Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Ed.D. Program Overview
Bridge the divide between theory and practice while working closely with professionals from across the country through the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program at Vanderbilt University. The 36-month education doctorate is an innovative, cohort-based program designed to meet the needs of mid-career K-12 and higher education professionals.
Our intensive Ed.D. program allows you to pursue a doctorate while still continuing your full-time work through one of two academic concentrations: K–12 education leadership and policy or higher education leadership and policy. This model provides an academically rigorous approach that equips graduates with the skills and knowledge to make a positive influence in education policy and practice worldwide.
In addition to an on-campus doctoral program in K-12 and higher education leadership and policy, Peabody also offers an online doctoral program in learning and organizational leadership. For information about our online program, please visit the Online Ed.D. in Leadership and Learning in Organizations. For a description of the differences between our on-campus and online Ed.D. programs, please read our FAQ section.
Note: For the 2023 application cycle only, GRE scores are not required, although they are strongly recommended.
Offered through Peabody College's Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations, the Ed.D. program centers on the problems of educational practice and policy, and prepares you to enhance the performance of educational institutions and organizations. Our model of education assumes:
- Theoretical knowledge is practical.
- Doing things right needs to be balanced by doing the right things.
- You should be informed by and be able to comprehend, critique and apply research findings and theory to practice.
- Engaging with Peabody's faculty and dynamic research environment is professionally valuable and will influence your practice.
Areas of Concentration
You’ll pursue one of two concentrations:- K–12 Educational Leadership and Policy —prepares you for leadership in education and policy-related settings including elementary and secondary public, charter and independent schools, district-level offices, research organizations, government agencies, professional associations, and consulting firms.
- Higher Education Leadership and Policy —prepares you for leadership in higher education and policy-related settings including colleges and universities, government agencies, professional associations, research and consulting firms, among other learning organizations.
Program at a Glance
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
Program Director:
Marisa Cannata, Ph.D.
Admissions Coordinator:
Rosie Moody
Admission Term: Summer
Credit Hours: 84, including 30 hours that must transfer in from a prior master's degree
Priority Application Deadline: December 31* for summer entrance
Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Students explore K-12 and higher education through a variety of perspectives, including the social, economic, legal, and historical contexts that shape our current educational system and the ways the system may reinforce or disrupt patterns of inequality. The program provides a deep understanding of the relationship between schools and society; democracy, local control, and education; equal protection under the law; systemic inequalities in the educational workforce; and issues of equity in postsecondary access.
Selected Courses Related to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
EHLP 8140: Social Context of Educational Leadership and Policy - Explores contemporary social, philosophical, and political dimensions of education and their relationship to leadership, including issues related to social class and culture, democracy and diversity, and equality and choice.
HLP 8250: Advanced Postsecondary Access - This course considers who has access to higher education in the United States, and how policies and interventions at the federal, state and institutional level affect who enrolls and persists in higher education.
Selected Faculty Research Related to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Joanne Golann, assistant professor of public policy and education
Trained as a sociologist and an ethnographer, Professor Golann seeks to understand how culture shapes educational policy and practice. She is currently working on a book project, Scripting the Moves: Class, Control, and Urban School Reform, based on 18 months of fieldwork inside a high-performing “no-excuses” charter school. In the book, she considers what it takes—and what it costs—to equalize opportunities for low-income students of color.
Matthew Shaw, assistant professor of public policy and education
Professor Shaw is a sociologist of law whose research focuses on educational institutions and the students, educators, and communities who engage with them. His current projects are on laws which shape the experiences of undocumented youth as they transition from high school to college, Title IX as directive on educational institutions, and funding challenges experienced by historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Capstone Experience
The Ed.D. program culminates in a capstone during the third and final year of doctoral study. The capstone is a year-long independent research and analytic undertaking embedded within a group project.
The capstone project brings to bear the analytic abilities, professional understanding, contextual knowledge, and teamwork skills you’ll accrue throughout your Ed.D. program and more closely mirrors the challenges of contemporary education practice.
Capstone projects are developed each year by external capstone partners and guided by Ed.D. faculty. Previous Ed.D. capstone partners include:
- Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tenn.
