Doctor of Leadership Studies (Ed.D)
Ashland University's doctoral degree in leadership studies combines theory and practice with individual mentoring and applied research to train a new generation of reflective, ethical and effective leaders in K-12 schools, higher education and human service organizations.
Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies Brochure (pdf)
Our Program Offers Cohorts of 15 or less —
Each year Ashland University’s Graduate School and College of Education accepts a maximum of 15 students into the doctoral program. Through a competitive selection process, we look for cohort balance in the following areas:
- Personal characteristics
- Academic background
- Communication style and skill
- Leadership ability
- Cultural diversity
The camaraderie within cohorts sustains everyone’s momentum and provides a valuable network well after graduation. Our graduates have gone on to jobs such as:
- Dean of a nursing school
- Superintendents in districts of all sizes
- College professors
- An executive in the auto industry
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Mentorship
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All of our doctoral students work full time, so everyone completes a change project on the job as an early component of the program’s required field experience. Working with advisors over 12-15 months, you’ll delve into action-oriented research to determine needs and options. Then, you will plan, implement and evaluate your change project.
Past projects include:
- A new system to connect financial aid staff with academic advisors
- A elementary school leadership and service academy
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Our Exceptional Faculty
Our small, but mighty faculty includes four full-time members. No adjuncts. We’re happy to welcome affiliate, multi-disciplinary faculty from business, arts and sciences as well as others in the College of Education to our collaborative team.
We’re proud to share our:
- Variety in talents, training and background
- Active, important published research and scholarship
- Well-prepared coursework for maximum efficiency and impact for the time you spend
- Strong backgrounds in teaching and mentoring
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Mentors — On Campus and Off
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High-quality academic content paired with individualized mentoring — both on and off campus, through workplace partners — stand as the hallmarks of Ashland University’s doctoral program in educational leadership.
This professional degree program will engage you in a rigorous process of research, inquiry and site-specific practice.
We believe leadership is conceived within the context of organizational renewal, so you’ll focus your development upon:
- Common values among professionals within an organization
- Vision of what education can be
- Pursuit of institutional and personal goals
Fundamentally, education is a field that melds information and relationships into positive outcomes. |
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Dissertation
Comprising 10 credit hours in the program, the dissertation requires you to engage in scholarly research and inquiry to improve the practice of leadership. The document will demonstrate doctoral-level:
- Composition and format
- Inquiry methods and analysis
- State-of-the-art knowledge
- Application of leadership strategies from which other professional educators can benefit
In a recent debate in the American Association of School Administrator’s magazine , the author mentioned Ashland University’s doctoral program as one of few getting educational leadership right. |
