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In any organization, learning is the key to innovation.

Our goal is to prepare leaders to be catalysts for change, which is why we select students with diverse backgrounds and broad areas of interest.

We encourage students to work together, take risks, and become trusted leaders who are able to solve the most demanding challenges. We take the tools, discipline, and rigor of academics and apply them to challenges experienced by students in their organizations. This is not just an innovative approach to an EdD, it's an innovative approach to developing leadership skills and lasting connections that emerge from a high-quality and shared learning experience.

This is not just an innovative approach to an online doctorate in education, it's an innovative approach to developing leadership skills and lasting connections that emerge from a high-quality and shared learning experience.

Innovative Practice-Based Thinking

The NYU Steinhardt EdD in Leadership and Innovation allows professionals to continue working full time while studying. It is also one of only a few online EdD programs that focuses on real organizational challenges and available online with the ability to complete in as few as 24 continuous months.

Download the January 2025 cohort full curriculum.

In-Person Immersive Residency

During the immersive residency on campus in New York City, students get to work together and learn from noted scholars in the field. This is an important part of the program and helps inform the entire EdD degree.

Students will discuss their own professional experiences and examine some of the persistent challenges they face in their organizations. They will immerse themselves in discussions and exercises to set expectations of what it means to be in a rigorous doctoral program while learning from cross-sector experts to set intentions for their course of study.

At the end of the program, students participate in seminar-style sessions with leaders in education. This also includes the formal presentations of culminating projects.

The program’s ongoing Master Speaker Series attracts distinguished scholars from different departments and leading experts in a variety of fields.

Course Work

Students are required to complete 42 credits at the doctoral level. There are 17 required courses, including five credits of research courses, a general methods course, and a qualitative or quantitative research course based on students’ research objectives and faculty member advisement. For most courses, research methods and experiences are tied to the course content.

This EdD focuses on the operational aspects of leading successful organizations. Some of the courses covered include:

  • Organizational theory
  • Leveraging partnerships
  • Policy analysis
  • Applied research methods
  • Leadership
  • Change and innovation
  • Management and data ethics

Course work focuses on the teachings of the most influential thinkers in their fields. As part of the capstone requirements, students are asked to apply what they learn to their professional lives to achieve ambitious career goals.

Technology Overview / Online Classroom

This is a pioneering EdD built on the belief that academia must address the needs of today’s leaders. It is built for professionals from diverse sectors who want to pursue a high-quality, high-touch doctorate that offers flexibility without sacrificing academic rigor. The curriculum is composed of seminars, immersive experiences, research-intensive course work, synchronous class discussions with faculty, asynchronous instruction with fellow students, and independent work.