- Austin Independent School District, Austin, Texas
- Education Development Trust, Reading, U.K.
- Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Ill.
- GEAR UP Tennessee, Nashville, Tenn.
- Jefferson County Public Schools, Louisville, Ky.
- Kentucky Wesleyan University, Owensboro, Ky.
- Lindsey Wilson College, Columbia, Ky.
- Lynn University, Boca Raton, Fla.
- Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, Nashville, Tenn.
- Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
- Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, Md.
- Rhodes College, Memphis, Tenn.
- South Bend Community School Corporation, South Bend, Ind.
- Southern Association of Independent Schools, Norcross, Georgia
- Tennessee Higher Education Commission, Nashville, Tenn.
- Tennessee State Board of Education, Nashville, Tenn.
- Tennessee Technology Center, Nashville, Tenn.
- Tusculum College, Greeneville, Tenn.
- Vanderbilt Institutional Research Group, Nashville, Tenn.
- Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.
Ed.D. Program Curriculum
As a student in the Ed.D. program you will begin your studies with a cohort of approximately 20-25 highly qualified students from around the country. Together you’ll progress through a prescribed 3-year (36 months), weekend-based curriculum. Each year is divided into summer, fall, and spring semesters.
A full degree program comprises 54 credit hours, in addition to 30 transfer hours from an accepted master's degree, for a total of 84 credit hours.
Educational Leadership and Policy Curriculum (K-12)
Through required courses, you’ll focus on education reform, instructional leadership, educational accountability and assessment, research methods and data analysis, the social context of education, politics and governance, teachers and teaching, and resource allocation and deployment.
Required Courses
Summer 1- EHLP 8110 Advanced Leadership Theory and Behavior
- EHLP 8120 Advanced Learning and Performance in Organizations
- EHLP 8130 Advanced Organizational Theory and Behavior
- ELP 8150 Leadership for School Improvement
- EHLP 8810 Decision Analysis I—Logic of Systematic Inquiry
- EHLP 8140 Social Context of Educational Leadership and Policy
- EHLP 8851 Decision Analysis II—Quantitative Analysis
- ELP 8210 Resource Allocation and Deployment
- EHLP 8820 Decision Analysis III—Qualitative Analysis
- ELP 8220 Educational Accountability and Student Assessment
- ELP 8230 Politics and Governance in Education
- ELP 8240 Education Law
- EHLP 8830 Decision Analysis IV—Program Analysis and Policy Evaluation
- ELP 9330 Teachers and Teaching
- EHLP 9340 International Comparative Issues in Education
- EHLP 9992 Capstone Experience
- ELP 9500 K-12 Seminar
- EHLP 9992 Capstone Experience
Higher Education Leadership and Policy Curriculum
Through required courses, you’ll focus on colleges and universities as organizations, the college student experience, research design and data analysis, the academic profession, public policy and higher education, history, finance, and higher education in international contexts.
Required Courses
Summer 1- EHLP 8110 Advanced Leadership Theory and Behavior
- EHLP 8120 Advanced Learning and Performance in Organizations
- EHLP 8130 Advanced Organizational Theory and Behavior
- HLP 8230 Advanced Nature and Function of Higher Education
- EHLP 8810 Decision Analysis I—Logic of Systematic Inquiry
- EHLP 8140 Social Context of Educational Leadership and Policy
- EHLP 8851 Decision Analysis II—Quantitative Research
- HLP 9310 College and University Finance
- EHLP 8820 Decision Analysis III—Qualitative Research
- HLP 8250 Advanced Postsecondary Access
- HLP 8220 Public Policy and Higher Education
- HLP 8240 The College Student: Advanced
- HLP 8210 College and University Management
- EHLP 8830 Decision Analysis IV—Education Policy and Program Evaluation
- EHLP 9340 International Comparative Issues in Education
- EHLP 9992 Capstone Experience
- HLP 9500 Education Law
- EHLP 9992 Capstone Experience
Faculty
The Ed.D. faculty comprises prominent researchers and teachers in K–12 and higher education leadership and policy. Faculty research interests include education leadership, K-12 policy, school choice, the opportunity and achievement gap, accountability and assessment, international education, financial aid, college access, and higher education policy.
