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CSU Ed.D. Program Descriptions & Contacts

CSU Bakersfield

The Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at CSU Bakersfield focuses on preparing PK-12 and Higher Education leaders to advance educational opportunities and to provide equitable academic achievement for diverse groups of students. Our program links graduate scholarship with practical problem solving in education and provides transformational learning experiences. Practice-based research addresses significant problems faced by local educational institutions, is designed with and facilitated by PK-20 community partners, and is structured to bring about systemic educational reforms. CSU Bakersfield faculty members and local PK-20 and Higher Education administrators are among the primary instructional faculty in the program. The program serves students pursuing leadership roles in both PK-12 schools and in community colleges.

Contact:

CSU Bakersfield
Dr. Mahmoud Suleiman
Acting Director, Doctoral Program in Education Leadership (DPEL)


CSU Dominguez Hills

The Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) at CSU Dominguez Hills is designed to ensure critically conscious equity driven leaders are ready to lead in all executive settings in the field of education. The mission of the Educational Leadership for Justice (ELJ) Program is to equip educational leaders to champion justice and equity in all educational settings. This integrated program accepts students who are interested in executive leadership from P-12, Community Colleges, Universities, and Non-Profit organizations focused on educational initiatives. Our vision is to create space for actualizing liberatory leadership that is humanizing, critically conscious and transformative. As a justice focused program, the ELJ Program strives to meet the ever-increasing demand for highly skilled educational leaders, graduating justice focused leaders who apply the knowledge and skills gained during the program to the field of education to transform and improve the quality of education being offered to students. Using a liberatory justice lens, graduates of this program are skilled and committed educational leaders steeped in principles of justice, equity, and inclusion.

Contact:

CSU Domingues Hills
Dr. Kitty Fortner
Phone: 310-243-2618


Cal State East Bay

Cal State East Bay is dedicated to serving students in their work to become advocates for equity. The Department of Educational Leadership facilitates the development of bold, socially-responsible leaders through the Preliminary Administrative Services Credential program, the Masters program, and the Administrative Services Clear Credential Induction program (which can be completed concurrently with the Ed.D.). Faculty along with community partners have collaboratively designed the Educational Leadership for Social Justice doctoral program to specifically address and resolve conditions that impact the success of students of color, and other historically marginalized communities in California's Pk-16 schools and community-based educational settings. Recognizing the time constraints of working professionals, the program features engaging and rigorous curricula offered through a hybrid course format combining face-to-face sessions with on-line instruction. Graduates emerge as scholar-practitioners equipped with knowledge, networks and tools to transform the world of education.

Contact:

Cal State East Bay
Dr. Eric Haas
P-12 Specialization Director
(510) 885-2292


Fresno State

Fresno State’s doctoral program in educational leadership supports the CSU system-wide effort to offer professional practice doctoral programs in Educational Leadership. Fresno State’s program is designed to support working professionals poised for leadership in P12 schools and districts or community colleges. The 60-unit program of study can be completed in three years of full-time study and leads candidates to earn a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree. Our cohort-based doctoral program offers two delivery format options for students: Face-to-Face and Online. Both delivery format option enables students to focus on either P12 Educational Leadership or Community College/Higher Education Leadership.

Contact:

Fresno State
Dr. Ignacio Hernandez
P-12 and Community College Specialization Director
(559) 278-0427


Cal State Fullerton

The Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) at Cal State Fullerton was built on the core values of just, equitable, and inclusive education; the application of theory-to-practice and practice-to-theory; and leadership for change. It is also one of only a handful of programs in the region that offers completely separate specializations in P-12 Leadership and Community College Leadership. The Ed.D. program prepares educational leaders to demonstrate strategic, instructional, organizational, political, and community leadership. The inquiry-based, problem-solving curriculum for both programs is designed to help education professionals learn by fully integrating their experiences in discussion, research, and fieldwork.

Contact:

Cal State Fullerton
Dr. Nancy Watkins
(657) 278-4023


Cal State Long Beach

The Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership at Cal State Long Beach builds on the campus' nationally recognized master's degree programs in community college leadership, student development in higher education, and educational administration. The program draws on the campus leadership role in the development of the Long Beach Education Partnership with a focus on social justice that develops transformative and socially responsible leaders within the P-20 continuum. Long Beach State offers both P-12 and Community College leadership specializations.

