Virtual Open House - Tuesday, May 5, 2026: 5-6:30 p.m.
Join us at one of our upcoming virtual Graduate School Open House events on Zoom! You'll have the opportunity to learn more
about 91女神, understand the Graduate School application process,
and meet key program representatives.
WCU Educational Leadership
What You'll Learn
The Doctor of Education Degree Program is a 53-hour, cohort program. Cohorts begin
the program in the summer, progress through a nine semester sequence of leadership
and research courses meeting one weekend monthly at the WCU Biltmore Park campus in
Asheville, with continuous work online and in workplace laboratories of practice.
The program culminates with a disquisition鈥攁 written and oral presentation of the
three-year improvement project. Applicants admitted to the P-12 Leadership concentration
who intend to complete the requirements for a Superintendent鈥檚 license must have earned
a Principal鈥檚 license prior to being admitted to the program.
Where You'll Go
The EdD in Educational Leadership will prepare you to work in an educational environment
as a senior level leader such as a superintendent, dean of students, or in a variety
of other leadership roles. Public school superintendents in North Carolina made an
average salary of $156,000 a year. Postsecondary educational administrators make an
average salary of $103,000 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
WCU鈥檚 Ed.D. Program in Education Leadership is a Carnegie-influenced executive doctoral
program that prepares skilled scholar practitioners to lead educational organizations
in solving complex problems of practice. 91女神 has been selected
as a member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED).
CPED is an ongoing effort to rethink and redesign the professional doctorate in education
to better serve those who aspire to practice educational leadership. Our mission is
to develop educational leaders oriented toward continuous improvement, scholarly practice,
collaboration, student-centered decision making, and equity and social justice.
Please join us for a chance to meet with faculty, talk with current students, and
sit in on a class to see if the EdD program is right for you!
The curriculum sequence requires the completion of 53 credits, 44 of which must be
taken at WCU. Students will take two core courses in leadership and research each
semester (including summers) for 6 semesters, 9 elective credits in the student鈥檚
concentration area, and the completion of 9 credits of a supervised disquisition (dissertation
in practice).
Cohorts are hybrid with a face-to-face component once a month at Biltmore Park. Cohort
size is limited, so admissions are competitive. Applications must be submitted online
through the Graduate School's Applicationsystem. The application deadline for 2026 is March 1st, 2026.
What鈥檚 Happening
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Related Programs
Explore our related programs until you find the one that鈥檚 right for you.
