Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Program Design

The Ed.D. program contains three major phases: coursework, comprehensive exams/papers, and dissertation research. The program requires completion of 135 credits, with a minimum of 72 credits completed at PSU after admission to the doctoral program. Sometime during their program, students must complete a "residency" requirement of three consecutive terms of full-time (9 credit hours) of graduate study. This requirement may include summer term and research or other independent study coursework.

Coursework

  1. Leadership Core: 28 credits (completed as a cohort during the first two years)
  2. Specialization courses: 24-36 credits (varies by specialization and may include field work and/or independent study)
  3. Electives: 44-57 credits (varies by specialization and may be completed using master's degree credits)

Comprehensive Exams/Papers

  1. Doctoral Core Exam (PDF)
  2. Dissertation Pre-Proposal Specialty Exam (PDF)

Dissertation Research

  1. Dissertation Proposal
  2. Research and Data Collection
  3. Analysis and Writing
  4. Oral Presentation of Dissertation
  5. Manuscript Completion

Examining Multiple Perspectives