University of Iowa has been invited by The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) to join the CPED’s consortium of 115 institutional members. The UI will work with other consortium members to redesign professional practice preparation for the improvement of PK-20 education and the organizations that support it. 

The invitation came due to the creation of a new Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), part of the nationally-ranked Higher Education and Student Affairsand Educational Leadershipprograms in the UI College of Education’sDepartment of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies. 

New students are currently being recruited into the Ed.D., with the first cohort officially starting in fall 2020. 

The Ed.D. is designed for educators seeking a terminal doctoral degree to practice upper-level leadership in PK-20 educational settings. Based on the scholar-practitioner model, the Ed.D. differs from the Ph.D. in that it allows for a more practical-based approach, grounded in problem-based learning pedagogy, to use and perform applied research in educational settings.

The degree is tailored to meet the needs of full-time professionals by offering online, hybrid, condensed, and weekend courses. 

CPED institution members stimulate each institution’s work and provide space for sharing, learning, and providing feedback in a national dialogue across faculty, students, and administrators in Ed.D.programs.

New members are chosen through a rigorous application process and evaluated by a membership committee composed of leaders of current CPED members. CPED’s vision is to transform the Ed.D.by inspiring all schools of education to apply the CPED framework to the preparation of educational leaders by becoming well-equipped scholarly practitioners who provide stewardship of the profession and meet the educational challenges of the 21st century.