The EdD degree requires completion of the following:
- New Student Orientation (NSO)
- Learning Plan
- 4 Required Independent Study Courses (Knowledge Areas)
- 40 Credits of elective Independent Study Courses (Knowledge Areas)
- Comprehensive Assessment
- Dissertation
New Student Orientation
You start by participating in a New Student Orientation (NSO) session. This five-day session is the only residency requirement of the program. The sessions are held 2 times a year in various locations throughout the United States.
At the NSO, the faculty works with you to:
- Jumpstart your academic readiness
- Evaluate your research, personal skills and learning resources
- Facilitate your understanding of Fielding's learning model and delivery method
- Set your academic and professional goals
- Develop your support group of faculty and peers
Learning Plan
In collaboration with your faculty mentor, you will design a framework for your course of study - your personal road map through the EdD journey. You will consider your previous academic accomplishments and tailor the program toward your personal, professional, and academic goals. You will also begin a preliminary outline for your action-oriented research project, which will ultimately become your dissertation. The Learning Plan is a living document that you and your selected faculty mentor will review on a regular basis.
Independent Study Courses (Knowledge Areas)
You complete 8 independent study courses, called Knowledge Areas (KAs), including 4 core and 4 elective courses. You may use your elective KAs to design a course of study that emphasizes a content specialty or one that emphasizes a research methodology. The choice is yours.
For each Knowledge Area, you review the study guides designed by the faculty, then negotiate an assessment contract with your faculty of choice, focusing on the expected learning outcomes, the format, the timeline, and the mode of communication. Your faculty KA assessor provides a written assessment of your work.
While the structure of each Knowledge Area may be negotiated with the faculty assessor, you will generally shape your study around the doctoral level competencies and these three categories:
- Overview - broadly explore the theories and issues related to the knowledge area
- In-depth - explore a specific topic or question derived from your overview findings, usually related to your interests
- Applied - apply what you have learned in a venue agreed upon by you and your faculty KA assessor
Comprehensive Assessment
After completing at least 4 Knowledge Area assessments, you will write two comprehensive assessment essays to demonstrate, assess, and celebrate your progress in your doctoral work.
Dissertation
Every step through this program provides you with understanding, ideas, and background for creating your dissertation. You will practice what you learn until you are able to write your dissertation with the support of a dissertation committee.
In the creation of your dissertation, you contribute significant new knowledge to educational leadership and/or change. Fielding faculty view the dissertation process as a supportive, collaborative relationship between you and the dissertation committee members.
You present your dissertation to the community in a final oral review once you and your dissertation committee have agreed that it is ready for publication.