Marking a milestone for the School of Education and Human Development, the first-ever doctoral candidates in the Doctorate in Educational Leadership (EdD) program will graduate on May 17, 2025. Fourteen students successfully completed the program and defended their dissertations.
In 2021, the School of Education and Human Development (SEHD) launched a three-year, online, low-residency Doctor of Education (EdD) in Educational Leadership program.
Students in the program choose between two EdD track options: the teacher leader track, designed for experienced educators aiming to spark meaningful change in K–12 settings; or the higher education administration track, tailored for professionals advocating for equity and innovation in postsecondary environments. With unmatched faculty support and rigorous course content, Fairfield’s EdD in Educational Leadership program was listed among Forbes Advisor’s Best Online Doctorate in Educational Leadership Programs of 2024.
Among the first students to graduate from the program is Rob Schnieders, EdD, who completed the higher education administration track. “Professional doctorate programs like the EdD at Fairfield University are about the application of knowledge to solve contemporary problems,” said Schnieders, who serves as the University's vice president for strategic initiatives. “My favorite aspect of the program experience was the opportunity to select a research topic, collaborate with students and practitioners, and produce findings that have real-world benefits to K-12 and higher education.”
Fairfield's EdD is designed to educate leaders who espouse the Jesuit values of walking with the marginalized and service to humanity, as evidenced by the graduates' dissertation topics.
