Doctoral Program
EdD in Instructional Leadership
Course of Study
The Doctor of Education (EdD) degree in Instructional Leadership prepares experienced educators to become effective practitioner leaders able to translate current research into policy and practice. The program prepares teacher leaders, department chairs, administrators and other education professionals to transform K-12 education, driving better educational experiences and outcomes across larger systems. The program provides clinically-focused doctoral training and a deep grounding in the research on educational practice, particularly as it applies to urban settings and suburban settings with increasingly diverse student populations. Students develop the ability to synthesize and apply new research to improve educational experiences and outcomes for students, and the skills to communicate their insights effectively as leaders in schools and communities
For a full list of requirements, progress standards, and exit requirements consult the Hunter College Course Catalog, Doctoral Student Handbook and Sample Course Sequence.
Total Credits
54 credits
Time to Degree
Range of program completion time from 4 to 7 years; average time to program completion is 5.5 years.
Course Catalog
Review the course descriptions, progress standards, and exit requirements in the Course Catalog.
Curricular Structure
For students entering Summer 2020 and beyond the curriculum is structured into four distinct categories:
EdD Core (13 credits)
Required courses:
- EDDIL 79900 Leader Scholar Research Seminar (1 credit)
- EDDIL 80000 Foundations of Research, Leadership, and Equity in Education (3 credit)
- EDDIL 80100 Leadership for Change (3 credit)
- EDDIL 80200 Leadership for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Education (3 credit)
- EDF 80400 Analysis of Major Issues in Contemporary Education Reform (3 credit)
EdD Research Toolkit (16 credits)
Required courses:
- EDF 80000 Statistics for Applied Educational Research (3 credit)
- EDF 80100 Qualitative Methods in Educational Research (3 credit)
- EDF 80200 Quantitative Methods and Measurement (3 credit)
- EDDIL 81000 Leader Scholar Research Seminar (1 credit over 4 semesters for a total of 4 credits)
And choose one of the following:
- EDUC 80900 Case Studies in Education (3 credits)
- EDUC 80300 Statistics for Applied Educational Research II (3 credits)
- SPED 80900 Mixed Methods Research (3 credits)
- EDF 80900 Survey Research in Education (3 credits)
Applied Research and Electives (17 credits)
Choose at least one of the following required courses:
- EDUC 80100 Research on Effective Practice and Curriculum for Students with Disabilities (3 credits)
- EDUC 80100 Research on Curriculum and Teaching of Multilingual Learners (3 credits)
Additional Courses that may be taken towards the remaining 14 credits in Applied Research and Electives:
- EDUC 80500 Research on Effective Practice and Curriculum in Literacy (3 credits)
- EDUC 80300 Research on Effective Practice and Curriculum in Math (3 credits)
- EDUC 80600 Effective Professional Development of Teachers (3 credits)
- SPED 80200 Enhancing Achievement through Family & Community Relationships (3 credits)
- EDUC 80700 Professional Communication for Educational Settings (3 credits)
- ECC 80100 Research and Practice in Early Childhood Education (3 credits)
- EDUC 80400 Research on Effective Practice and Curriculum in Arts and Humanities (3 credits)
- EDDIL 80200 Doctoral Directed Readings (1 to 3 credits) up to 6 credits
- EDPS 71400 Applied Motivation (3 credits)
- EDPS 72300 Education Program Evaluation (3 credits)
Students may choose from other course electives at Hunter College and/or any other institution. Please talk to your advisor about obtaining an e-permit to take classes outside of Hunter. Permission must be granted by the EdD director prior to the student’s enrollment in a course outside of Hunter.
Dissertation Sequence (8 credits)
Required courses:
- EDF 83000 Dissertation Proposal Seminar (2 credits)
- EDF 83100 Dissertation Advisement (6 credits total, may be taken for 1 to 3 credits at a time)
Sample Course Sequence
The following sequence provides a sample schedule of courses from Cohort 9.
Year 1
Summer 2024
- EDDIL 79900 – Leader Scholar Community Seminar 1 (1 credit)
Fall 2024
- EDDIL 80000 – Foundations of Research, Leadership, and Equity in Education (3 credits)
- EDDIL 801 – Leadership for Change (3 credits)
Spring 2025
- EDF 80100 – Qualitative Methods in Educational Research (3 credits)
- EDDIL 80200 – Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (JEDI) in Education (3 credits)
Year 2
Summer 2025
- 3 to 6 credits of elective or direct reading
Fall 2025
- EDF 80000 – Statistics for Applied Educational Research (3 credits)
- EDDIL 81000 – LSC Seminar (1 credit)
- EDUC 80100 – REPAC Multilingual Learners (3 cr) or SPED 80100 REPAC Students with Disabilities (3 credits)
Spring 2026
- EDF 80300 Quantitative Methods & Measurement (3 credits)
- EDDIL 81000 LSC Seminar (1 credit)
- 3 credits of elective or directed reading
Year 3
Summer 2026
- 3 to 6 credits of elective or direct reading
Fall 2026
- EDDIL 81000 – LSC Seminar (1 credit)
- 3 to 6 credits of elective or direct reading
Spring 2027
- EDUC 804 – Policy & Reform in Education (3 credits)
- EDDIL 81000 LSC Seminar (1 credit)
- Comps or 1 to 3 credits of elective or direct reading
Year 4
Summer 2027
- Comps or EDF 830 – Dissertation Proposal Seminar (2 credits)
Fall 2027
- EDF 830 – Dissertation Proposal Seminar (2 credits) or EDF 831 – Dissertation Advisement (1 to 3 credits)
Spring 2028
- EDF 831 – Dissertation Advisement (1 to 3 credits)
Year 5
Summer 2028
- 3 to 6 credits of elective or direct reading, if needed
Fall 2028
- EDF 831 – Dissertation Advisement (1 to 3 credits, if needed)
Spring 2029
- EDF 831 – Dissertation Advisement (1 to 3 credits, if needed)
The Dissertation
A dissertation is the required culminating assessment in the EdD program in Instructional Leadership. In keeping with the principles of the Carnegie Project on the Educational Doctorate (CPED), the EdD program encourages candidates to think of this culminating project in the program as a “problem of practice dissertation.” A problem of practice dissertation addresses a challenge in educational practice, seeks to investigate that problem empirically by describing it and/or testing solution(s) to address the challenge, identifies actionable implications for the findings of the dissertation research, and appropriately communicates these implications to relevant audiences and stakeholders (adapted from Belzer & Ryan 2013).
Visit the Dissertation Process section of the Doctoral Student Handbook – Cohort 8 and 9 or the Dissertation section of the Doctoral Student Handbook – Cohort 7 for complete information. The handbook is intended to provide guidance to doctoral candidates in the EdD program as well as the faculty members who work with them.