Education & Human Services

NKU’s Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership is unique in focus, format and delivery.

Focus
Our Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership program is designed to create transformational leaders who work in various settings. Our current students (whom we call learning associates) come from a range of professional backgrounds, including:

• Consulting
• Corporate Training
• Non-profits
• Public Sector
• Healthcare
• Higher Education Teaching and Administration
• Principals and Superintendents in K-12 school systems

Format
The strength of NKU’s Ed.D. is that it is an applied or practiced-based curriculum. Our learning associates participate in collaborative civic engagement projects while applying their leadership knowledge and skills to real-world situations. Doctoral learning associates effect change in the community through two unique components:

• A cohort civic engagement project focusing on a contemporary regional issue in education that impacts the educational attainment, economic viability, and/or livability in the metropolitan area, and;
  
• An individual action-research dissertation designed to allow candidates to conduct research and improve their own organizations.
  

The program admits learning associates into a cohort each fall. They discover that the cohort model creates a strong support system, helping each member balance work, family life, and coursework. This support system becomes a team that selects and implements the public engagement initiatives in which they are involved during the different stages of the curriculum.

Delivery
Learning in our Ed.D. program is approached through a hybrid instructional model. The learning associates experience their courses through a rich blend of face to face and online learning settings. Typically our learning associates attend face to face course sessions once or twice every month. The balance of the coursework is online.

Want more information?  Please e-mail edd@nku.edu or call (859) 572-7899.