Contact:

Cal State Long Beach
Dr. Don Haviland
Dr. Kimberly Word
P-12 and Community College Specialization Director
(562) 985-4987


Cal State LA

In keeping with Cal State L.A.'s mission, the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership is built around four program goals that support educational reform in the diverse urban Los Angeles region: Educational Leadership in the Service of Justice, Access, & Social Change; Leadership Grounded in Knowledge and Expertise in Teaching, Learning and Organizational Change; Critical Reflection Embedded in Leadership Practice; and Leadership that Engages with the Broader Community. With emphasis placed on leadership as practice, the program fosters expanded understanding of the many locations in which educational leadership takes place. Cal State L.A.'s program goals are woven through two specializations that address P-12 and post-secondary institutions. The P-12 specialization includes three emphases: (1) Educational Leadership for System and School Redesign, (2) Educational Leadership for Urban Teaching and Learning, and (3) Educational Leadership for Students' Special Needs and Support. The post-secondary specialization emphasizes community colleges, four-year institutions, and adult education.

Contacts:

Cal State LA
Albert Jones, EdD Director
Maria Oropeza Fujimoto, Associate Director of Post Secondary
Allison Mattheis, Associate Director of PK-12
edd_program@calstatela.edu
(323) 343-6164


CSUN

The mission of the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at CSUN is to create a network of school and college administrators prepared to effect profound change in teaching and learning that leads to improved student achievement and success. Our program focuses on the knowledge and practical skills needed by administrators to be effective leaders in PK-12 and Community College/Postsecondary settings. The program's separate cohorts in Community College/Postsecondary leadership address the distinct issues for each level of educational leadership, including instructional assessment, organizational complexity and change, and ethical leadership. The program's scholar-practitioners will lead through collaboration, action research, cultural proficiency, and systemic reform.

Contact:

CSUN
Dr. Miguel Ceja
P-12 and Community College Specialization Director
(818) 677-2403


Cal Poly Pomona

The Cal Poly Pomona Educational Leadership Doctoral Program was developed in close collaboration with school, district, and community leaders who reflect the region's diverse community and is uniquely designed for P-12 educational leaders who are committed to transforming schools for increased equity and excellence by improving under-performing schools and enhancing schools that are already succeeding. Intended for working professionals, the program provides an academically rigorous and relevant cohort-based curriculum that prepares graduates to make a significant and immediate impact in their organizations. Candidates are guided and supported at each stage of the doctoral program through mentoring, faculty advisement, and interactive seminars that build dissertation research skills for ensuring successful completion of the degree.

Contacts:

Cal Pol​​y Pomona
Dr. Betty Alford
Dr. Nancy Sanders
P-12 Specialization Co-Directors
(909) 869-3060


Sacramento State

Sacramento State's Doctorate in Educational Leadership pairs the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with the Department of Public Policy and Administration, taking advantage of its location in California's capital to utilize the expertise of education policymakers and analysts, as well as executive leaders in P-12 and community colleges. The faculty have developed a distinctive interdisciplinary curriculum in which classes have integrative connections focused on transformational leadership, critical policy analysis and action, and strategic, informed decision-making. Both a P-12 and a Community College leadership specialization are offered.

Contact:

Sacramento State
Dr. Elizabeth Holliday
P-12 and Community College Specialization Director
(916) 278-2282


Cal State San Bernardino

The Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership is a program framed around questions of equity, ethics, and social justice to bring about solutions to complex problems of practice. The program is designed to prepare educational leaders with the knowledge base and skills to lead reform efforts that result in improved student outcomes and educational transformation, particularly for our Inland Empire region. This 3-year cohort-based program meets the needs of full-time professionals in the field of education, either PreK-12 or Community College/Higher Education careers. Courses are conveniently offered on weekends, Friday 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Students attend every other weekend in Fall and Spring semesters, and every weekend during the Summer semester. Students from the Coachella Valley can attend Friday sessions through streaming (Zoom) from the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus; all other students are expected to attend in-person at the CSUSB San Bernardino Campus. Students are encouraged to identify a field-based problem of practice for their dissertation research.

