Quick Highlights
An Ed.D. in Educational Leadership is a practice-focused doctoral degree that prepares experienced educators for senior school, district or university leadership. Superintendents, principals, deans, provosts and corporate learning leaders may all benefit from doctoral-level leadership preparation, though the concentration they choose often shapes their career path more than the degree title alone. Arkansas State University offers two Ed.D. options online: the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, which supports preparation for superintendent and principal roles, and the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with a Concentration in Higher Education Administration, which is designed for those pursuing dean, provost and president roles. Neither program leads to K-12 teaching or administrator licensure on its own.
An Ed.D. in educational leadership can support a variety of leadership career paths. Superintendents, principals, deans, provosts and even corporate training directors increasingly hold the same credential, and the concentration a candidate chooses shapes their career path far more than the degree title alone.
Arkansas State University (A-State) offers two distinct Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) degrees built around that choice, the online Ed.D. in Educational Leadership program, which focuses on K-12 systems, and the online Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with a Concentration in Higher Education Administration program. These options enable students to align their coursework with the specific leadership track they intend to pursue. Both programs are delivered fully online, allowing working administrators to keep their current jobs while completing the degree.
What Is an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, and Who Is It For?
A Doctor of Education, or Ed.D., in educational leadership is a terminal degree built for practicing leaders rather than aspiring researchers. Where a Ph.D. trains scholars to produce original research for an academic field, an Ed.D. trains sitting or aspiring administrators to solve real leadership problems inside schools, districts and universities. A-State offers two Ed.D. options in educational leadership online: the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with a Concentration in Higher Education Administration.
Both A-State programs require 51 credit hours and can be completed in as few as 40 months. No GRE is required for admission, though applicants must have a master’s degree and a 3.0 GPA or higher. A-State’s online Ed.D. program is a member of the Carnegie Project on Education Doctorate (CPED), a national network of programs built specifically around addressing real-world leadership challenges rather than focusing primarily on academic research.
A-State’s College of Education and Behavioral Science holds accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). A-State is also a Carnegie R2 research university, and its online Ed.D. ranks No. 3 nationally among the most affordable online doctorates in education in OnlineU’s 2026 index.
K-12 Career Paths With an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership
Graduates of A-State’s K-12-focused online Ed.D. in Educational Leadership degree are prepared for senior positions across a school system. These roles typically build on years of prior experience as a teacher, principal or district administrator rather than serving as a first credential into school leadership.
- Superintendent: The top executive of a school district, responsible for budget, board relations, policy and districtwide strategy
- School principal: The instructional and operational leader of a single school building
- Instructional coordinator: A curriculum and professional-development specialist who aligns instruction across a school or district
- University professor: Typically an adjunct, clinical or practitioner-faculty role teaching in an educational leadership preparation program, discussed in more detail below
For a closer look at the path to the top job in a district, read more about how to become a school superintendent. These K-12 outcomes sit alongside a parallel set of roles for administrators who want to lead at the college or university level instead. The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership page outlines both program options side by side for candidates weighing the two paths.
Higher Education Career Paths With an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership
A-State’s online Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with a Concentration in Higher Education Administration program is built around the specific demands of running a college or university: organizational theory, accreditation and accountability, higher education policy and law, institutional finance and organizational change. Career outcomes for this concentration typically include:
- Academic dean: Leads a specific college or school within a university, overseeing faculty, curriculum and academic quality
- Provost: Chief academic officer overseeing all colleges, faculty affairs and academic policy
- College or university president: Top executive leading overall institutional strategy, operations, fundraising and external relations
- Chief learning officer: Corporate executive overseeing employee training, development programs and organizational learning strategy
For a broader look at where this concentration can lead, read more about higher education roles you can get with an Ed.D. degree.
The table below summarizes where K-12 and higher education Ed.D. career paths typically lead. Annual pay figures are included for context and are sourced from federal labor data (BLS) where available, or from national association and salary-survey data where a federal category doesn’t exist; because these sources report pay differently, as a mean, average or median, figures are not directly comparable across rows. Data reflects rates current as of August 2026 and may change over time, so consult the cited sources for the latest figures.
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Career Path
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Typical Setting
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What the Role Involves
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Annual Pay
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|---|---|---|---|
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Superintendent
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K-12 district
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Leads an entire school district: budget, policy, board relations and systemwide strategy
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Mean of $178,111 (AASA)
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Provost
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College or university
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Serves as the chief academic officer, overseeing all academic affairs
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Average of $164,507 (PayScale)
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College or University President
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College or university
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Serves as the institution’s top executive, accountable to a governing board
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Average of $156,000 (PayScale)
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|
School Principal
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K-12 school
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Leads a single school’s instructional program, staff and daily operations
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Median of $104,070 (BLS)
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Academic Dean
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College or university
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Leads a college or division’s faculty, curriculum and academic policy
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Median of $103,960 (BLS)
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|
Instructional Coordinator
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K-12 school or district
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Aligns curriculum, coaches teachers and evaluates instructional programs
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Median of $74,720 (BLS)
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Pay and title aside, an Ed.D. also opens a third path that runs through the classroom rather than the front office: teaching the next generation of school and university leaders.
Can You Teach at a University With an Ed.D.?
Yes, an Ed.D. can support preparation for university teaching, most often in adjunct, clinical or practitioner-faculty roles within professional programs such as educational leadership. The specific fit depends on the type of institution and the type of faculty role being sought.
