EdD vs. PhD in Education: What’s the Difference?
Are you considering pursuing a terminal degree in education to broaden your career, increase your salary, and advance to leadership roles in education, corporate, and nonprofit sectors? Understanding the difference between a Doctor of Education (EdD) and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education is paramount to choosing the right pathway to achieve your career-transforming goals.
While both are highly esteemed doctoral degrees, they are designed for different career paths and lead to distinct professional outcomes.
This blog breaks down the difference between EdD and PhD degrees, including their educational focus, curricula, and career paths.
What Is a Doctor of Education?
A practice-focused doctorate
The EdD applies research to practice. It is an esteemed terminal degree designed for experienced professionals who want to become senior leaders, administrators, or change agents seeking to make a measurable impact in their organization or community.
If you are deeply committed to driving innovation and meaningful change, the EdD is the best way to channel your passion and expertise into high-level, influential roles. With an EdD, you will expand your leadership scope, gain credibility, and apply your practical knowledge to tackle complex challenges.
Designed for the hard-working professional
The EdD is designed for those balancing full-time work, families, and financial obligations. This degree program is for those who want to analyze complex problems and solve them practically within the framework of equity, ethics, and social justice. It provides opportunities to develop and demonstrate collaboration and communication skills for working with diverse communities and building partnerships.
With applied research and service leadership as the foundation, the EdD is a calculable investment — a transformative, career-escalating step that delivers real workplace impact, not just a credential. Some EdD graduates may:
- Influence education policy or contribute to research that shapes real-world practice.
- Transform schools, districts, or entire educational systems.
- Transition into higher education leadership or faculty roles.
- Launch or scale educational initiatives, nonprofits, or consulting practices.
- Become a recognized thought leader in their area of expertise.
Online EdDs
Some schools, such as Saint Leo University, offer online EdD programs that prepare graduates with research, critical analysis, and leadership skills for professional practice within organizations or academic settings.
Online formats offer the academic rigor of on-campus programs with the flexibility for working professionals who want to balance their current job and income stream while earning their advanced degree.
What Is a PhD in Education?
A research-focused doctorate
A PhD in education is theory-driven and research-intensive. It is the highest degree you can earn in a field designed for those pursuing careers as researchers, professors, and academic scholars.
Designed for careers in academia and research
A PhD in education lends credibility and expertise. It allows you to research areas that interest you, enabling you to make your own discoveries and contribute to the global field of educational knowledge.
With this degree, you will learn to identify research gaps, analyze relevant literature to propose new theories, conduct original research to generate new theoretical knowledge, analyze policy, and advance educational research.
EdD vs. PhD: Key Differences
Earning either an EdD or a PhD brings you to the summit of academic achievement in education. Both earn you the right to add the “Dr.” title before your name.
Learning outcomes are similar for both degrees. In each, you will develop research and critical-thinking skills to analyze and critique applied research and demonstrate a high level of proficiency in written and verbal communication. The key difference between programs lies in the outcomes.
EdDs are practice-oriented and PhDs are research-oriented.
Leaders leverage EdDs to challenge the status quo and influence change, whereas PhDs emphasize advancing knowledge in a specific field through research.
Let’s look at the key differences between the two that will direct the educational path to advance your career.
| EdD (Practice-Oriented) | PhD (Research-Focused) | |
|---|---|---|
| Program Focus | Applies research to practice with emphasis on leadership from a service perspective | Research to develop new theories and evidence to contribute to the body of academic knowledge |
| Research Approach | Evidence-based, qualitative and quantitative approach | Original theory development, qualitative and quantitative methods |
| Career Outcomes | Industry leadership, innovation, and change management | Academia and research |
| Student Profile | Those looking to advance their career as an industry leader and change-maker | Those with an affinity for research and are looking to advance their career in academia and research |
| Time Commitment and Structure |
Cohort-based, designed to accommodate working professionals with family obligations Online programs available Dissertations or capstones emphasize applied research to solve real-world industry problems |
Individualized, full-time, wholly dedicated to the PhD program with no outside work All time and attention is devoted to becoming a scholar Dissertations employ rigorous research methods to advance scholarly knowledge |
| Cost | Students pay the tuition costs while continuing to work and earn income | Scholarship based, whereby the university pays a stipend and tuition costs and students are often teaching assistants |
| Career Outcomes | Education, nonprofit, and related professions | University professors, academic researchers, and think tank research roles |
Curriculum and Dissertation Differences
Both the EdD and PhD degree programs are rigorous and culminate in a doctoral degree that provides you with the credentials and knowledge to make a meaningful impact in whichever career path you travel. However, the curricula and culmination project requirements differ.
EdD Curriculum and Dissertation: Practical Application
The EdD curriculum often includes leadership, applied research methods, and policy, all designed to equip you to become an innovator and a strategic problem-solver across academic and industry sectors.
The EdD culminates in either a dissertation or a capstone project. Some programs use a traditional dissertation model, some use a dissertation in practice (or an action research model) and others require capstone projects. They typically address a specific real-world challenge in a professional or educational setting, aiming to drive immediate, actionable change. The outcome of an EdD dissertation is not theory — it’s practical recommendations to solve practical problems.
