Leadership & Innovation, EdD
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Academic Advising
Connect with the Doctoral Services team for advising support.
Email EdDEducation@asu.edu
Phone 480-965-5555
Appointment https://calendly.com/eddeducation - please follow instructions to add an event to her calendar
Christie's office is located on the 4th floor of the Farmer Building, room 420.
Program Description and Policy Information
The mission of the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Doctor of Education in Leadership and Innovation is to prepare leaders as scholarly and influential practitioners. This terminal degree program is designed to equip leaders with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions – with the minds, hands, and hearts - to resolve problems of practice and improve local situations. For more information, visit the following resources:
Students are encouraged to read and understand the Program Guide (2023/24) which contains a program overview, application requirements, student interest paths, course requirements and program of study, resources with frequently asked questions, policies and procedures, and student support resources.
In addition to the College Retention Policy found on the Policy & Code of Conduct page, the EdD program requires:
Maintaining grades of a 3.00 overall GPA with no course receiving a grade below a “C” (3.0).
Completing each Leader-Scholar Community seminar (TEL 792) and Dissertation Research course (TEL 799) with a “Satisfactory” (i.e., “Y”) grade.
A student with a course grade below “B” (3.00) or “Y” may repeat the course within one year or, if the course is not available within that period, the Coordinator may approve another course may be taken to offset the low grade. The repeated or alternative course is in addition to the 60 semester hours required for the program. A grade of “B” (3.0) or higher must be earned on repeating the course or taking an alternative course to continue in the program.
Required Courses and Plan of Study
EdD students are assigned a sequence of courses depending on the semester in which they start. For an overview of the plan of study please select one of the following:
2024 Start Term
Dissertation Information and Requirements
Students in the Ed.D. program will complete an Action Research dissertation. The dissertation research will be the second (or third, or fourth) in a series of studies conducted over the course of the program. Through successive research projects, you practice and refine research skills in applied settings while making a difference in their local communities. The dissertation represents a more sophisticated and complete iteration of a process that is a career-long quest to discover local knowledge, create local change, study the effects, and implement more informed change.
The completed Dissertation will include a targeted review and synthesis of relevant literature; an innovation, selected on the basis of published research, to address the identified problem; a design that includes the collection of data, scheme of analysis, and framework for assessing the effects of the proposed action project; an analysis of data collected; a presentation of results and conclusions; and a discussion of the implications of findings for policy, practice, and research, as well as a discussion of the leadership lessons learned.
The public defense of the dissertation will consist of an oral presentation followed by questions from the candidate’s doctoral dissertation committee.
Information for prospective EdD students
The mission of the Doctor of Education in leadership and innovation is to create scholarly and influential practitioners who are educators with the knowledge, skills and dispositions—the minds, hands and hearts—to resolve problems of practice and improve local situations.
The EdD in leadership and innovation is designed for practicing educator-leaders who want to transform and improve their practice to create better learning, development or change opportunities for all those within your professional context. For more information on this program, please refer to the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College website.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to upload a personal statement, a resume or curriculum vitae, a guided academic writing sample, and contact information for three individuals who will be sent a recommendation form on your behalf. In addition, you will need to request official transcripts be sent to ASU from each institution where you have completed undergraduate and graduate work.
Application Review Timeline
Admission to the EdD in Leadership and Innovation is considered competitive. Applications are ranked in comparison to all other applicants for the term by the admission committee and all applicants for the term are notified at the same time of admission decisions. Decisions are announced approximately 6 weeks after each admission deadline. Only complete applications (those with ALL required supporting materials) will receive consideration. Applications received after the deadlines listed below and incomplete applications will not be able to be considered.
Spring cohort (January) deadline: October 15 of the prior year; decisions announced early December
Summer cohort (May) deadline: March 15 of the same year; decisions announced late April
Fall cohort (August) deadline: June 1 of the same year; decisions announced mid-July
Application Review Criteria
Your application will be rated and ranked based on the following:
What interests you about this particular doctoral program, given your current or prior professional experiences?
The extent to which your local problem of practice is unique, important and worthy of investigation as part of your action research project(s) and dissertation.
