Innovative change in your organization starts here. Expand your leadership skills and create new solutions to persistent challenges.

NYU Steinhardt’s EdD in Leadership and Innovation is more than a degree. It’s a cohort of professionals working together with faculty and distinguished leaders from a range of industries who are all interested in education and learning. It's a cohort of leaders who understand that by working together, they can effect sustainable and scalable change in their organizations.

This Doctorate in Education serves a diverse range of experienced professionals. Rooted in a rigorous academic experience and shared passion, the advanced degree is designed for cross-sector leaders who are motivated to create change in education and learning.

Students accepted into the program bring with them real-world challenges. They are encouraged to question and explore, to take risks and succeed, to push and innovate.

This is a unique degree that addresses the needs of working professionals with a rigorous online doctoral program that can be completed in as few as 24 months.

We [leaders] need to know how to speak to each other in a common language. Our EdD in Leadership and Innovation creates the space where we can find a common language as we work across sectors to solve problems.

Dr. Noel Anderson
Founding Faculty

Solving problems means challenging preconceptions.

To inspire change we ask that you step back and question your point of view. One of the best ways to develop new approaches and solutions is to work with others — people across all sectors who challenge you with different perspectives.

We bring together students and instructors from inside and outside the scope of traditional education to push you to think differently and to ask tough questions.

When you intentionally gather people from different backgrounds or experiences to listen to each other and collaborate something powerful happens: change happens. That’s how new processes, solutions, policies, and powerful new tools are created — and how visionary leaders are formed.

We believe leaders are learners, and that education is essential to great leadership.

The EdD is a rigorous program that combines the discipline of a top-tier university with an innovative approach to education and leadership. We offer the accessibility of being online and the personal connection of face-to-face instruction.

We examine the most important issues leaders in education and learning face today and discover solutions that make change possible for tomorrow. We apply an academic lens to myriad sectors, so students graduate from the program with the core competencies for impactful director and executive-level professional roles.

The research, analysis, writing, and critical thinking involved in students’ strategic design and implementation of a change management project are assets that students will bring to current and future employers.

A Network for Now and for Life

From day one, alumni and current students become part of a global network of innovators and leaders who are invested in developing themselves and each other. 

Are you an alumnus/a or student exploring additional opportunities to engage our community? Join us for our inaugural Leadership and Innovation Alumni Gathering event Thursday, October 26, 2023, through Sunday, October 29, 2023, in Montgomery, Alabama, for an immersive experience designed to inspire.

Learn more: Leadership and Innovation Alumni Gathering