Contacts:

Cal State San Bernardino
Dr. Enrique G. Murillo Jr., Director
Dr. Karen Escalante, Co-Director
Dr. Stacey Ortiz, Ed.D. Program Specialist
Candice Sykes, MPA, Administrative Support Coordinator
edd@csusb.edu
(909) 537-5651


San Diego State​​

The Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership at San Diego State University derives from 30 years of experience in doctoral education on the campus. It includes attention to effective strategies for addressing the needs of all P-14 students in the region, including those in urban and rural areas. The Ed.D. program offers both P-12 and Community College concentrations. It emphasizes applied research responding to the needs of students from diverse cultural and language backgrounds and the central challenges faced by educational leaders in the San Diego region.

Contact:

San Diego State
Dr. Jim Marshall
P-12 Specialization Director
(619) 594-0153

Dr. Wendy Bracken
Community College Specialization Director
(619) 594-0167

Dr. Marva Cappello
Director, Ph.D. Program in Education


San Francisco State

The San Francisco State University Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership takes a multi-disciplinary and critical inquiry approach to preparing educational leaders who will work in California public school settings spanning early childhood to our community college system. Our Ed.D. program leverages the experience and expertise of faculty throughout the university as well as leaders from local educational institutions to prepare our graduates to address issues of educational excellence, equity, and social justice in organizations and systems. Our cohort model integrates P-12 and community college specializations to ensure a systemic perspective of the barriers and opportunities students, educators, and families encounter in California's system of public education.

Contact:

San Francisco State
Dr. Barbara Henderson
P-12 and Community College Specialization Director
(415) 405-4103


San José State

The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at San José State University emphasizes a systems approach to human centered education leadership. The philosophy of the San José State University Ed.D. program is based on the belief that educational leaders serve in learner-centered systems in which inquiry, learning, and human care are central values. The role for educational leaders entails developing a learning community, one that promotes collaboration and shared decision- making. This enlarged role of leadership also implies a movement towards more distributed models of leadership and creating a public will that is networked and dispersed and charged with successfully educating all students. The program focuses on PK-12 leadership.

Contact:

San José State
Dr. Ferdinand Rivera
P-12 and Community College Interim Director
(408) 924-3566


Stanislaus State

The California State University, Stanislaus Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership is a groundbreaking program designed to meet the region's high demand for trained educational leaders. The three-year cohort based Ed.D program prepares students for Instructional Leadership, including the knowledge and skills needed to plan, implement, and assess instructional reforms that lead to improved student achievement. The program offers two specializations: Preschool to High School Leadership and Community College Leadership and culminates in a dissertation that addresses locally defined educational issues. Designed to accommodate the working professionals' schedule, students receive individual support from professors while engaging in high-level inquiry and research. The program is grounded in the research studies of instructional reform strategies, integrating pedagogy with administrative and instructional leadership to improve the quality of public education in diverse environments. Ed.D candidates in this program are provided with the opportunity to work in learning communities as educators, leaders, policy makers and policy advocates.

Contact:

Stanislaus State
Virginia Montero-Hernandez
P-12 and Community College Interim Director
(209) 664-6564


University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and CSU San Marcos Joint Doctoral Program (JDP) in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

Our program seeks educators who wish to expand their knowledge of discipline-specific pedagogy, research methodology, and education reform in order to lead curricular and instructional improvement efforts with pre-service, beginning, and experienced teachers in local schools. Our students represent great depth in diversity and professional experience. Students include primary, secondary and post-secondary educational practitioners. We address a broad range of educational issues specifically concentrating on P-12 Leadership/Administration and Higher Education Administration & Student Affairs. The Joint Doctorate in Educational Leadership has three foci. First, we are committed to a program of study that addresses issues of social justice in all aspects of education. Second, we teach using a strength and asset-based inquiry approach.  This will enable you to embrace your own strengths and to identify and build on the strengths of others as steppingstones to powerful leadership. Third, we engage you in exploring cutting-edge research and practices that will enable you to design and lead educational systems in and for the future.

Contact:

CSU San Marcos, Dr. Brooke Soles
JDP Co-Director

CSU San Marcos, Nina Khatibi
Academic Support Coordinator

UCSD, Dr. Alan Daly
JDP Co-Director

UCSD, Melissa Wolf
Executive Staff Associate

(858) 822-6472