CPED-aligned Ed.D. programs like A-State’s are built around practice rather than original research, so hiring committees for practitioner-facing programs, professional development schools and community college faculty positions frequently value the real administrative experience an Ed.D. graduate brings. Tenure-track research faculty positions at research-intensive universities more often prefer a Ph.D., since those roles are evaluated primarily on published research output rather than applied leadership expertise.
The answer depends largely on the type of institution and faculty role. Professional practice programs often value the applied leadership experience many Ed.D. graduates bring, while research-first departments lean toward Ph.D. holders. For a fuller comparison of the two degrees, read more about the key differences and career outcomes of an Ed.D. and a Ph.D. in education.
Should You Get an Ed.D. or an MBA to Lead a College or University?
This depends on which side of campus leadership you are aiming for. An Ed.D. with a higher education administration concentration builds deep, sector-specific expertise in accreditation, higher education finance, governance and policy through courses such as A-State’s Higher Education Finance and Higher Education Policy and Law, the exact knowledge base that provost, academic dean and president searches typically screen for. An MBA builds broader general management, finance and strategy skills that transfer well outside higher education and often finishes faster, without a dissertation requirement.
For roles centered on academic affairs, curriculum and accreditation, an Ed.D. with a concentration in higher education administration is generally viewed as the more directly relevant credential. For roles centered on business operations, such as a campus chief financial officer or chief operating officer, an MBA may be equally or more relevant. Neither credential guarantees a specific title, and some senior leaders hold both.
Careers Outside Traditional Education Systems
The organizational leadership, budget management, strategic planning and data-informed decision-making skills built into an Ed.D. in educational leadership also transfer to roles outside a traditional school, district or campus. Many graduates are able to apply these skills in other sectors without pursuing an additional credential.
- Corporate training and workforce development teams hire education leaders to design and manage employee learning programs.
- Nonprofit organizations and foundations rely on education-trained leaders to run programs, manage grants and evaluate outcomes.
- Education policy work at the state or federal level, along with independent education consulting, draws on the same research and leadership training the degree provides.
Both A-State programs share a doctoral core built around organizational theory and research methods, in courses such as Advanced Organizational Theory and Inquiry and Advanced Research Methods. That shared core, rather than any single job title, is what makes the degree portable into corporate, nonprofit and policy work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I do with an Ed.D. in educational leadership?
An Ed.D. in educational leadership prepares graduates for senior K-12 roles such as superintendent, principal and instructional coordinator, or senior higher education roles such as academic dean, provost and college or university president, depending on the program a student completes.
What are the best Ed.D. programs for K-12 leaders?
Look for a K-12-focused Ed.D. in educational leadership from a CAEP-accredited or CPED-affiliated program with no GRE requirement, a dissertation built around a real leadership problem rather than pure theory and named career outcomes that align with the specific K-12 leadership roles you’re pursuing.
What careers outside education can an Ed.D. lead to?
Graduates commonly move into corporate training and workforce development, nonprofit and foundation program leadership, education policy and government roles or independent education consulting, all of which draw on the same leadership, finance and data-analysis skills built into the degree.
Can I teach at a university with an Ed.D.?
Yes, most often in adjunct, clinical or practitioner-faculty roles within professional programs like educational leadership. Tenure-track research faculty positions at research-intensive universities more often prefer a Ph.D.
Should I get an Ed.D. or an MBA to lead a college or university?
An Ed.D. with a concentration in higher education administration is generally the more directly relevant credential for academic affairs roles, such as provost or academic dean, while an MBA may be equally relevant for operations-focused roles, such as chief financial officer. Neither guarantees a specific title.
Does an Ed.D. in higher education administration help community college administrators become deans?
Yes. It can help prepare community college administrators for dean-level responsibilities through coursework in accreditation, finance and policy, though hiring decisions depend on each institution.
Does an Ed.D. in educational leadership lead to licensure?
No. A-State’s online Ed.D. in Educational Leadership degree does not lead to K-12 teaching or administrator licensure. Educators who need a state administrator license should consider a licensure-track credential such as an Ed.S. or a building-level administration certificate instead.
Key Takeaways
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- An Ed.D. in educational leadership is a practice-focused terminal degree, distinct from a Ph.D., built for sitting or aspiring administrators rather than academic researchers.
- A-State offers two 51-credit-hour Ed.D. options online: the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, supporting preparation for superintendent, principal and instructional coordinator roles, and the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with a Concentration in Higher Education Administration, built for those pursuing dean, provost and president roles.
- The degree can support university teaching, most often in adjunct or practitioner-faculty roles, and can also transfer to corporate training, nonprofit leadership, policy and consulting work outside traditional education.
- Choosing between an Ed.D. and an MBA for higher education leadership depends on whether the target role centers on academic affairs or business operations, not on which credential is universally better.
- The Ed.D. does not lead to K-12 licensure, so educators who need a state administrator license should pursue an Ed.S. or a building-level administration certificate first.
Choosing between these two Ed.D. options depends primarily on the leadership setting in which you hope to work. Arkansas State University’s Ed.D. faculty teach from direct experience across both programs. Dr. Ibrahim Duyar, Professor of Educational Leadership, teaches in the Ed.D. and has served as a school principal, a director of schools, a university professor and a consultant, bringing experience that spans K-12 and higher education leadership. Both programs run on the same flat per-credit tuition rate for Arkansas and out-of-state students.
Explore A-State’s online Ed.D. in Educational Leadership program for K-12 leadership roles, or the online Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with a Concentration in Higher Education Administration program for college and university leadership roles.