How you envision the program helping you address this problem of practice and, overall, achieve your professional goals.
How you see the program helping you to improve your commitment and ability to engage with issues of diversity and inclusion.
Your overall fit, given the goals and objectives of the program.
Your overall quality of writing.
Personal Statement
The EdD in Leadership and Innovation aims to support and develop scholarly and influential practitioners who are committed to improving their own settings through action in their workplace, and studying the results of this work. This program is different from most other doctoral programs. Students who are most likely to succeed have a passion for improving the systems within schools and organizations in which they work, and encourage others to confront change with optimism and energy. Moreover, they have goals that are aligned with the program.
In order for the committee to gain a better understanding of your fit with the program, submit a 3-page double-spaced (1" margins and 12-point font) personal statement that answers the following three topics.
In approximately 250 words, explain why you are interested in pursuing an EdD in MLFTC’s Leadership and Innovation program.
In approximately 200 words, describe a local problem of practice in your work context that you might address as part of your action research dissertation? What is the alignment between this problem and the Leadership and Innovation EdD program?
In approximately 300 words, describe how your background and experiences demonstrate your commitment and ability to engage with issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Discuss how those values might be reflected in your research should you join our program.
The admissions committee pays particular attention to the quality of writing and clarity demonstrated in the answers to these questions.
Writing Sample
Guided Writing Sample: To help the Admissions Committee better evaluate your qualifications for entrance into the EdD program, we offer this writing prompt and ask that you submit a 3-5-page essay addressing the following:
What is action research and how can it be used to address problems of practice?
We have made available several articles that you should read and consider in formulating your response to this prompt (see below). You are encouraged to refer to these resources (and others) in your essay.
The essay should be between 800 - 1200 words (not including references). The writing sample must be double-spaced, use 1" margins, and be written in 12-point font. While essays should reference the three provided pieces below, they may also include additional literature. Please ensure all literature is appropriately cited and referenced following APA 7th edition style guidelines. Feel free to reach out to the Doctoraleducation@asu.edu for further advice and instructions.
Provided Research Literature:
Rasmussen, H. T. (2018). Getting to maybe: Improving the education doctorate in an era of uncertainty. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 3(2), 24-29. Use this link: Rasmussen, H. T. (2018)
Hammond, M. (2013). The contribution of pragmatism to understanding educational action research: value and consequences. Educational Action Research, 21(4), 603-618. Use this link: Hammond, M. (2013)
Buss, R. R. (2018). Using Action Research as a Signature Pedagogy to Develop EdD Students’ Inquiry as Practice Abilities. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 3(1). Use this link: Buss, R. R. (2018)
Please ensure the literature is appropriately cited and referenced (e.g., APA, Chicago, or MLA style guidelines. Note: If you submit a piece of writing other than the type noted above, your evaluation may be adversely influenced.
Recommenders
For a complete application you will need three professional references. The admission committee preferences to review a reference form from each of the following categories:
Your current supervisor or someone in a supervisory position with whom you have worked.
Someone in an academic position with whom you have studied or worked, for example, a professor in one of your courses or someone who can write about your ability to undertake graduate work.
A person of your choice - someone who you know professionally and who can write about your qualities that will contribute to your success in a practice-focused doctoral program.
Recommenders will receive a form that asks them to explain your qualities and fit within the program with respect to the following desired professional attributes: professionalism, potential for leadership, collaboration with others, receiving and using feedback, perseverance, writing ability, initiative, dedication to equity, access, and inclusiveness, research aptitude and overall potential for graduate studies. Please be prepared to provide the recommender's name, current place of business, and email address when submitting an application. Recommenders will be sent a form to complete to provide their feedback.
Transcripts
Unofficial transcripts can be uploaded at the time of application. The committee requires transcripts documenting a conferred bachelor's AND master's degree for file review. It is possible to combine transcripts for the bachelor and master's degree into one document and upload it using the name of your BACHELOR's degree granting institution at the time of application. Only one document can be uploaded as a transcript at the time of application.
If transcripts are not uploaded at the time of application, official transcripts must be sent directly from the degree granting institution to ASU. More information on how to provide transcripts to ASU is available here: https://admission.asu.edu/apply/transcripts