- Professor of Higher Education, Emeritus, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Education, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Associate Dept. Chair, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Associate Professor of the Practice, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Program Director of the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program.
- Professor of the Practice, Department of Human and Organizational Development
- Professor of the Practice and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Associate Dean for International Students and Affairs, Office of the Dean
- Professor of the Practice, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Executive Associate Dean, Office of the Dean
- Patricia and Rodes Hart Chair, Professor of Education and Leadership, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Public Policy and Education.
- University Distinguished Professor of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- University Distinguished Professor of Political Science in the College of Arts and Science.
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Secondary Appointment as Professor of Health Policy.
- Associate Professor of the Practice, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professional Education, Office of the Dean
- Associate Professor of the Practice, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Associate Professor of History.
- Associate Professor of Public Policy and Higher Education, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Chancellor Faculty Fellow (2016–18).
- Associate Professor of the Practice, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Practicum Coordinator, Higher Education Administration
- Professor of the Practice of Organization Leadership, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Assistant Professor of Law, Vanderbilt Law School.
- Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Education, Secondary Appointment, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Associate Professor, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
- Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Public Policy, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations
Frequently Asked Questions
Our on-campus and online Ed.D. programs offer scholarships. Scholarships are awarded at the time of admission and are distributed based on academic merit and professional accomplishments and experience.
Although both of our Ed.D. programs are designed for working professionals, the two programs differ in terms of structure and curriculum.
Structure
In terms of structure, the on-campus program is a weekend-based program and students travel to campus 6 weekends each semester. Students drive or fly in to Nashville, TN from various locations across the country, including Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, New Mexico, Alabama, and Missouri. We also have several local students who are based here in Nashville.
The online program has courses that meet virtually once each week. The program offers asynchronous and synchronous activities and coursework. Overall, less traveling is required in this program since there is only one in-person convening on Peabody College’s campus that is required each year.
Curriculum
In terms of curriculum, our on-campus program is focused specifically on K-12 and higher education, so the readings and examples are drawn almost exclusively from these two fields. Courses offered on-campus are exclusively related to K-12 and higher education, such as education law, social context of education, leadership for school improvement, and international and comparative education.
Our online program’s curriculum draws upon a broader variety of fields beyond K-12 and higher education, although many students do come from these fields. Courses, readings, and examples are focused on issues relevant to leading learning in organizations more generally, such as psychological perspectives on learning, designing for learning in social organizations, human resources, and leading with equity and inclusion.
While many of our on-campus Ed.D. students tend to have experience in K-12 or higher education school administration, we also have students who come to us with other education-related experience. For example, some of our students work in non-profit organizations, foundations, local education agencies, or government offices that are in the education space. Furthermore, not all of our students have a background in curriculum and instruction. Some of our students possess a strong counseling background.
Overall, our on-campus program prepares students to excel as leaders across a wide array of education-related organizations — not just in K-12 or higher education systems.
Our on-campus Ed.D. students receive first-class support, resources, and programming from the Peabody Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). This office provides educational programming and resources related to EDI, expanding opportunities for underserved populations and celebrating the diverse voices and experiences in the Peabody community.
The Office of EDI partners with The Black Cultural Center, International Student & Scholar Services, Office of LGBTQI Life, and other Vanderbilt offices to empower students to explore their individual and collective identities. Signature events for the Office of EDI include the Dean's Diversity Lecture Series, Narrative Circles, and Faculty Face Time Fridays.
Additionally, this office works to support students with accessibility and accommodation needs, provides guidance for discrimination and Title IX reporting, and is available for consultation on EDI issues as needed.
Please visit the Peabody Office of EDI website to learn more about this office and how it works to help ensure an equitable and inclusive culture for all students.
Classes are held on the Vanderbilt Peabody campus from Friday evening through Saturday evening. This weekend-based curriculum will allow you to pursue your doctorate while continuing full-time work.
Helpful Links
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Online Ed.D. Program
For information about our online program, please visit the Online Ed.D. in Leadership and Learning in Organizations.