Future Students

WKU’s 60-credit-hour, year-round Educational Leadership Doctoral Program focuses on meeting the needs of practicing professionals to develop leadership skills in cross-disciplinary settings. Students are typically full-time employed and fit our coursework around their busy lives. Our cohort schedule is based on completing at least 6 hours per semester (spring, summer, fall) each year. Fall entering cohorts will be offered online and special closed cohorts will employ a hybrid format, utilizing face-to-face meetings with additional online meetings/coursework. Students continually enrolling three semesters per year and staying on track with their cohort should be able to complete all coursework including dissertation hours within 3.5 calendar years.

Learn more about our program by watching our WKU Ed.D. Virtual Open House.

Admission Requirements

Intended candidates for the degree are individuals who have completed at least a master's degree (or other appropriate graduate degree), have demonstrated leadership capacity within their organizational settings, and/or are committed to enhancing their abilities to learn and to enhance the educational missions of their organizations and communities.                               

Program admission is based on a holistic evaluation of the candidate's application file, which must include:

1. Transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate course work
2. Completed application
3. An in-depth personal statement including qualifications, rationale, and goals related to pursuing the WKU Ed.D. program;
4. Three current (within 1 year of application deadline) letters of recommendation from persons in a position to evaluate the applicant's potential for success in a doctoral program;

International students who apply must submit the following additional information for admission consideration:

1. Evidence of ability to communicate in English (as evidenced by a minimum of 570 on the paper based TOEFL, a minimum of 88 on the iBT TOEFL, a minimum of 7.0 on the IELTS; or a degree from an institution with English as the language of instruction).
2. Evidence of adequate financial resources

* Application deadline for priority admissions consideration for Fall cohorts: April 15

* Final application deadline for all Fall admissions: June 15

All applications will be reviewed by the Ed.D. admissions committee and will be rated using the Ed.D. Overall Admissions Rubric and, if a writing sample is submitted, the Ed.D. Admissions Student Writing Sample Rubric. Applicants will typically be notified of an admissions decision within 2-4 weeks of submitted all application materials.

• EdD Admissions Student Writing Sample Scoring Rubric
• EdD Overall Admissions Rubric

Important information for WKU employees:

Tuition Information

The tuition rate for the program is based on current WKU graduate tuition rates. Information about tuition is available at the following link: Tuition and Fee Schedules 

Potential financial resources include:

• Fellowships
• Scholarships
• Student loans
• Tuition waiver for credits obtained by P-12 teachers providing supervision of student teachers/interns
• Tuition credit waivers for state employees
• Employer/district matching contracts and/or professional development funds
• Contracted organizational incentive discounts
• Personal funds
• Graduate Student Research Grants