Doctorate in Educational Leadership
The doctoral program (Ed.D.) in educational leadership is to meet the needs of mid-career professionals who already have leadership experience in public or private schools, in community programs, in governmental agencies, or in NGOs with major education initiatives. This program does not lead to any certification, as most accepted students will have both early career leadership experience and the initial licensure/certification/program requirements for their chosen career path as leaders in education. Students complete a three-year program of study that tightly integrates coursework, field experiences, and applied research (59 semester hours of post-master’s credit including dissertation). The focus is on preparing leaders to work in changing suburbs and small cities, and the signature pedagogy is problem-based learning. The doctoral program experiences are organized around five themes: leading learning organizations, becoming a sophisticated practitioner-scholar, developing self and others, participating in professional and policy-making communities, and facilitating responsive education programs. The program offers the option to do a three-article dissertation or a traditional five-chapter dissertation. Up to twelve (12) credits of post-master level courses taken at a regionally accredited institution within the last ten (10) years may be transferred. Students need to provide an official transcript (and in some cases a syllabus) for previously taken courses to allow for the course transfer. Students’ request for credit transfer is subject to review and endorsement of the faculty advisor, and approval by the Program Coordinator. The program is offered in collaboration with the Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES