Executive EdD in Education: Leadership and Teaching & Learning (Online & Accelerated)

Executive EdD

Advance Your Career in Teaching at the College Level, School Administration, Research, or Policy Analysis

Prepare for leadership at all levels of education with Gwynedd Mercy University’s innovative Online Accelerated Executive Doctorate in Education.

This 54-credit program can be completed in less than three years and offers you a motivational learning community in which to develop the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to lead and transform educational institutions. This program features dissertion support from day one. And, Program Director Raymond Bandlow, PhD, who received this prestigious award for innovation in higher education from the American Association of University Administrators.

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Program Overview

Program Details

Across all aspects of the program, GMercyU’s Ed.D. degree emphasizes the importance of transformational leadership to change and improve systems within mainstream education, special education, and education-facing organizations including government departments, consultancies, and private companies.

Choose from: 

  • The Teaching & Learning in Higher Education Program
  • The Leadership Program, which offers three concentrations: 
    • Leadership in PreK-12 Schools and School Districts (superintendent letter of eligibility content courses are included)
    • Leadership in Higher Education
    • Leadership in Special Education (special education supervisory certification content courses are included)

GMercyU's Doctorate in Educational Leadership program is a leader in EdD programs with a graduation rate of 76% vs. 11% national average in three to four years.

Because our doctoral program is designed for working professional educators, we have designed it to focus on convenience and flexibility as well as relevance and academic rigor. It features:

  • Small class sizes organized within a cohort model, so you can expand your professional network and create meaningful relationships with colleagues
  • An accelerated course schedule, which focuses on one course at a time in seven-week blocks, except for residencies
  • Convenient online coursework combined with field experience, a weekend on-campus residency, a week-long on-campus residency, and a week-long international study experience
  • Rigorous coursework applicable to public education, private education, higher education, government, and business leadership and instruction
  • Instruction and mentorship from field-experienced faculty members who are passionate about helping shape a new generation of education leaders
  • Dissertation support from day one of your program, to ensure you can complete your degree and take your place as a transformational change agent in education

Our Online Accelerated Executive EdD program challenges you to make new discoveries in your field of interest while honing your professional instructional and leadership skills as you prepare to lead in:  

  • U.S. and international schools
  • School districts
  • Colleges and universities
  • Educational policy organizations
  • Government and nonprofit organizations that support education

The rigorous course of studies in our accelerated doctoral programs will prepare you with the global outlook, research skills, policy analysis capabilities, and practical executive leadership abilities you need to lead and transform educational institutions to meet the needs of all learners.

If you are a school administrator, teacher, higher education faculty or staff, or other professional actively engaged in education and want to build skills for executive-level leadership, our Ed.D. program may be the best choice for you.

Rigorous, Accelerated Doctoral Education

The Online Accelerated Executive EdD program challenges you to make new discoveries in your field of interest while honing your professional leadership skills.

Most of your coursework for the accelerated Executive Doctorate in Education takes place online, with classes presented one at a time in seven-week blocks. You will also perform field research, take on practicum experiences, and attend three residencies: two on our Gwynedd Valley campus and one international experience. The international residency travel, lodging, and conference costs are included in your tuition costs, as well as your required textbooks.

From day one, you’ll have the support of a faculty advisor who will help you prepare your dissertation. The result is a program that can help you be part of the next generation of education leaders.

The online Accelerated Executive EdD program challenges you to make new discoveries in your field of interest while honing your professional leadership skills. As a GMercyU doctorate in education graduate, you will be able to:

  • Provide leadership in teaching and learning at the K-12 and college levels
  • Articulate an educational organization’s mission, goals, and guiding principles that distinguish the organization from others
  • Understand the foundational base of organizational theory and demonstrate the ability to bridge theory and practice
  • Given scenarios of conflict, choose ethical courses of action consistent with Gospel values
  • Synthesize and analyze data to reveal relations and causality and convert raw data into actionable information
  • View problems and challenges through the lens of a scientist, seeking evidence-based conclusions
  • Practice and model steward leadership in transforming organizations to better serve all constituents
  • Demonstrate facility in the application of technology to solve problems, analyze and synthesize data, and manage information

GMercyU faculty members understand the challenges of doctoral education — they’ve all experienced it. That’s why they’ve helped us develop a doctorate of education program that offers superior support to doctoral students like you.

You’ll join a small cohort of classmates and be matched with a faculty advisor early in your program. You’ll take supervised dissertation preparation courses early in the program, ensuring your research and writing are on track for timely completion. And you’ll be challenged, day in and day out, to pursue research that makes a tangible difference in the lives of students.

Methodological support is available for doctoral students and their advisors to support the dissertation process. Areas in which support is provided include refining research questions, operationalizing variables, general study design, development of instrumentation methods (e.g., interview questions), the IRB application process, data analysis, and writing of results. The methodologist can support students by providing resources for better understanding a process or topic, or by reviewing individual work. Depending on the particular needs and project, students and advisors can work virtually or in-person with the methodologist. See contact information for access to the methodology support. 

After you complete your online EdD program, you can connect to our extensive national and world-wide network of alumni. The colleagues, contacts, and friends you meet will inspire you.

If you are an administrator or principal with at least three years’ experience, you have the option of earning your Superintendent Letter of Eligibility as part of the online EdD programs. Your Letter of Eligibility can open the door to superintendent positions in Pennsylvania. 

*Certification: This program was designed to meet the certification requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. If you reside in a different state, you should carefully review your home state’s certification requirements prior to enrolling in this program.

Special education professionals, you have the option of earning your Special Education Supervisor Certification as part of the online EdD programs. This option can equip you to provide special education leadership within a wide variety of public and private settings.

*Certification: This program was designed to meet the certification requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. If you reside in a different state, you should carefully review your home state’s certification requirements prior to enrolling in this program.

Admission Requirements 

To qualify for admission to our EdD in Educational Leadership or Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, you must provide:

  • A master’s degree in a field related to your preferred area of concentration from an institution accredited by the Middle States Association, or comparable accreditation, with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above
  • Official graduate transcripts
  • A Graduate Record Examination score of 155 or higher or a Miller Analogy Test score of 385 or higher (waived if you had a graduate GPA of 3.5 or greater)
  • A professional resume showing a minimum of three years’ relevant experience
  • Three letters of reference from persons in leadership roles in your chosen area of concentration attesting that you have the ability to engage in studies at the doctoral level and to conduct research
  • A personal interview with a member of the graduate faculty representing the applicant’s preferred area of concentration (in person or via electronic means, if the distance is a factor)
  • A written statement of your professional goals and topic of research interest
  • A 750-1000 word sample of your writing abilities
  • Official results showing a minimum score of 550 (written), 213 (computer), or 79 (internet) on the TOEFL examination if your first language is not English

Personal interviews are provided for all applicants. The interview permits both the student and the faculty to ensure that the program is a good fit for the student’s needs and aspirations.  After enrollment, you will also need to obtain a Child Abuse Clearance, Criminal Background Check, and Federal Criminal History. 

"Too often, the story heard from doctoral candidates is one of feeling isolated and unsupported as the graduate coursework finalizes and the dissertation process ensues. To those enrolled in the Educational Leadership program at Gwynedd Mercy University this is a foreign concept. From the moment an individual elects to embark on the doctoral journey, Gwynedd stands by their side to ensure success.

"Selecting a dissertation topic and designing a quality research study is scary! This will be the focus of your work for months. I remember the pressure of choosing the “right” topic and getting the design “correct” to avoid complications in the future. Each email, phone call, and conversation with various professors in the program brought guided support and assurances to allow me the opportunity to expand myself as a student and a first-time researcher. I became dedicated to my study and because of my own passion for my work, the professors were just as invested in my efforts. While writing my dissertation, I had access to not only professors in the program but also library and writing specialists to help me acquire relevant literature and review my work (multiple times) providing construction feedback to strengthen the writing. Writing a dissertation requires time, energy, and commitment. These are characteristics both students and program leaders need to display.

"My time in the doctoral program at Gwynedd Mercy University afforded me the opportunity to cement myself as a practitioner and researcher. It is in part because of the university’s dedication to each individual student’s success that I have succeeded in my doctoral program and dissertation research."

 Dawn Durham, winner of the Outstanding Dissertation Award by the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators (PAC-TE)

Global Residency

Our doctoral students, along with guests and faculty members, spend a week experiencing the culture of Ireland and collaborating with faculty at the University of Limerick.
Cost of the trip is built into your tuition.

 


Video created by EdD student Jessica Brasch

Curriculum

The online Accelerated Executive EdD program requires completion of at least 54 credits of coursework. The exact courses you take depend upon your chosen area of interest. No matter which area you choose, you’ll have the support of a faculty advisor as you progress through your coursework and develop your dissertation.

Online with Three Residencies 
Required Courses

EDU 801 Educational Policy in Research and Practice in the U.S.*
EDU 811 Dissertation Advisement I
EDU 802 Organizational Research and Theory Development
EDU 803 Foundations of Educational Research
EDU 804 Cross-Cultural Perspectives and Educational Leadership
EDU 805 The Ethics of Educational Leadership and Policy
EDU 806 Equity, Equality and Equal Opportunity
EDU 807 Quantitative Educational Research Methods
EDU 812 Dissertation Advisement II
EDU 808 Qualitative Educational Research Methods
EDU 821 The Superintendency*
EDU 809 Global Educational Policy and Practice
EDU 822 School Boards and School District Governance*
EDU 842 School Law and Policy in Special Education
EDU 813 Dissertation Advisement III
EDU 824 Transformational Leadership, Supervision, and School Turn-Around*
EDU 825 Labor Relations and Fiscal Management
EDU 814 Dissertation Advisement IV
EDU 828 Practicum I (PA Superintendent Letter of Eligibility candidates only*)
EDU 829 Practicum II (PA Superintendent Letter of Eligibility candidates only*)

*Indicates courses required for a Superintendent Letter of Eligibility. The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires 360 hours of district office practicum. 

