Education Leadership PhD

Welcome

The Ph.D. program in Education Leadership (Ph.D., EdL) provides a research-intensive doctoral program that supports the development of professors and researchers in PK-12 education leadership roles. Building upon Teachers College’s long-standing devotion to social justice, pioneering research, and cultivation of collaboration, students in the program will study, and research at the nexus of equity and social justice focused on school leadership and administration, adult development, data science, and organizational management and leadership. The coursework throughout the program accomplishes this by providing an innovative and unique core course of study that focuses on the current issues, theories, research, and methods in K-12 education leadership research and practice, which culminates in student independent research projects through their dissertation, advised by faculty.

The Ph.D. in Education Leadership is a 75-credit program housed in the Department of Organization & Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University. This doctoral program supports the development of researchers and professors of education leadership who will be prepared to grow aspiring and practicing school leaders and advance contemporary scholarship in the field.

Some unique aspects of the program include:

• National and global research, theory, and real-world practice
• The necessary skills to investigate and respond in socially just and equitable ways to critical issues in education leadership from multiple and diverse perspectives.
• Building bridges between research and practice by employing qualitative, quantitative, and data science approaches.
• Supporting aspiring scholars to redefine notions of education leadership, education leadership development, and education leadership research to care for the future of education.
•   A supportive, mentoring environment to develop critical thinkers, thought leaders, systematic and skilled researchers, and innovative scholars.

Program Mission

Our mission is to support the development of professors of education leadership who will be prepared to grow aspiring and practicing school leaders and advance scholarship in the field. More specifically, our PhD program in Educational Leadership:

• Sits at the nexus of national and international research, theory, and real-world practice
• Focuses on building bridges between research and practice by employing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches
• Equips students with the necessary skills to investigate and respond in socially just ways to critical issues in education leadership from multiple, diverse perspectives
• Supports and stretches aspiring scholars to redefine notions of education leadership, education leadership development, and education leadership research to care for the future of education
• Provides a supportive, mentoring environment to develop critical thinkers, thought leaders, systematic and skilled researchers, and innovative scholars

This is how we develop aspiring professors in education leadership who can effectively prepare practicing and aspiring leaders to manage the complexity of leading in the 21st century.