Overview
To address the dramatically changing landscape of education in the 21st century, which includes new research on the science of learning, advances in technology, and the emergence of a for-profit education sector, the Johns Hopkins School of Education offers an innovative online Doctor of Education degree program. This EdD program is designed to prepare an exceptional corps of educational practitioner-scholars, both nationally and internationally, who can set a high standard for transformational leadership in education, apply evidence-based practices to improve educational outcomes, and meet the vast challenges associated with improving learning outcomes in both public and private educational environments.
For more information about the EdD program, please visit the website. If you have any questions about the EdD program, please contact soe.edd@jhu.edu.
Admission Requirements
At minimum, applicants to the EdD program should hold a master’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university and have at least three years of relevant work experience. Previous degrees must document high academic achievement (a minimum GPA of 3.25) in an area of study closely associated with the objectives of the program. If the earned degree or credit is from an educational institution abroad, the candidate’s academic record must be evaluated by a credential evaluation agency before consideration for admission. Applicants must submit the online admission application form, application fee, official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended, a curriculum vitae (résumé), a Problem of Practice Statement, online (asynchronous) interview, and two letters of recommendation signed by each recommender. These letters should include the following:
1. A professor with whom the applicant worked in their master's program who can speak to the applicant's competency to conduct rigorous, applied scholarly work,
AND
2. A colleague/supervisor from the applicant’s professional context/industry who can attest to the applicant's qualifications to pursue a doctorate, and the applicant’s impact on the recommender’s professional practice.
International students must fulfill the general requirements for admission and complete additional requirements—see International Students Admission.
Note: This program is not eligible for student visa sponsorship.
Students who enter the program will be required to successfully complete a series of pre-orientation modules prior to enrollment in the program. All students are expected to show competence in the content areas of these modules.
Please note that, for the online EdD program, an offer of admission is for the specific cohort to which an application has been submitted. Students may accept or decline the admission offer only; deferring to a future cohort is not an option.
Program Requirements
Program Structure and Requirements
Program requirements include a minimum of 90 graduate credits. Students must enter the program with a regionally accredited bachelor's and master’s degree (with a minimum of 36 graduate-level credits for the master's). The master's credits will be transferred into the EdD program. If a student does not have the required 36 master’s credits, the student may be admitted. A student must complete the additional graduate-level credits at a regionally accredited higher education institution by the time the student has completed 30 credits in the EdD program. Students with post-master’s graduate credit (completed after the required 36 master's degree) in related education content completed prior to admission to the EdD program may petition to transfer in an additional 6 credits of equivalent coursework with appropriate documentation and with the approval of the EdD program director. Students must complete between 48 and 54 credits at the doctoral level at JHU. The program includes the following required coursework components (subject to change):
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations of Education | 15 | |
| Critical Theory | ||
| Understanding Social Problems | ||
| Multicultural Education | ||
| Multiple Perspectives on Learning and Teaching | ||
| Disciplinary Approaches to Education | ||
| Applied Research & Evaluation (select 12 credits) | 12 | |
| Introduction to Social Science Research | ||
| Introduction to Statistics | ||
| Introduction to Qualitative Inquiry | ||
| Program Evaluation Methods and Design | ||
| Mixed Methods Research for the Social Sciences | ||
| Participatory Action Research | ||
| Areas of Interest/Electives (select 15 credits) | 15 | |
| Neurodiversity and Neuroeducation | ||
Introduction to Children and Youth with Exceptionalities * | ||
Survey of Autism and Other Pervasive Developmental Disorders * | ||
Twice Exceptional Learners * | ||
Creativity in Education * | ||
Social, Emotional, and Psychosocial Development of the Gifted * | ||
| Fundamentals of Cognitive Development | ||
| Neurobiology of Learning Differences | ||
| Entrepreneurial Leadership in Education | ||
| Leadership in Educational Organizations | ||
| Partnerships and Educational Organizations | ||
| Entrepreneurship in Education | ||
| Data-Driven Decision Making | ||
| Talent Management & Organizational Finance for Entrepreneurial Leaders | ||
| Urban Leadership | ||
| Leadership in Educational Organizations | ||
| Approaches to Urban Education | ||
| Individuals in Urban Contexts | ||
| Organizations and Institutions | ||
| Partnerships and Community Organizing | ||
| Critical Theories of Race and Racism (in Education) | ||
| Learning Design and Technology | ||
Technology Integration for the 21st Century Learner * | ||
| Gaming and Simulations for Learning | ||
| AI in Education | ||
| Applications of Learning Experience Design | ||
| Electives | ||
| Leadership for School and Educational Organization Redesign | ||
| Power, Politics, and Policy in Education | ||
| Research on Effective Professional Development | ||
| Technologies and Creative Learning | ||
| Socially Responsible Research | ||
| Doctoral Dossier Research | 12 | |
| Doctoral Dossier Research I | ||
| Doctoral Dossier Research II | ||
| Doctoral Dossier Research III | ||
| Doctoral Dossier Research IV | ||
| Total Credits | 54 | |
- *
These courses, if offered at the doctoral level, are allowed as elective choices.
