School of Education Graduate
Ed.D. in Educational Leadership
Ed.D. Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, specialization in International Education
A hybrid doctorate in educational leadership with a specialization in International Education. Primarily online, with two one-week summer residencies, completable in as few as three years.
Two things to know before you apply
This program is not open to international students. And “hybrid” here means primarily online plus two one-week doctoral residencies, which you attend in person during your first two summers. Both are easier to learn now than after you have applied.
Start here
Your previous degree determines your path
The credits you have already earned determine the length of your program.
Route 01
You hold a master's and nothing beyond it
You are a teacher, a coordinator or an administrator with a master’s degree, and the doctorate is the next credential rather than a change of field.
You take the standard 62-credit program, completable in as few as three years, with 3.5 years full-time being the more typical pace.
Route 02
You hold a Sixth-Year or an Ed.S.
You already did the post-master’s work: an accredited Sixth-Year certificate or an Education Specialist degree, and you do not want to pay for it twice.
Your program is 42 credits rather than 62. This is the single largest difference between two applicants on this page, so establish it before you budget anything.
Route 03
You need 092 certification as well
You are pursuing Connecticut’s 092 intermediate administrator certification alongside the doctorate, rather than sequentially.
That route is 66 credits: four more than standard. The decision is made at admission rather than later, so raise it in your application conversation.
Program structure
Coursework, residencies, then the dissertation
Credits are organized into four areas: educational leadership, research and analysis, international education, and the dissertation.
Year one: coursework and your first residency
Online coursework across the leadership and research strands, plus your first one-week doctoral residency on campus in the summer.
Year two: depth, and your second residency
The international education strand alongside qualitative and quantitative research methodology, and the second one-week summer residency.
Year three, the dissertation
The third year is dedicated to writing and defending your dissertation. This is the year that determines whether three years or three and a half is your actual timeline.
Throughout, the applied emphasis
Administration, management, organizational psychology, information technology, program evaluation and grant writing run through the program rather than sitting in one course.
Credit totals differ by entry: 62 credits as standard, 42 if you hold an accredited Sixth-Year or Education Specialist post-master’s degree, and 66 if you pursue 092 certification in parallel. Which applies to you is settled at admission.
Curriculum pageProgram structure
Four areas of study
Every path through the program, whether 42, 62, or 66 credits, is built from these four areas.
Educational leadership
Administration, management and organizational psychology: running an institution rather than a classroom.
Research and analysis
Qualitative and quantitative methodology, and program evaluation. The strand the dissertation stands on.
International education
The specialization, embedded throughout rather than bolted on: taught by faculty who work in the field.
Dissertation
Your own research, written and defended. Year three is dedicated to it.
Getting in
What to confirm before you apply
Two of these affect the length and cost of your degree. Confirm them with an admissions counselor before you apply.
What to bring to the conversation
- The online application
- Official transcripts from every institution you have attended
- Whether you hold an accredited Sixth-Year certificate or Education Specialist degree. This is what takes the program from 62 credits to 42
- Whether you intend to pursue 092 certification alongside the doctorate: decided at admission, and worth 4 additional credits
- Not open to international students. Other University of Bridgeport programs are; an admissions officer can point you at them.
- Plan for the residencies. Two one-week in-person doctoral residencies, in your first two summers.
Which route is yours
Career outcomes
Careers for Ed.D. graduates
Graduates of this program pursue roles such as these.
Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate
The program has been a member of CPED since 2022. CPED is a consortium that works on what a professional practice doctorate in education should be: a membership rather than an accreditation, and worth reading as a statement of how the program understands itself.
Accredited and approved
CAEP, and the Connecticut State Department of Education
The School of Education is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), and University of Bridgeport’s education programs are approved by the Connecticut State Department of Education. The University is institutionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
Approval and accreditation status is published on the University’s accreditation and memberships page.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
How many credits is it, really?
It depends on what you already hold. Sixty-two credits as standard; 42 if you hold an accredited Sixth-Year certificate or Education Specialist degree; 66 if you pursue 092 certification in parallel. Which one applies to you is determined at admission, so establish it before you budget.
Is it really online?
Primarily, yes, but not entirely. You attend two one-week doctoral residencies in person, during your first two summers in the program. Everything else is online. If the residencies are not workable for you, that is worth knowing before you apply rather than after.
Can international students apply?
No. This program is not open to international students. Other University of Bridgeport programs are, and an admissions officer can point you at the ones that fit.
How long does it take?
As few as three years. For full-time students the more typical figure is 3.5 years. Years one and two are coursework and residencies; year three is dedicated to writing and defending the dissertation, and that is usually what decides which of the two numbers you land on.
What is the specialization?
International Education, and it is embedded throughout the program rather than taken as a separate block of courses. The program is taught with a strong emphasis on it by faculty who work in the field.
What is 092 certification?
Connecticut’s intermediate administrator certification, the credential associated with principal and district-level administrative roles. You can pursue it in parallel with the doctorate; doing so adds four credits, and the decision is made at admission.
Is the program accredited?
The School of Education is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), and education programs at University of Bridgeport are approved by the Connecticut State Department of Education. The program is separately a member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate, which is a consortium membership rather than an accreditation.
More in education
Take the next step
Talk to the School of Education about which credit route applies to you, whether 092 certification belongs in your plan, and when the next cohort begins.