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doctor of education graduate shakes president's hand as he receives diploma on graduation stage

Doctor of Education

Earn a doctorate degree in educational leadership at SBU

Develop your skills, advance professionally as an educator and prepare for leadership in today's education environment with the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership at SBU.

The doctor of education program at SBU is designed to prepare strong educational leaders. The program will equip you through a variety of educational experiences, including:

  • Discussions of current research and leadership practice;
  • Self-reflection;
  • Innovative technology and classroom applications;
  • Application of current situations in education; and
  • Other experiences deemed current and beneficial to the further development of education leaders.

The doctorate program employs a cohort model, which provides numerous benefits, from community support and group feedback to peer mentoring, networking and collaborative insights. You also will receive ongoing guidance and support from your advisor, who is assigned to you in your first semester and will facilitate your individual Directed Research project.

Throughout the program, you will advance your depth of knowledge on educational and servant leadership. The doctor of education degree helps you learn processes and gain knowledge to create a positive culture, increase organizational and student performance, and enable the development of a highly successful learning organization.

Program Tracks

Four program tracks have been created to tailor the program to your career goals and previous educational experience.

  • Track 1: You already have a specialist, superintendent, and principal certificate OR have a specialist certificate and do not want any other certifications. Must have a specialist certification for track one.
  • Track 2: You have a master's degree or specialist with building administrator certificate only and want a superintendent certificate. 
  • Track 3: You have a master’s degree without any certification. You want the building administrator and superintendent certificates. 
  • Track 4: You have a master's degree and do not want any certification. 

AvailableStart Dates

Track 1: August

Tracks 2-4: January, March, May, June, July, August, October

Graduate Education Admissions

30
credit
hours

Earn your doctorate degree quicker — SBU's Ed.D. program requires just 30 credit hours!

SBU students

The SBU Advantage

  • Fit classes into your busy schedule through our convenient scheduling combined with some hybrid sessions, scheduled with the time-constrained demands of the working educator in mind.
  • Receive one-on-one guidance from a faculty member who works with each doctoral student on their research and statistics work.
  • Benefit from personalized dissertation support. You are not on your own to complete your dissertation but will have the support of a dissertation committee.

Faith Integration

SBU's Education graduate degree programs have been intentionally designed to model how the Christian faith shapes expertise, practice and experiences in professional educational settings. To assist students in developing as transformative agents in today's schools, our programs provide a foundation to become both scholars and practitioners — a synthesis of academic knowledge, practical skills and servant leadership. We desire that our students, while working toward a graduate degree in education, become true servant leaders who are able to integrate their faith into their practice to make a difference in today's society.

Crystal Magers
"I can't imagine being a principal without the learning I received at SBU. This program was a game-changer for me. I received learning that helped me improve my leadership and impact student achievement."
Dr. Crystal Magers '19
Principal at Sherwood Elementary School, Springfield, Mo.