Doctoral Programs

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Welcome to the Education Department’s Doctoral Programs page

Our department offers two pathways for a doctorate in Education, a Ph.D. with several emphases and an Ed.D. in Collaborative Leadership.  We are currently in the sixth year of our Ph.D. program and 2009 will be the first year of our stand-alone Ed.D program.

Our faculty of eighteen leading researchers receive national and international recognition for their work in a variety of fields.

Our Ph.D. students present their work regularly at national and international conferences, publish papers in highly regarded journals and have received prestigious dissertation awards.

If you missed our Doctoral Program Information Night that was held on October 20th, 2009, please click on the following links for handouts provided to our attendees. PhD Admissions Requirements and Tips or EdD Admission Requirements and Tips

Did you know that doctoral programs in education
are not the same?

We recommend you take some time to decide which kind of education doctorate is right for you.  Generally, a Ph.D. in education is research-oriented, with students and graduates conducting research and building theories of education; whereas an Ed.D. is more applied, with students and graduates working to implement theory and research in educational contexts. 

Ph.D. in education (typically takes 5-7 yrs)
-- Theoretical foundations of the field
-- Application of other academic disciplines to education
-- Research directed toward theory-building

A P.hD. student is typically someone who is…
• anticipating a faculty career or work which demands research expertise
• excited by theory, and conceptual analysis
• as interested in conducting new education research as in applying prior
research to education contexts.

Ed.D. in education (typically takes 4 yrs):
-- Development of specialized practitioner and leadership skills
-- Application of other academic disciplines to education
-- Applied research that addresses localized practitioner concerns

An Ed.D. student is typically someone who is…
• anticipating a career working in education as primarily a practitioner
• excited by research that emphasizes development, evaluation, and/or field-based projects.
• interested in applying existing research, theories, and technologies  to education contexts

For more information or to talk through your plans, we invite you to contact us at edphd@ucsc.edu