Earn an education doctorate as preparation for an executive-level administrative career in higher education.
The EdD in Higher Education focuses on supporting problem-posing research and the critical development of a practitioner-scholar for executive-level administrative leadership within postsecondary contexts. This hybrid-delivery, weekend format program focuses on coursework that draws from students’ significant professional/lived experience connected to theoretical frameworks and concepts, providing additional skills, competencies, and knowledge needed to be social justice change-agents. Through a dissertation project, students will carry out a mode of inquiry that connects theory and practice, and fosters analytic actions around a critical issue in the field of higher education.
Related Programs
Curriculum
With 24 advanced standing credit hours from a previous graduate degree, completion of the EdD degree program requires an additional 42 semester hours of graduate credit at Loyola University Chicago - 39 semester hours of required courses plus an elective course for three semester hours of graduate credit. Students are also required to complete a capstone project at the conclusion of coursework and a dissertation study to complete the degree.
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| ELPS 400 | Inquiry Into Educational Policy | 3 |
| ELPS 429 | Selected Topics in Higher Education (Topic: Lit Review) | 3 |
| ELPS 453 | Legal Aspects of American Higher Education | 3 |
| ELPS 504 | Advanced Financial Strategies in Higher Education | 3 |
| ELPS 506 | Strategic Executive Leadership in Higher Education | 3 |
| ELPS 507 | Advanced Governance in Higher Education | 3 |
| ELPS 508 | Equity and Justice in Higher Education | 3 |
| ELPS 530 | Proseminar: Higher Education | 3 |
| RMTD 420 | Educational Research I: Building a Body of Evidence With Qualitative Method | 3 |
| RMTD 421 | Educational Research II: Building a Body of Evidence Quantitative Method | 3 |
| RMTD 520 | Research Seminar I | 3 |
| 3 |
| ELPS 620 | Dissertation Research (Required to take twice. Repeat required.) | 3 |
| Total Hours | 42 |
Program Length
This program is offered as a cohort where all students enroll in 6 credit hours per semester, including summer sessions. Students can complete coursework in 3 years. The length of the dissertation study can add an additional 6 to 18 months depending on the pace of the student.
Continuous Enrollment
EdD students in Higher Education are required to maintain continuous enrollment during their program of studies. This means that during each semester of each academic year (excluding Summer Sessions), each student must enroll in at least one course. A formal leave of absence may be granted upon request and the approval of the School of Education’s Assistant Dean of Student Academic Affairs.
Graduate & Professional Standards and Regulations
Students in graduate and professional programs can find their Academic Policies in Graduate and Professional Academic Standards and Regulations under their school. Any additional University Policies supersede school policies.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion, our students will be able to:
- Apply scholarly knowledge and research skills to address complex problems of practice
- Lead constructive conversations that shape equity-minded policies across multiple levels of an organization
- Partner with diverse constituents to shape sustainable institutional change for inclusive excellence
- Integrate theoretical and conceptual understandings with practice-based solutions
