What you'll learn

University of Colorado Denver's Doctor of Education (EdD) concentration in professional learning and technology is designed for those who are passionate about supporting the learning and professional development needs of K-12 district-level teacher trainers, post-secondary educators and workplace trainers using today's and tomorrow's online and technology-based pedagogies. Graduates of this program assume top leadership positions in adult learning, instructional design and change leadership.

Students in this concentration will:

• Apply principles of adult learning, instructional design and change leadership to professional and workplace learning
• Employ a variety of methods including mentoring, coaching, site-based learning communities, e-learning resources, and workshops to support professional growth and accountability
• Engage with faculty, worksites, and districts to address problems of practice and policy
• Become data savvy for strategic planning and decision-making
• Design and use media as a means of communication and professional development
• Culminate the program with a dissertation-in-practice

Choose CU Denver's School of Education & Human Development

You can trust CU Denver to prepare you for excellence in your career as a leader and scholar in your specialty. The university and school are recognized for preparing leaders of distinction who value educational excellence and social justice. Additionally, CU Denver's School of Education and Human Development is counted among U.S. News & World Report's “Best Graduate Schools,” making us one of the top education schools in the country.

Courses

The 54-credit program begins each summer.

The curriculum includes:

• 18 hours in EdD core courses:
• Six credit hours equity core (two three-credit courses)
• Six credit hours leadership and organizational performance core (two three-credit courses)
• Six credit hours learning core (two three-credit courses)
• Nine hours in the research core (three three-credit courses)
• 12 hours in one of seven Concentration Areas (four three-credit hour blocks)
• 15 hours in completion of a culminating Doctoral Research Project (includes one hour of mandatory design workshop experiences, second fall semester)

All courses and experiences strive to expose students to context-specific best practices, interdisciplinary connections, and applied research in an environment that stresses the application of theory to practice. Course assignments focus on problem-solving experiences.

The EdD program has been designed to enable students to complete program requirements in three years, or five years for those taking one class per semester.