If you’re ready to make a bigger impact as an education professional who’s passionate about equity and social justice, CU Denver’s doctor of education (EdD) program might be the place for you. The four-year, part-time, online program is competitively priced and designed for working professionals. Read on to learn more about what an EdD is, what is unique about CU Denver’s program, and meet an EdD alum who created her dream job out of her dissertation.
What is an EdD?
A doctor of education (EdD) is a doctoral degree. Like a doctor of philosophy (PhD), students produce original research and write and defend a dissertation. The EdD program in CU Denver’s School of Education & Human Development (SEHD) is a professional doctoral program. That means the aim of the program is to support students by both expanding their knowledge and advancing their capacity to leverage evidence-based practices that drive an impact in educational settings.
No background in research? No problem. CU Denver’s EdD course plan provides a scaffolded approach that allows students to learn the skills they need to conduct their own research throughout the first years of the program. When it’s time to produce their dissertation, they’re ready.
Who should get an EdD at CU Denver?
Most students come from education environments ranging from early childhood education to higher education, and some work in other education-related organizations. Many are already leaders—whether that means leading a classroom, school district, or university department. Wherever they come from, many have three things in common: They’re professionals with a strong commitment to equity and social justice, they’re ready to take their career to the next level, and they care deeply about making a more meaningful impact.
What are the benefits of getting an EdD at CU Denver?
Earning an EdD can enrich students’ knowledge, strengthen their capacity to leverage evidence-based practices, open up new career opportunities, and connect learners with a community of peers who are passionate about similar things.
Education professionals choose to get an EdD for many reasons. For some, earning a doctoral degree unlocks higher positions in leadership. Teachers and other education professionals who are passionate about supporting their colleagues and students pursue EdDs to deepen their knowledge, improve their efficacy, and expand their skillsets. And, many who already hold executive positions pursue an EdD to reimagine their roles or expand their impact.
What can I study in CU Denver’s EdD program?
CU Denver offers several EdD options, including programs that focus on early childhood education; executive leadership; higher education; justice, equity, and diverse identities; learning design; and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.
Whatever the focus, every CU Denver EdD program empowers education professionals to lead with an equity-focused lens. “We’re equity centered,” said Ester de Jong, EdD, who is SEHD’s associate dean for research and academic affairs and oversees the EdD program. “The conversations are around, ‘How do we make this society more just? How do we make sure that everybody has access to education?’”
How is CU Denver’s EdD program structured?
The program is fully online, takes four years (the higher education track takes three), and is designed for working professionals. It is cohort-based, which means students move through the program with a group of peers. This allows them to form valuable professional connections and meaningful personal bonds.
Throughout the first two-and-a-half years, students take topical courses and courses that prepare them to do their own research. They are guided through proposing their research topic, collecting and analyzing data, and completing their dissertation.
Throughout the program—and particularly in their dissertations—learners are encouraged to explore questions they genuinely care about. They often produce actionable research to solve real problems in their workplaces. And, they benefit from class discussions with a community of peers who bring diverse career and life experiences.
Meet Karen Armstrong: How Earning an EdD at CU Denver Transformed Her Career
Karen Armstrong scoured the country for a program that aligned with her personal and professional values. At the time, she was working as the outreach and online education director of inclusion, equity, and diversity at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). She knew she wanted to make a bigger impact in the areas that matter most to her—diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging—and continue living and working on the east coast. She found a program that aligned with her goals in CU Denver’s doctor of education in leadership for educational equity, higher education track. “I really believe in equity,” Armstrong said. “I think it matters, and I appreciated CU Denver’s emphasis on it, even before getting involved in the program.”
Today, her life is completely different than it was just a few years ago. Thanks to her professors’ encouragement to dig deeper into her interests, Armstrong discovered an area of study that was new to her: dignity-focused work. It resonated with her and became the focus of her dissertation. As a result of that work, she was able to take on a new role as the director of The Dignity Collaborative at Penn State Altoona, where she leads dignity research, student-focused initiatives, and statewide dignity-focused-initiatives. “If you want to go to a place that leans into you reaching your capacity, this is where to go,” she said of earning her EdD at CU Denver.
For Armstrong, that meant expanding what she was capable of in new and unexpected ways. All the while, she felt both challenged and supported. When she began, she was hesitant about what she calls “the math part,” or completing her dissertation. “I came in petrified,” she said. But her instructors and classmates supported her. “It was my classmates who were like, ‘Let me show you how to do this,’ and we had an assessment person in the classroom who knew how to do all of this stuff, and it was just really magnificent,” Armstrong said. “Now I’m like, ‘Oh this is fine.’ It’s normal for me, now.”
She was able to form even deeper connections with her peers during a one-week, in-person session on CU Denver’s campus over the summer, which is unique to the higher education EdD track. “That hybrid piece was so worth it, so, so worth it,” Armstrong said. “I got some really great friendships out of that.”
Thanks to the EdD program’s commitment to equity, thoughtful curriculum, engaged and supportive faculty, strong community amongst peers, flexible online format, and affordable tuition, Armstrong was able to reach heights in her career she couldn’t have imagined before beginning her EdD journey. “I’m so glad I chose to do this,” she said. “It was 1,000% worth it.”