Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-27-2023
Department
Educational Research and Administration
School
Education
Abstract
Purpose: Higher education, as a field of study, is one of the few programmatic areas that offer two doctoral degrees: The Doctor of Education (EdD) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). In the United States, the two degrees are often conflated. Conversations, to this point, have done more to contribute to the theoretical debate than to operationally distinguish between the two degree paths.
Method: The current study analyzed data collected from a review of the 188 doctoral programs at 145 institutions listed with the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). Results: Results suggest that while there is a shift toward operational differences between the EdD and the PhD in higher education, the similarities in entrance requirements, formats, and research expectations, to list a few, suggest that the EdD and PhD still require further refinement to reach the theoretical clarity common in many conversations about the education doctorate.
Publication Title
Impacting Eduation: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice
Volume
8
Issue
1
First Page
18
Last Page
26
Recommended Citation
Foster, H. A.,
Chesnut, S.,
Thomas, J.,
Robinson, C.
(2023). Differentiating the EdD and the PhD in Higher Education: A Survey of Characteristics and Trends. Impacting Eduation: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 8(1), 18-26.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/21551