The Leadership in Schooling Ed.D. offers the following options:

• Leadership in Schooling Ed.D.: The Leadership in Schooling Ed.D. degree is designed to enhance a candidate's skills both as a researcher and as an instructional leader of PK-12 programs. An Ed.D. in Leadership in Schooling empowers the individual to improve leadership, teaching and learning, and to explore innovative solutions to educational problems. Students who enter this doctoral program will soon find that our emphasis on research and its application to practice will assist them in forming and investigating questions that are of personal, community, national, and international interest.
• The Leadership in Schooling Ed.D. STEM Education Option: This option is designed for STEM (science, math, engineering) educators who also wish to move into leadership roles. The degree will prepare candidates with skills both as a researcher and as an instructional leader of PK-12 programs. Students who enter this doctoral program will recognize that our emphasis on research and its application to practice will assist them in forming and investigating questions that are of personal, community, national, and even international interest. The strong focus on teacher quality, teacher performance, and student learning in mathematics, engineering and science makes this a program of high interest to teachers.

The Leadership in Schooling Ed.D. requires 42 credits of study beyond the master's, Ed.S. or CAGS. All courses are fully online. Candidates are admitted in the summer to their cohort and are expected to take 2 courses each semester, summer, fall and spring. Additionally, candidates must attend a one-week, summer residency each year they are in the program.

Course Requirements

• 33 course credits
• 9 dissertation credits/Scholarly Practitioner Community

Also required are:

• 2 comprehensive exams (Portfolio and qualifying paper) 
• 3 summer residencies 
• A dissertation in Practice Proposal and Defense

Courses may include:

• Foundations for Practitioner Scholars
• Applied Research Design
• Quantitative Data Analysis for Practitioner Leaders
• The Inclusive District, Law, Policy and Finance
• Systems Leadership
• Organizational Learning and Strategic Partnering with Families and Communities

For more information including course listings and degree pathways, visit the Graduate Catalog.

The Ed.D. is a cohort based program that begins each year in May. Applications are accepted from January – October 15, the year before the start of the program. For example, you would apply in 2022 for admission to the 2023 Trimester.

• Submitted online application
• An M.Ed., Ed.S. or master’s degree in a field relevant to K-12 education
• Should be currently working in a K-12 school or other setting that serves these students, have at least three years experience as a teacher and/or as an instructional leader, have a commitment to continuing to serve such students as a leader who will influence excellence and equity
  • STEM option: Should have three year's experience as a STEM teacher or other roles in STEM within the district e.g. elementary STEM coordinator; mathematics coach
• Official transcripts from previously earned degrees
  
• 2 letters of reference that speak towards the candidates capacity for/record of leadership or STEM leadership in or relevant to K-12 settings and their commitment to learning and continued personal and professional growth including an ability to give and receive feedback/engage in interchange of ideas.
• A Professional resume
  
• A two-page statement of purpose in which the applicant describes their understanding of equity-based educational problems and  identifies and articulates the reasons to address a contextually relevant, equity-based problem (for STEM applicants should have a STEM focus). 
• $50 application fee 

International Applicants

• For applicants who earned their degree outside of the US, you do not need to have your transcript evaluated by a credentialing service such as WES or CED.
• English proficiency testing
  • TOEFL minimum 90
  • IELTS minimum 7.0

Please note: F1 student visas are not issued for this program since it is offered exclusively online.

See the Graduate Catalog for additional admissions requirements.

Contact Phitsamay Uy, Ed.D. Coordinator: Phitsamay_Uy@uml.edu, or Lizzie Linn Casanave, Graduate Programs Advisor: Lizzie_Casanave@uml.edu, or visit the Graduate Admissions website for more information.

Students can earn their doctorate at UMass Lowell for roughly $24,500*:

• Coursework/program credits = $19,740 ($1,410/3 credit course)
• Summer residencies = $2,550 ($850 per each one-week residency)
• Other costs ($200 first year student fee, $30 registration fee per semester, $250 graduation fee, books)

For more information, visit Tuition & Fees for Graduate, Online & Professional Studies.

Financial assistance options include: 

• College of Education Dean's Fellowship

U.S. residents are eligible to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to qualify for loans and other grant programs.