PhD Curriculum and Dissertation: Research Focused
The PhD curriculum emphasizes theory development and the production of original knowledge. Coursework in advanced statistics, qualitative and quantitative research methods, policy, and the philosophy of education prepares you to identify gaps in existing knowledge and literature and to originate scholarly literature for publication.
The PhD dissertation emphasizes more traditional, theoretical frameworks. It aims to prepare you to contribute original, in-depth research that advances the global body of knowledge in your field. It typically involves multi-year research and must be defended before a faculty committee.
Career Paths for EdD vs. PhD Graduates
EdDs and PhDs are terminal degrees that involve research and culminate in a doctorate, but career outcomes differ.
EdD Careers
An EdD typically leads to top-tier leadership roles in education, business, nonprofits, and government, with a focus on practical, research-based solutions to organizational or industry challenges.
The careers and faces of EdD graduates vary, but they all share one thing in common: a desire to lead in their field and to have a long-term, meaningful impact on their organization or community. They are:
- Teachers who improve the lives of their students, the culture of their schools, and the development of their profession.
- Innovators who create and implement new ideas within and beyond their local circumstances.
- Leaders who work to ensure the success of everyone within their purview.
- Change agents who persistently work to make their world better.
- Disruptors in any sector that challenge the status quo.
Some common career paths for those with an EdD include:
Educational leadership: Principals, superintendents, chancellors, deans, education consultants, thought leaders, department leadership, or faculty
Business Leadership: Chief learning/education/executive officers, human resources leadership, employee development/training, consultants, thought leaders, or public affairs
Nonprofit Leadership: Directors, administrators, fundraising, development, association leadership, arts/cultural organizations, or think tank settings
Policy Leadership: Government, military/veterans' affairs, public health, or policy leaders
PhD Careers
A PhD in education leads to careers in top-level roles across higher education, including tenure-track faculty and administrative positions, K-12 leadership, policy analysis, nonprofit work, and research.
While there is some overlap between EdD and PhD roles at the highest levels across industries, most PhD graduates pursue academic and research positions.
Some common career paths for those with a PhD in education include:
Higher Education: University professors, researchers, university presidents, deans, provosts, chancellors, department chairs, or instructional designers
K-12 Leadership: School principals or district superintendents, curriculum and instruction specialists, or educational consultants
Research and Policy: Government agency roles, policy analysts, research scholars in think tanks, foundations, or educational organizations
Corporate and Nonprofit Sectors: Learning and development managers, corporate trainers, fundraising, nonprofit leadership, or think tank environments
Most professionals with a doctoral degree on their resume earn six figures, as demonstrated in the chart below. Holding a doctorate increases job security; the unemployment rate for doctoral degree holders was 1.2% in 2024.
| Job Title | Growth (2024-2034) |
Median Salary (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive (C-suite) | 4% | $206,420 |
| Training and Development Manager | 6% | $127,090 |
| Data Scientist | 34% | $112,590 |
| Education Administrator, Postsecondary (Dean, Provost, etc.) | 2% | $103,960 |
| Research Analyst | 21% | $91,290 |
| Postsecondary Teacher (professor) | 7% | $83,980 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
EdD vs. PhD Difference Recap
The EdD and PhD in education are both esteemed terminal degrees with considerable earning potential, but each serves distinct professional paths. Choosing the right one depends on your interests and career goals.
The EdD is the right choice if your ambition is centered on leadership and organizational change, and you want to apply research directly to real-world educational settings. Earning an EdD gives you the credentials and experience to make a practical impact within education systems, policy environments, or industry.
If you’re ready to take the next step to advance your career with a doctorate, choosing an online program is likely the best decision so that you can continue working while earning your degree.
Saint Leo University Online
Saint Leo University’s online Doctorate of Education is designed for busy professionals like you who want to balance career, family, and education seamlessly. All coursework is entirely online, and culminates in a capstone project that students start developing in their first course.
Saint Leo offers two EdD concentrations: School and Organizational Leadership and Higher Education. Both incorporate applied research and emphasize leadership and data-driven decision-making.
School and Organizational Leadership
This track prepares you with the skills to become an organizational leader and change-maker in K-12 schools and organizations. It empowers you to become a knowledgeable and innovative leader who applies research and critical thinking to analyze and solve problems, ensuring school, district, or organizational success.
Higher Education
This Higher Education concentration prepares you to lead and innovate in postsecondary settings. This practitioner-based program blends applied research, strategic leadership, and policy development with a focus on the unique challenges and opportunities within colleges and universities.
Both concentrations lay the groundwork for you to emerge as a visionary leader prepared to make data-informed decisions, enhance institutional effectiveness, and guide the future of higher education.
The program takes 32 months to complete and offers multiple start dates per year.
About Saint Leo University
Saint Leo was founded in 1889 as Florida’s first Catholic institution. It has a longstanding history of providing students with a transformative, values-centered education. It was ranked as a Best National University in 2025 by U.S. News & World Report.
Saint Leo is a nonprofit university accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
