Ed.D. in Executive Leadership (Online)
A transformative learning experience for an increasingly complex world.
Make an Impact With an Ed.D. in Executive Leadership
Are you a mid- or senior-level professional in a leadership role looking to make true change? Grow your network and inspire sustainable, scalable change in educational settings, nonprofits, and learning-driven, social impact organizations. This Teachers College, Columbia University program combines online learning with on-campus immersives, offering both flexibility and cohort-building.
Fast Facts
- All eligible students receive a partial-tuition Vanguard scholarship designed to support online learning.
- Get a doctoral degree in as few as 3 years. 30 eligible credits can be transferred from your previously earned master’s degree towards your 75 credits for graduation.
- Apply leadership frameworks and strategies to drive your impact. Draw on your learning as you grapple with real-world challenges and opportunities in your professional role.
- Classes and cohort meetings are offered through a high-touch, online format. The program is flexible for working professionals.
- Four 2-4 day immersives are held on campus throughout the program to build connection with your cohort and to engage in real-time, place-based learning experiences.
Program Purpose
The Ed.D. in Executive Leadership is an interdisciplinary and cross-industry program, developed in collaboration with the Klingenstein Center for Independent and International School Leadership.
The Ed.D. highlights the importance of developing perspective of self, other, organization, and system; reflective, data-informed, and collaborative practice; inquiry into the dynamics of power, efficacy, and influence; and awareness and agility of purpose as core to building leadership excellence.
Who is the program for?
Leaders from the diverse ecosystem of global and independent school education, mission-driven and social impact organizations, and educational roles across industries will find opportunities in this program to think within and beyond their expertise to innovate new solutions and catalyze change – in themselves, their teams, and in their organizations.
Sample roles and organizations that will be served well by this program:
- Leaders in academic or operational roles in independent and/or international schools;
- Educational entrepreneurs;
- Education professionals across industries and roles (education technology, foundations, education entrepreneurial ventures);
- Nonprofit professionals;
- Leaders in learning-related roles in social impact organizations;
- Aspiring leaders who come to the program with deep experience in such institutions and seek this program as an opportunity to grow capacity towards more expansive institutional leadership responsibility and deepened practice.
Sample titles for our learners include: Heads of Schools, Associates and Assistant Heads of Schools or Associate/Assistant Directors, Directors (of Advancement, DEI, Counseling, Teaching and Learning, Technology, Admissions, Development, Centers or Institutes), Deans (of Academics, Faculty, Students, Residential Life, etc), CFOs, CIOs, Chiefs of Staff, Strategy Managers, Department Chairs, coaches, and consultants.
Mission & Goals
Students will engage in future-forward learning that weaves systems and design thinking; learning and adult development; emotional, social, and cultural intelligences; equity and inclusive leadership; coaching and mentoring; facilitation; humanities and inquiry, while building capacities to:
Link leadership, learning, and change.
Our faculty and students lead by helping others to learn and by keeping their own continual learning at the center of how they lead.
Integrate research and practice.
Some faculty and students conduct research and then apply it to practice. Others start with a deep understanding of practice and then carry out research to improve that practice from the inside.
Strive to be equitable.
Our faculty seeks to teach in ways that allow leaders to create equitable organizations. Faculty members and students build communities that will bring unique insights, questions, and interests to the collective endeavor.
Promote the common good.
Our faculty and students conceive of leadership as an ethical imperative to act in ways that support our essential humanity across PreK-12 schools, colleges and universities, social impact organizations, nonprofits, public service, and more.
Admission Information
Displaying requirements for the Spring 2025, Summer 2025, and Fall 2025 terms.
Program is not accepting applications for the 2025 cycle.
Doctor of Education
- Points/Credits: 75
- Entry Terms: Spring
- Enrollment Formats: Full-Time Cohort
Application Deadlines
| Entry Term Available | Priority Deadlines | Final Deadlines | Extended Deadlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | November 15, 2025 | November 15, 2025 | N/A |
| Summer | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Fall | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Select programs remain open beyond our standard application deadlines, such as those with an extended deadline or those that are rolling (open until June or July). If your program is rolling or has an extended deadline indicated above, applications are reviewed as they are received and on a space-available basis. We recommend you complete your application as soon as possible as these programs can close earlier if full capacity has been met.
Application Requirements
| Requirement | |
|---|---|
| Online Degree Application, including Statement of Purpose and Resume | |
| Transcripts and/or Course-by-Course Evaluations for all Undergraduate/Graduate Coursework Completed | |
| Results from an accepted English Proficiency Exam (if applicable) | |
| $75 Application Fee | |
| Two (2) Letters of Recommendation | |
| Master's degree required | |
| Supplemental application required (included in online application) | |
| Interview (phone, video, or in-person) required | |
| Work Product (a sample of written communication from work context addressing one or multiple stakeholder groups in or related to the organization) | |
| Have 10+ years of experience in a relevant organization and/or role |
For admission-related inquiries, please contact ORLadmission@tc.columbia.edu.
Additional Information
- Please note that all interviews will be offered via Zoom.
Ed.D. Graduation Requirements
| Requirement | |
|---|---|
| Doctoral/Certification exam | |
| Collaborative case study | |
| Dissertation and defense |
True Change Begins with You
Ready to be part of lasting change?