You may also need to take the following prerequisites to qualify for the Superintendent Letter of Eligibility:

EDU 571 The Principalship
EDU 574 School Law and Policy Issues
EDU 576 Human Resources and Staff Development

 

Online 
Required Courses

EDU 801  Educational Policy in Research and Practice in the U.S.
EDU 811 Dissertation Advisement I
EDU 802 Organizational Research and Theory Development
EDU 803 Foundations of Educational Research
EDU 804 Cross-Cultural Perspectives and Educational Leadership
EDU 805 The Ethics of Educational Leadership and Policy
EDU 806 Equity, Equality and Equal Opportunity
EDU 807 Quantitative Educational Research Methods
EDU 812 Dissertation Advisement II
EDU 808 Qualitative Educational Research Methods
EDU 841 Designing Interventions and Assessing Outcomes
EDU 809 Global Educational Policy and Practice
EDU 842 School Law and Policy in Special Education*
EDU 843 Foundations of Special Education Administration*
EDU 813 Dissertation Advisement III
EDU 844 Neuroscience of Learning
EDU 845 Supervision / Administration of Special Education *
EDU 814 Dissertation Advisement IV
EDU 848 Practicum I (PA Supervisor of Special Education certification only)*
EDU 849 Practicum II (PA Supervisor of Special Education certification only)*


*Indicates courses required for Certification as Supervisor of Special Education. The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires 360 hours of central office practicum experience.

Online with Three Residencies 
Required Courses

EDU 801 Educational Policy in Research and Practice in the U.S.
EDU 811 Dissertation Advisement I
EDU 802 Organizational Research and Theory Development
EDU 803 Foundations of Educational Research Methods
EDU 804 Cross-Cultural Perspectives and Educational Leadership
EDU 805 The Ethics of Educational Leadership and Policy
EDU 806 Equity, Equality and Equal Opportunity
EDU 807 Quantitative Educational Research Methods
EDU 812 Dissertation Advisement II
EDU 808 Qualitative Educational Research Methods
EDU 831 Leadership and Administration of Higher Education
EDU 809 Global Educational Policy and Practice
EDU 832 Legal Issues in Higher Education
EDU 833 Finance and Fiscal Policy in Higher Education
EDU 813 Dissertation Advisement III
EDU 834 Enrollment Management in Higher Education
EDU 835 Future-Focused Trends and Innovations for Educating Diverse Learners
EDU 814 Dissertation Advisement IV

To review course descriptions, please refer to the graduate catalog.

Online with Three Residencies
Required Courses

EDU 860 Foundations of Teaching and Learning (with weekend residency)
EDU 811 Dissertation Advisement I
EDU 861 College Student Development Theory
EDU 803 Foundations of Educational Research Method
EDU 807 Quantitative Educational Research Methods
EDU 808 Qualitative Educational Research Methods
EDU 862 Critical Perspectives for Underserved Student Populations (with week residency)
EDU 812 Dissertation Advisement II
EDU 863 Learning Models and Instructional Design
EDU 804 Cross-Cultural Perspectives
EDU 806 Equity, Equality, and Equal Opportunity
EDU 809 Global Education Policy (with week residency)
EDU 864 Curriculum Development and Academic Program Design
EDU 813 Dissertation Advisement III
EDU 865 Teaching Adults and Adult Learning Theory
EDU 866 Innovative Practices for Online Instruction & E-Learning Technology
EDU 814 Dissertation Advisement IV
EDU 867 Crisis in the Classroom


To review course descriptions, please refer to the graduate catalog.

GMercyU's faculty and staff not only gave me the opportunity to embark on their doctoral program but also supported me all the way through the completion of my Doctoral Journey. I cherished their consistent support, invaluable feedback, and words of encouragement in every course. I especially enjoyed the memories from each residency, particularly in Ireland, and valued connecting with everyone beyond the classroom.

—Dr. Allan Cosma Sr., District Associate Vice Chancellor of Wayne County Community College District and GMercyU EdD 2023 graduate

Lead in 21st Century Education

Learn more about how you can prepare for roles of influence in policy, administration, and school leadership with our innovative online executive doctorate (EdD) program. Call 844-707-9064 or send an e-mail to accelerate@gmercyu.edu to contact an admissions counselor. You also can request information today!


Learn More About EdD Degrees

An Ed.D. degree is a doctoral-level degree focused on professional education leadership and practice. It differs from a Ph.D. in Education, which primarily focuses on developing researchers. Designed for experienced administrators and teachers who want to achieve the highest level of instruction and leadership in the profession, Ed.D. degrees provide a combination of advanced theory and skills development in:

  • Teaching, assessment and curriculum development
  • Faculty and staff management and development
  • Education policy and regulation
  • Education research
  • Community relations and outreach

GMercyU's Accelerated Executive EdD program prepares you for the highest levels of education leadership. The exact nature of the roles you pursue will vary depending on your area of interest and previous experience. 

Job titles may include, but are not limited to:

  • Superintendent of schools
  • State board of education official
  • College Dean or administrator
  • Education policy analyst

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 14,500 openings for post-secondary education administrators are projected each year, on average, through 2030.

MSCHE accreditation

Gwynedd Mercy University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Learn more about GMercyU's accreditation. You can also view our current accreditation status