Ed.D. in Leadership

 
The Ed.D. in leadership is a 48-hour, 36-month program which centers on action-oriented andragogy and curriculum, includes the application of theory and research, and focuses on addressing practitioners’ problems of practice, culminating in a collaborative group Capstone study the final year in the program.

The Department of Educational Leadership is a member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) which ascribes to six critical guiding principles for Ed.D. Programs.

Delivery methods

The Ed.D. is a three-year cohort-based program beginning each summer only. Applications submitted will be considered for the Summer 2022 cohort. See draft course schedule here.

Students will have the opportunity to choose whether they want to take the Ed.D. program face-to-face or online.

Face-to-face: The face-to-face program is held on the Monroe Park Campus in vibrant downtown Richmond, Virginia. Classes will usually meet one evening every week and five Saturdays a semester.

Online: The EdD online program offers engaging and collaborative learning designed to accommodate the lives of our students, who are working professionals leading in a variety of organizations. We do this via both asynchronous lessons students can complete within dedicated timeframes as well as synchronous group and instructor discussions via online conferencing platforms.

To build relationships and support for success in the program, this program also requires attendance at three face-to-face Saturday sessions in the student's first summer and two face-to-face Saturday sessions in the 2nd summer (these will be online for summer 2022.)

Summer 2022 Orientation: Saturday, May 21

Summer 2022 Online Learning Communities in-person class sessions:

• Saturday, June 18
• Saturday, July 9

Learning communities

The Ed.D. program offers opportunities for students to participate in Learning Communities* in the following areas:

1. General Leadership
2. Higher Education Leadership

When applying to the Ed.D. program, students should designate their chosen Learning Community on the Ed.D. application checklist.

​Online and in-person learning communities are determined by accepted student preference each spring semester after the admissions deadline. In the supplemental questions area in the online application, students note which learning community and classroom method (online or in-person) they prefer. Each learning community completes the same Ed.D. courses with slight differences in the cases and examples used in each of the courses per the learning community. We are committed to our program's reflective and responsive engagement with our learners in all classrooms.

Please note: Admission decisions will be completed by early April 2022 for the program to start in May 2022.

*Be advised that a minimum number of students is required to administer a Learning Community.

Curriculum requirements

The Ed.D. in leadership requires a minimum of 48 total graduate credit hours. Since this program is built on a cohort model, no external transfer credits are accepted. Please review our most current course table to review a draft program outline.

Resources

Ed.D. in Leadership Student Handbook [PDF]

VCU BULLETIN INFO

• Ed.D. in leadership

PROGRAM BASICS

How to apply: Graduate application
Semester of entry: Summer
Applications open: Sep. 1
Application deadline: Feb. 1
Additional materials: Ed.D. application checklist [PDF]
Faculty listing: Educational Leadership
Faculty areas of interest: Research areas

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

• General admission requirements of the VCU Graduate School
• Master’s degree
• Three letters of recommendation addressing the student’s potential for graduate study in education
• Statement of intent
• Satisfactory GRE/MAT scores or writing sample
• Transcripts of all previous college work
• A personal interview (may be requested)
• Professional vitae/resume

FOR MORE IN-DEPTH INFO

• Educational leadership degree/certificate programs
• Educational leadership program materials
• Draft course schedule