Online Ed.D. in Educational Leadership

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100% Online

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51 Credits

$567/cr.

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Applications Accepted December 15, 2024–January 31, 2025 (May Session Start Only)

About the Program

The University of Maine’s 100% online Ed.D. in Educational Leadership is for experienced educators ready to take the next step in their professional and academic careers. Students will deepen their understanding of schools, districts, state and national policy, and leadership practice in PreK-12 schools.

Cohort Model

In a cohort model, students take all their classes together while working toward their degrees. Cohorts allow students to learn from their peers and professors in a collaborative environment.

The cohort meets weekly during the dissertation phase, ensuring ongoing support from peers and faculty during the program’s independent research portion.

Contact Us

Have questions about earning your Ed.D. in Educational Leadership online with UMaine? Contact a UMaineOnline advisor.

Amanda Cupps, M.Ed.

UMaineOnline Senior Advisor

207.370.4199 amanda.cupps@maine.edu

Schedule a Meeting

Curriculum

All courses are synchronous, and meet once per week via Zoom.

EHD 676: Doctoral Seminar in Educational Administration (3 credits) Summer
EHD 602: Directed Readings (3 credits) Fall
EHD 690: Topics in Education (Foundations of Inquiry) (3 credits) Fall
EAD 653: Statistics for Scholarly Practitioners (3 credits) Spring
EAD 654: Educational Policy Formulation and Analysis (3 credits) Spring

EHD 661: Sociology of Education (3 credits) Summer
EAD 655: Qualitative Analysis for Scholarly Practitioners (3 credits) Fall
EAD 647: Organizational Learning and Development (3 credits) Fall
EAD 660: The Adult Learner in PreK-12 Education (3 credits) Spring
EAD 661: Advanced Educational Supervision (3 credits) Spring

EAD 698: Special Topics in Educational Leadership (3 credits) Summer
EAD 648: Responsible Conduct of Research in Education (3 credits) Fall
EAD 663: Dissertation Proposal (3 credits) Fall
EAD 664: Dissertation I (3 credits) Spring

EAD 665: Dissertation II (3 credits) Summer
EAD 667: Dissertation III (3 credits) Fall
EAD 668: Dissertation IV (2 credits) Spring
EHD 699: Graduate Thesis/Research (1 credit) Spring

Admissions

Applications for the summer term (or session) are accepted from December 15 through January 31.

A master’s degree in education or a related field with at least 30 credits with a minimum GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale
Current employment in a school, community agency, or other educational role or setting that allows access to the data necessary to investigate your problem of practice

Before you apply, please review the application instructions. When you’re ready to apply, please submit the following:

An online application
Current résumé or CV detailing your education and leadership experience
Official academic transcripts from all institutions attended (undergraduate and graduate)
A two-part essay:
- Part I: A one-page essay of approximately 250 words describing your leadership experience in educational contexts.
- Part II: A three-page essay of approximately 750 words, including:
  - A description of the problem of practice you may wish to study and its relevance to educational leadership
  - Discussion of the contributing factors that exacerbate the problem
  - And what may be done to address the problem (i.e., how to bridge the theory-practice gap contributing to the problem of practice).
    Note: Parts one and two should be saved as one file and uploaded in the field requesting a short, general essay when completing your application
Three signed letters of recommendation
- Two letters from a school official/direct supervisor who can:
  - Attest to the applicant’s qualifications
  - Explain the support the applicant will receive in addressing their problem of practice
  - And address why the applicant’s problem of practice is essential to the school system where the applicant is a leader
When possible, one letter should come from a professor or faculty member with firsthand knowledge of the applicant’s ability to function as a scholarly practitioner and conduct a rigorous study to address a problem of practice.
Recommended but not required.