies for improving school policies. In the third year of the program, group capstone projects bring students face-to-face with a community problem of practice to research and solve. In addition, all doctoral students in education have the opportunity to travel overseas for 3 weeks on a faculty-led, most-expenses-paid trip with the Fellowship to Enhance Global Understanding program.
When all the Ed.D. concentrations are taken into account, Columbia runs 70+ Doctor of Education programs, easily surpassing the other schools on our list. If you can dream it, you can probably find it here, with everything from an Ed.D. in Anthropology and Education to an Ed.D. in Applied Exercise Physiology. Ed.D. degrees typically come with certification and non-certification tracks, with some featuring bilingual extensions.
Doctoral programs are housed in the Teachers College, otherwise known as the Graduate School for Education, Health, and Psychology. This explains the interdisciplinary vibe of the degree offerings. In fact, over 33% of tenured faculty are psychologists or health educators, lending extra weight to programs such as the Ed.D. in Cognitive Science Education and the Ed.D. in Health Education. Teachers College also runs scores of centers and institutes, including the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching.
Professionals working in higher education or corporate education are eligible to pursue the cohort-based Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration. This 3-year, part-time doctorate in education combines theory, research, and problem-solving through the exploration of organizational theory, adult and workplace learning, and finance and governance.
The 42-credit Ed.D. in Educational Theatre is a research-intensive program worth exploring. You can choose from one of four specializations: Drama in Education; Applied Theatre; Theatre for Young Audiences and Play Production; or Drama Therapy (which does not lead to licensure). This doctorate is available in a part-time or full-time plan of study.
The 3-year Ed.D. in Leadership and Policy is available in a K-12 or Higher Education concentration. Regardless of the focus, this on-campus program with weekend-based coursework prepares Ed.D. students to make their institutions perform better.
Combing through our Best Ed.D. list and other Online Ed.D. rankings can be overwhelming. Here is a list of things to consider when choosing a doctorate in education. Rank them according to your values and priorities.
There is no single Ed.D. admissions process. All worthwhile Ed.D. degrees will require you to fill out an application and send official transcripts, but beyond that admissions requirements differ from program to program:
Classes for the Doctor of Education vary widely by school, which is why we suggest you take a close look at the curriculum before applying. Standard coursework for all doctorates in education will include:
Many Ed.D. programs require that students complete a focused internship. This allows students to combine theory with practical knowledge in a supervised environment. Internships create a situation for students to learn from other professionals, become more effective leaders, and apply the skills they have learned in their coursework.
Internships for a doctorate in education often differ by concentration. For example, an internship at a multinational corporation might be arranged for a global executive specialization, whereas a non-profit internship might be arranged for organizational leadership studies. This is yet one more area for students to look into when researching Ed.D. degrees.
All Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) programs will contain a large, research-based project. Some Ed.D. degrees opt for a traditional dissertation along the lines of a Ph.D. Other Ed.D. programs contain a Dissertation in Practice (DiP) or capstone project.
However, while part-time Ed.D. students may only have time to get the work done (and little else), most will likely walk away with less student debt, which may be worth it even if the doctorate in education takes longer.
The practical application of the Ed.D. is the hallmark of the program. Whereas Ph.D. programs have a strong theoretical research component, Ed.D. programs stress the importance of real-life function and application.
The Scholarship without Borders booklet of scholarly work features the academic dissemination of students, faculties, staffs, and alumni across GSEP education division programs. The research conducted by our scholarly community has been presented at international conferences, published in peer-reviewed journals, and cited throughout professional and academic associations and institutes.
Graduate education courses at the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology are taught by professional faculty with field expertise in teaching, TESOL, learning technologies, and more. Meet the GSEP education faculty >>
In this apprenticeship model, doctoral students are provided with a multi-year funding package that consists of opportunities each quarter to serve as teaching and research assistants for faculty members' courses and research projects. By this means, and in combination with the courses that they take part of their program, students are prepared over an approximately five-year period to excel as university teachers and education researchers.
RILE trains students to become national leaders in conducting research on how race, inequality, and language intersect to make both ineffective and effective educational opportunities. RILE allows students to specialize within their program of study (DAPS, CTE, or SHIPS).
The Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) program is one of few programs in the region that offers separate specializations in Pre K-12 Leadership and Community College Leadership. This allows students to explore content in greater depth with peers and faculty who share their experience and interest.
A new vista is opening for the American educational system, driven by rapid population growth and changes in the needs of children, adults, and families. Those who can best serve this system - and achieve personal success and satisfaction - are those who can effectively lead. Preparing for leadership requires academic training in a professional, culturally diverse environment that integrates the application of theory to practice with the use of practice to refine theory.
The Cal State Fullerton Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership delivers that training, and does so through two unique doctoral program specializations: PreK-12 Leadership and Community College Leadership. The PreK-12 (inclusive of preschool and K-12) program cohort is totally immersed in and interfaces with PreK-12 students and faculty. In the Community College program, the cohort specifically focuses on and interfaces with community college students and faculty. The inquiry-based, problem-solving curriculum for both programs is designed to help education professionals learn by fully integrating their experiences in discussion, research, and fieldwork.
The Ed.D. in Community College Leadership is designed to prepare educators to take on the roles in areas such as senior administration, faculty leadership, student affairs, or business and human resource administration in the community college setting. The curriculum is designed to develop socially- and globally-aware community college leaders who can appropriately respond, understand, and contribute to the rapidly changing world of community colleges and lead those institutions toward excellence. Courses build leadership skills and knowledge in such areas as the role and scope of community colleges, higher education law and policy, ethical decision making, policy and governance, research methods, and resource optimization. 041b061a72