NOTE: Students will be eligible for Non-Resident status if they have no courses remaining in which to enroll. Students may have the following to complete (1) doctoral dossier and (2) coursework in which a grade of "Incomplete" was assigned. For more information on the EdD Non-Resident policy, please click here.
In addition to successfully completing all coursework requirements, students must also complete a Doctoral Dossier consisting of three faculty-mentored research projects.
Problems of Practice and Doctoral Dossier
Students examine a Problem of Practice (POP)—an area of concern they have observed within their professional context—that becomes the focus of the student's Doctoral Dossier, which consists of three main projects described below.
As part of our commitment to social justice, the EdD program does not privilege one form of communication over another. Thus, all components of the Doctoral Dossier can be communicated in a modality of the student’s choosing: video, oral, scholarly writing, or public-facing writing. Additionally, students can choose the type of scholarship project they will work on during years two and three of the program. Our Doctoral Dossier is based upon Boyer’s Four Domains of Scholarship (1990) and includes:
RESEARCH PROJECT 1 :
Scholarship of Integration: To begin their Doctoral Dossier process, all students will spend their first two semesters reviewing the research literature and using systems thinking to refine their Problem of Practice. The culmination of this process will be the Scholarship of Integration project, which is a synthesis of the literature reviewed that identifies and describes the underlying causes of and factors contributing to their chosen POP. This project is foundational to understanding the identified problem and determining what students choose to research in years two and three.
Example projects include: A podcast, video series, manuscripts for publication in a professional or scholarly journal, lengthy presentation targeting policymakers. Within all project modalities, the factors contributing to the POP are discussed through a synthesis of the research literature.
RESEARCH PROJECT 2 :
Following completion of the Scholarship of Integration project, students will choose one of the following two options for Research Project 2 :
Scholarship of Application: Demonstrate the application of the research to practice. The purpose of this project is to a) consider how the research perpetuates and/or disrupts oppression, b) critique relevant systems, structures, and institutions, and c) determine avenues to effectively disseminate evidence to a wider audience and stakeholder group.
Example projects include: historical analysis of a topic, curriculum creation, community organization, autoethnography, instructional pedagogy, and others.
Scholarship of Teaching: Development and improvement of pedagogical practices. Students examine teaching processes and assessments to improve practice.
Example projects include: autoethnography of one’s teaching, innovative teaching materials, curricula, development of new courses, or development of a new pedagogical framework.
RESEARCH PROJECT 3 :
Following successful completion of Research Project 2, students will choose one of the following projects and orally present a proposal for their third project to a panel of faculty:
The scholarship option NOT chosen for Project 2, or
Scholarship of Discovery: Search for new knowledge. Students conduct evidence-based research that leads to knowledge creation.
Example projects include: investigating the effectiveness of a curriculum created during year 2 (Scholarship of Teaching), interviewing people related to a Problem of Practice whose voices are missing from the research literature; examining the perspective of LGBTQ+ teachers living in the southern United States using Photovoice, etc. This project may be provided in any modality to better reach the student’s intended audience.
RESEARCH SUMMATION:
During the final year, students will complete Research Project 3, write an Executive Summary that ties their three projects together, and write a final reflection on their doctoral journey. The Doctoral Dossier will be presented and assessed during the final Doctoral Dossier course. Additionally, students may choose to present their Doctoral Dossier work at a school-wide student conference.
The following table below provides an overview of the program requirements.
| Cohort | Course Requirements | Comprehensive Exam | Applied Research |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |
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NOTE: Courses and course sequences are subject to change.
Learning Outcomes
Program Goals
Upon successful completion of the EdD, we expect that graduates will:
- Cultivate an identity as a self-reflexive, social justice-oriented learner within diverse educational or learning communities.
- Analyze and critique educational practice and research from a social justice and systems perspective.
- Apply relevant methodologies to address critical challenges in education.
- Demonstrate a curiosity for, and a systematic approach to, at least one major topic of study within education resulting in an emerging expertise.
- Integrate research and practice-based knowledge to develop research-informed decisions and opinions about educational experiences, processes, policies, and institutions.
- Communicate effectively to diverse audiences about educational research, experiences, processes, policies, and institutions.