Ed.D. graduates pursue careers in educational leadership (elementary principal, high school principal, school superintendent, special education director), higher education administration (college president, provost, academic dean, registrar), teaching and instruction (professor, assistant professor, adjunct professor), organizational development (learning and development director, training manager), and executive leadership (CEO, chief diversity officer, chief operating officer).

The Ed.D. is best suited for leaders within and beyond the private sector who want to apply research to practice with an emphasis on leadership from a service perspective. Unlike a PhD, which focuses on research and theory, the Ed.D. is practitioner-based and prepares you to become a higher-level administrator. Compared to an MBA, the Ed.D. requires a master's degree, has less quantitative focus, and caters specifically to education, nonprofit, and related professionals.

We offer two options: School and Organizational Leadership for candidates seeking practitioners' skills as strong organizational leaders in schools and organizations, and a Higher Education Concentration for education professionals seeking to lead and innovate in postsecondary settings.

The Ed.D. is framed around questions of equity, ethics, and social justice to bring about solutions to complex problems. It prepares leaders who can construct and apply knowledge to make a positive difference in their communities. You'll develop collaboration and communication skills to work with diverse communities, analyze problems of practice, and use multiple frames to develop meaningful solutions.