EdD after PhD

I always thought that if I pursued an RA PhD that I might also pursue an NA EdD with the goal of one day playing a leadership role in some sort of educational organization (whether at a college, corporate training arm, MOOC provider or something else.)

Lately I've been thinking about it. There aren't many people with both degrees. There's nothing you learn in the EdD that's not covered in a similar form in the PhD as far as teaching, research skills, etc. (Setting aside the difference of theoretical vs applied for a moment.)

The main advantage would be the coursework phase to learn the theories of education and the other grounding elements pre-dissertation. Plus there's the issue of the NA vs RA debate.

So, as I've thoroughly talked myself out of it, I'm now curious to reverse the question: anyone know any situations where an EdD (let's say RA) after a PhD would be uniquely useful?

 

Only if the PhD was in a different field and the EdD led to some clear professional opportunity not otherwise obtainable.

If one wanted to pursue such a position in higher education, I would certainly recommend getting one from an RA school. And even that isn't much more than a square-filler if earned nontraditionally.

I DO recommend people consider a professional doctorate from an NA school to advance their professional careers, however.

I'm afraid the scholarly/practice differences extend through the dissertation, too.

 

This reminds me that the one person I know with both the PhD and the EdD is self-employed as a dissertation coach/consultant. These were their dissertation titles

• Dissertation: The impact of mentoring and succession planning on African American Presidents at majority White Institutions
• Dissertation: African American men who persisted in higher education: A case for leadership development through mentoring

They're so close to each other as leadership degrees that focused on higher education that it's hard to see the advantage gained from the EdD in Educational Leadership from Northcentral (the top dissertation title) when compared with the PhD in Leadership from Tennessee Temple they already earned (the bottom one.)

 

Possibly, if you're in a competition with an avid bunch of degree-collectors, there's a big-money bet to be won - and you're one doctorate short of the prize.

 

Tennessee Temple was NA (TRACS), so Northcentral would have subsequently checked an RA box.

 

Good catch! I didn't even think to check.

 

If it’s mostly for the courses and you’d like to collect degrees, maybe an EdS?

 

I know someone with two Ph.Ds. "His first Ph.D. is in Public Safety specializing in Criminal Justice, and his second Ph.D. is in Criminal Justice with a specialization in Behavioral Sciences from Nova Southeastern University..." They conveniently left out Capella University, the school of his first Ph.D. https://www.fdu.edu/profiles/james_jones67/

Anyway, to the real question, I would pursue an Ed.D. I am currently thinking about it. The University of Memphis offers an Ed.D. in Instructional Design & Technology, which consists of 20 courses (60 credits). Six courses in the M.S. program are required in the Ed.D. Two additional required Ed.D. courses can be taken as electives in the M.S., which I intend to do. Hence, I would have 8 (24 credits) toward the Ed.D. I would only need 12 more courses (36 credits) to earn the Ed.D. However, that's if I can even get through the M.S. program . I hope to become a Vice President/Provost (or similar) for digital and online learning at a university.

When I was enrolled in my first Ed.D. class at ACE, a guy had his Ph.D. and was a senior faculty member at the University of Colorado or Colorado State University. He had previously served as the university's vice provost for undergraduate studies. He stated that he felt unprepared for the role because he had no education in higher educational leadership. So, he was pursuing an Ed.D. at ACE to prepare him for a future administrative position.

 

I would peruse LinkedIn to look at the credentials of higher education admin. I believe most do not have degrees in education and came up from being professors and deans. I think an M.Ed. could be helpful for learning the field. The EdD could be overkill after already having a doctorate. Just like people don't need a DBA to know how to run a business, I don't believe someone needs an EdD to know how to run a school or corporate training program. A master's degree will do.

The EdD just adds a research project that teaches you how to conduct research, but you already learned how to do that in a PhD program. When physicians and dentists go back to school to learn how to run a business or public health program, they usually earn a master's degree. They'll go for a PhD to learn how to become scientists.

 

I forgot, graduate certificate, post-master's certificate (e.g. CAGS), and EdS programs are options in addition to a master's degree.

 

It seems, from just this information, that the decision to allow him to pursue the subsequent dissertation topic was an unfortunate one.

 

Or, if the goal is to manage and not to teach education courses, then they won't even need the education credits.

Even with a doctorate in education, I don't think someone would be prepared to become the president or some other kind of high-ranking administrator. I think experience is the best teacher when it comes to leadership and management. Education just lays a foundation. If someone skips lower and middle management and goes straight to upper management, they will likely struggle with or without the degree.

Three people I used to work with at a college went on to administrative positions without education degrees, but they had progressively higher levels of responsibility. I looked at the biographies of all the presidents of Ivy League schools just because it's quick to look at all eight of them. None of them have a doctorate in education. For two of them, their highest degree is a JD. The typical pathway is professor (probably with chair duties)>dean>provost or vice provost>president.

 

My PhD should have been an EdD.
My DSocSci should have been a PhD.
And I should go to bed.

None of 'em is gonna happen anytime soon.

 

But it won't make you as competitive as some with a master's degree in the discipline. At least, that was my experience applying for CJ faculty positions with an MBA and 18 credits in CJ.

 

Most academic administrators such as dean, associate deans, etc only have one PhD but from a top school. I would rather have a PhD from a top school than 3 doctorates from non ranked or low ranked institutions.
Your MEd is more than enough to show education background. I would go for a ranked PhD if a top administration job is your goal.

 

What’s the purpose of the Ed.D.?

K-12? Higher Ed? Some specific content area? Instructional technology?