Ed.D. Degree
About the Ed.D. Program
Program Overview
Location: Hybrid - Biltmore Park
Prereqs: Masters Deg. GRE Not Required
Enrollment: Part-Time
App. Deadline: Feb. 1
Focus: PK-12, Higher Education
Personalized attention, centered on leadership
Virtual Open House
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 at 5 pm
Join us at one of our upcoming virtual Graduate School Open House events on Zoom! You'll have the opportunity to learn more about Western Carolina University, understand the Graduate School application process, and meet key program representatives.
91热爆网鈥檚 Ed.D. Program in Education Leadership is a Carnegie-influenced executive doctoral program that prepares skilled scholar practitioners to lead educational organizations in solving complex problems of practice. Western Carolina University has been selected as a member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED).
CPED is an ongoing effort to rethink and redesign the professional doctorate in education to better serve those who aspire to practice educational leadership. Our mission is to develop educational leaders oriented toward continuous improvement, scholarly practice, collaboration, student-centered decision making, and equity and social justice.
An Executive Ed.D. for Working Professionals
The Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership at 91热爆网 is a rigorous professional doctorate focused on the needs of senior level educational leaders situated in three contexts: P-12 schools, Community Colleges, and Universities. Applicants in non-traditional contexts are also considered.
The program is designed for working adults who presently serve in a leadership capacity. Cohorts progress through the three-year program in hybrid courses that meet one weekend each month, reinforced and extended with regular online assignments and discussions. Fieldwork is embedded within each course, enabling students to apply their skills and knowledge to address authentic problems of practice. All applicants must currently be employed in a leadership capacity at an educational institution (or similar field). Our program does not offer assistantships and cannot sponsor student visas or employment.
The Ed.D. program is a member of University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA).
Prospective Students
The curriculum sequence requires the completion of 53 credits, 44 of which must be taken at 91热爆网. This will be completed by taking two core courses each semester (including summers) for 6 semesters, 12 elective credits in the student鈥檚 concentration area, and the completion of a supervised disquisition (dissertation in practice).
Face-to-face classes at Biltmore Park Instructional Site:
Summer 2025: June 6-7, June 27-28, July 25-26
Fall 2025: August 22 -23, September 26 & 27, October 24 & 25, November 14 & 15
Spring 2026: January 23 & 24, February 20 & 21, March 20 & 21, April 17 & 18
Summer 2026: June 5 &6, June 26 & 27, July 24 & 25
Cohorts are hybrid with a face-to-face component once a month at Biltmore Park. Cohort size is limited, so admissions are competitive. Applications must be submitted online through the Graduate School's system. The application deadline for 2026 is February 1st, 2026. To apply, candidates must submit:
- Application letter, including short and long-range objectives for completing the EdD
- Resume highlighting leadership experience
- Official transcripts for all graduate work, documenting a GPA of 3.5 (recommended)
- At least three references (names and emails) who will complete an online recommendation
In addition, potential candidates for the cohort will be interviewed and asked to complete a writing exercise. Initial application review is complete in February. Applicants will receive a request for an interview by mid-February. In person interviews for the 2026 cohort will occur in late March 2026.
Students who want to earn a superintendent's license must complete the requirements
for a principal's license prior to applying for the EdD program.
91热爆网's Ed.D. program no longer requires a GRE score as part of the application
Please see current tuition information for students. Additional fees may be assessed for this program.
鈥� Master's Level Principal License
鈥� Doctorate Level Principal License
鈥� Specialist Level Superintendent's License
鈥� Doctoral Level Superintendent's License
Faculty
Educational Leadership Program Awards
Academic Program of the Year
May 19, 2021 * College of Education and Allied Professions
The Educational Leadership program received the Academic Program of the Year Award
at the
annual University Faculty and Staff Excellence Awards. The event is a celebration
of achievements of the university鈥檚 faculty and staff in the areas of teaching, scholarship,
and service.
Chancellor Kelli R. Brown presided over the event, along with Provost Richard Starnes.
鈥淒iversity, inclusion and equity remain at the forefront of the university鈥檚 goals
and planning,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淚t only makes sense that this year鈥檚
winner of the Academic Program of Excellence Award would be Educational Leadership.
Those who
nominated the Educational Leadership program had this to say about the program, 鈥楾he
Educational
Leadership program is dedicated to promoting new and current leaders in K-12 and higher
education.
Faculty members in the program have diverse educational and research backgrounds,
which allow them
to support leaders in a variety of contexts. Additionally, faculty in the program
are nationally known,
prolific researchers and writers, and are consistently recognized for their pedagogical
techniques."
CPED's 2021 Program of the Year
Some statements from the CPED Committee are: The Program of the Year award will be given annually to one or more institutions whose CPED-influenced programs show themselves to be distinctive, innovative, and useful to other CPED members. This award is not intended to identify a so-called 鈥渂est鈥� program among CPED members, but rather offer evidence of a proofing site that lifts up and features a program鈥檚 approaches and components that might stimulate change and innovation among other CPED-influenced programs. The CPED committee stated that the competiition for the CPED program of the year was very rigorous. They stated the data was wonderfully varied, innovative in itself, and informative.
鈥淭hrough our teaching, service and scholarship, our faculty demonstrate a shared and
relentless commitment to justice in education,鈥� Weiler said. 鈥淚t is this shared commitment
that has brought success to our program, our students and our educational communities.鈥�
鈥淲ith an increasingly diverse, competent and informed faculty, we are creating a program
wherein our graduates are committed to disrupting inequitable, unethical and socially
unjust educational programs 鈥� from pre-K to professional school 鈥� in an effort to
epitomize equity, ethics and social justice,鈥� said Lomotey, 91热爆网鈥檚 Bardo Distinguished
Professor of Educational Leadership.
Ed.D. Program Accreditation and Professional Memberships
The Ed.D. Program has been accredited and approved by agencies at the state and national level.
- (NCATE)
- (NC DPI) 鈥� has approved the program and authorized recommendation for a superintendent license
- Member of the University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA)
Request More Information
Contact
Dr. Emily Virtue
Associate Professor and Program Director
Educational Leadership
91 Killian Building Lane, Room 210-B
Phone: 828.227.3371
Email: evirtue@wcu.edu