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.

• Submitted online application
• An M.Ed., Ed.S. or master’s degree in appropriate area
• A master of education degree or master's degree in a field relevant to PK-12 education
• Should be currently working in a PK-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 years experience as a STEM teacher or other roles in STEM within the district e.g. elementary STEM coordinator; mathematics coach
• Demonstrated leadership skills in such settings 
• Official transcripts from previously earned degrees
• Acceptable Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (typically, verbal and quantitative scores at or above the 50th percentile and a writing score at or above a 4)
• 3 letters of recommendation
• A Professional resume
• A two-page statement of purpose in which the applicant describes their work as an educator to date, including a discussion of leadership roles beyond classroom teaching and professional goals, research interests, and reasons for entering a scholar-practitioner doctoral degree.
• An artifact (e.g., sample of professional development delivered at your school, a presentation at a practitioner conference, advocacy materials you've developed) and a brief explanation of how the artifact demonstrates the applicant's efforts to bring about sustained changes intended to result in equitable outcomes for all students.
• $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. 

Email Ed.D. coordinator, Stacy Szczesiul, or visit Graduate Admissions 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 Costs & Aid for Graduate Programs.

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.