Ed.D. - Program Overview

Just the Facts
Total Program Credits:  66
Minimum Required Time in the Program:  Three (3) years
Degree Award:   Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Specializations: Educational Leadership Pre-K-12 & Higher Education

Program Highlights

• Students participate in a uniquely structured program, which blends face-to-face and online learning.
• Students join a community of students and faculty committed to social justice.
• Faculty embeds new National Board Standards in order to develop highly accomplished leaders.
• Students work closely with a diverse faculty.
• Students design a dissertation consistent with your values and interests.
• Students obtain the training, knowledge and skills to advance your career.

Residencies
As a new Ed.D. student, you will begin your program with an Initial Academic Residency (IAR) in Cincinnati, Ohio during either July or January. Learn more about the IAR.

The Ed.D. academic residencies include the following learning activities:

• A required sequence of seminars that are completed through online teaching.
• Lectures and follow-up discussions hosted by leading scholars.
• Panel discussions that address important intellectual, professional, and social issues.
• Professional/creative activities that bring together theory and practice.

In between residencies, you will complete online learning activities with the support of your online community—your fellow students and program faculty.

Professional Development Practica
The Ed.D. curriculum includes six (6) professional development practica, which are held online one weekend during each semester (mid-semester) for the first six semesters. The practica will allow you to:

• Carefully examine your beliefs about social justice.
• Meet with faculty to discuss your academic outcomes gained during the seminars you began during the current semester’s academic residency.

Internship
The internship allows you to put into practice what you have learned. Its goal is to challenge your beliefs and encourage you to consider—and possibly adapt—other ways of thinking. Read more about the Ed.D. Internship requirements.

Dissertation
The dissertation integrates and adds to the learning accomplished in other phases of your program. It addresses the appropriate intellectual traditions of the profession and signifies grounding in theoretical and critical scholarship. Additionally, the dissertation allows you to make an original contribution to the larger scholarly community such that the work provides new knowledge and creative approaches to leadership as it relates to social justice. Read more about the Ed.D. dissertation.