Our Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership (Ed.D.) helps you become an impactful leader. With a focus area in Organizational Leadership, PK-12 Educational Leadership or Higher Education Leadership, you will build upon your practical experience with enhanced research and leadership skills, in order to drive transformational change within your organization.
With Franklin University’s Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership, you will:
- Apply research in order to impact organizational performance
- Use data to drive decisions and influence others
- Develop the skills to provide effective leadership within complex organizations
- Differentiate yourself as a top performer or educator
Take an interdisciplinary approach to leadership
As a doctoral student at Franklin, you’ll participate in core research and elective courses with doctoral students in business administration, healthcare administration and instructional design leadership. This interdisciplinary collaboration deepens your learning, informs your thinking, and enables you to demonstrate behaviors key to the role of an effective organizational leader. You’ll benefit from exposure to a broad group of professionals with perspectives rooted in disciplines other than your own, and be better prepared to lead and serve diverse organizations and communities.
In addition to peer-to-peer learning, you and your fellow students will support one another throughout the doctoral experience. After your doctoral studies have concluded, your new-found professional network will endure, as a continued source of support.
Customize your dissertation to suit your professional needs
Different than a Ph.D., which is more theoretical in nature, the Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership is a practical degree that enables both subject mastery and in-field application. That means you’ll be prepared to apply doctoral-level research and problem solving to complex, real-world challenges.
Whether you are a PK-12 administrator looking to boost your district’s reading scores, a higher education professional searching for ways to help grant recipients persist, or a military trainer trying to address a pilot retention issue, you’ll develop the skills you need to solve the problem.
You’ll complete a dissertation in practice as part of a three-course sequence that comprises your last year in the program. As an opportunity for additional flexibility in completing your dissertation, you can choose to focus on a project you are currently engaged in at your workplace. You’ll use action research to document the current situation and propose an evidence-based solution.
Build your leadership acumen
Through your core leadership courses, you’ll learn what it takes to effectively lead organizational change, evaluate real-world situations and recommend theory-based management practices to ensure success. You’ll explore, evaluate and interpret concepts for viability and assess the role of the change agent in the process. You’ll also gauge leadership and followership skills and attributes through theory and as applied to institutions. With a focus on critical thinking, you’ll examine optimal practices for effectively leading institutions, stakeholders and culture. You’ll concentrate on servant-leadership and other leadership competencies necessary for management of resources, projects and performance. You’ll also examine real-world cases that illustrate differing leadership practices, in order to improve the effectiveness of your leadership.
Focus your learning
Build on the five-class leadership core by choosing an area of focus based on your professional goals. Each focus area consists of two related courses. Choose from:
Organizational Leadership: Leading a high performing organization requires vision, passion and skill – whether you are a C-suite exec, a nonprofit manager or a military officer. At Franklin, you’ll find faculty advisors who will mentor you as you refine these leadership essentials throughout your doctoral journey. Earning your Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership at Franklin positions you to benefit from the experience of a university well-known for preparing leaders who excel in a wide variety of industries and organizations around the world.
You’ll assess your own leadership strengths and weaknesses to develop a plan of action to develop and refine your leadership competencies. You’ll research well-known leadership theories and present-day leadership trends. Upon completion of the course sequence, you’ll use at least one research method to create a research-ready proposal.
PK-12 Educational Leadership: If you are a principal with aspirations of obtaining a district-level position or an experienced superintendent looking to raise the bar for yourself and those around you, you’ll find the expertise at Franklin to help you achieve your goals. From curriculum development and learning assessment provided through our International Institute for Innovative Instruction to long-standing teacher-preparation programs offered through our School of Education, Franklin’s reputation for creating high-achieving education professionals is reflected throughout the PK-12 educational leadership focus area.
Successful leadership in the PK-12 educational setting requires a solid understanding of the technology currently used to enhance and supplement teaching, learning and leadership within educational systems. To facilitate your learning, you’ll examine and evaluate current trends and issues associated with educational technology, including social media, within the PK-12 environment. In the second course, you’ll build on concepts of transformational leadership by applying them to unique scenarios within your own professional situation.
Higher Education Leadership: Learn to lead and innovate in the increasingly competitive higher education industry. While the reward of working in higher education is undeniable, navigating a multitude of challenges that range from rising tuition costs and lower completion rates to changing instruction models requires new thinking to be successful. As a doctoral student at Franklin, which is well-regarded for its accessibility, adaptability and responsiveness, you’ll gain fresh perspective as you are guided by mentors who have tackled issues similar to those that challenge you.
You’ll focus on major theories of higher education leadership, in order to develop your own leadership skills. You’ll gain an understanding of various roles, both administrative and academic, with a goal of informing your decision-making process. You’ll also explore critical issues facing higher education in America including access, academic freedom, federal government policy, financial aid, diversity and the influence of business models on institutional strategy and practice. You’ll gain an understanding of the responsibilities facing leaders of community colleges, as well as private and public four-year colleges and universities.
Differentiate yourself with a widely recognized credential
The Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership is a widely recognized credential that distinguishes you from other high performers. It can open the door to teaching at the university level, as well as numerous leadership positions. With its broad focus on organizational leadership, the degree also translates to a variety of for-profit and nonprofit industries, as well as the public sector and the military. Graduates of the program are not only effective leaders, they are able to coach and mentor others into leadership roles as well.
Get 360-degree support
We’ve taken a comprehensive and systematic approach to our online doctoral program, which includes team-based curriculum development, doctorally qualified faculty, and student-centered activities designed for the working adult. You’ll receive robust academic support from a variety of resources, including a graduate advisor, faculty advisor, personal librarian and peers, as well as Learning Commons staff and your Dissertation Committee members. You’ll also enjoy a cohesive and robust graduate culture and cohort. Together, our practice-minded faculty and your fellow students will support, mentor, encourage and keep you accountable to the program – and to yourself. At Franklin, you’re never alone on your doctoral journey.
Transfer up to 24 credit hours
Want to complete your terminal degree in less than 3 years? Franklin grants up to 24 hours of prior-learning credit for previous doctoral work. If you earned more than 32 credits for your master’s degree, you can also transfer credit toward your doctorate with previously earned coursework in business, healthcare, instructional design or education.
We honor your prior learning and make it easier to get credit for what you already know. Applicants who have completed post-master's superintendent coursework at other accredited institutions can qualify for up to 16 hours of credit toward the Ed.D. with a focus area in PK-12 Educational Leadership.
Succeed with our unique dissertation structure
If there’s such a thing as a no-fear dissertation process, Franklin has it. We’ve intentionally designed a dissertation structure to help you complete your dissertation step-by-step, beginning with your enrollment in the program. We’ve also built-in faculty mentoring and guidance, and peer-to-peer support so you’re never left to “figure it out” on your own.
Throughout the Ed.D. program, you’ll develop important research skills and the necessary writing prowess to complete and publish a dissertation in practice (DiP) as the culmination of your studies. Your DiP will showcase your ability to solve a challenge within the workplace using action research. As a part of the (DiP), you will test your hypotheses in the real world, or based on your findings, document a process to implement your solution.