With its Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program entering its fifth year, the University of Findlay has joined nearly 100 other colleges and universities as a member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED). CPED admitted Findlay, along with 21 other schools to its consortium this spring.
According to John Gillham, Ed.D., chair of Findlay’s Ed.D. program, the universities and colleges in the consortium have committed resources to work together to take a critical look at Doctorate of Education programs through dialog, experimentation, feedback and evaluation.
“The members and their faculty engage in a model of professional development to learn from and with each other the best ways to design professional practice doctorate programs,” said Gillham.
Offered entirely online with a 3-day, on-campus summer institute each year, Findlay’s Doctor of Education program has enrolled approximately 100 students in its first four years.
“We have students from many different occupations,” added Gillham. “We have teachers, superintendents and other educational administrators, along with health care professionals, higher education faculty and others.”
The program is cohort-based, which means all incoming students begin together, but can progress at their own pace. Some have completed the program in as little as three years, with a maximum of seven years allowed to complete the coursework and write a dissertation. Gillham stressed that just about all students have been working full time while pursuing their doctorates. “It’s not easy, but manageable,” he added.
John Gillham, Ed.D.
Because students begin the program together, they tend to develop a sense of community, even with online classes. Students just a few miles from the University of Findlay campus can join in online discussions with cohorts from across the country. Features are built into the online platform to encourage class interaction and faculty feedback.
Gillham explained the difference between the Doctor of Education and a Ph.D. in Education, using the medical field as an example.
“An Ed.D. is a practitioner doctorate, much like an M.D. in medicine,” he stated. “If you want to specialize in education research or philosophy, then you would pursue a Ph.D.”
Other schools among the 22 selected this spring by CPED include Loyola University, Chicago; Temple University, The Ohio State University, Western Kentucky University and the University of West Georgia.
Headquartered at the University of Pittsburgh, CPED hosts convenings in June and October each year. The theme of the June 2017 event, celebrating the organization’s 10th anniversary is, “Reclaiming to Innovating: CPED @ 10 Years.”
For more information on the University of Findlay’s Doctor of Education program, contact admissions@findlay.edu or call 419-434-4732.
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