College of Education Health and Human Services
School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration
www.kent.edu/ehhs/fla

About This Program

The Doctor of Education degree in Interprofessional Leadership engages students in the study of leadership from an interprofessional perspective. Given the complexity of 21st-century education and society, educators and leaders in all fields must be prepared to address problems across organizational boundaries. Read more...

Contact Information

• David Dees | ddees@kent.edu | 330-337-4205
• Tricia Niesz | tniesz@kent.edu | 330-672-0591

• Connect with an Admissions Counselor: U.S. Student | International Student

Program Delivery

• Delivery:
  • Fully online

Applications to the Athletic Training Education concentration are not being accepted starting with the summer 2026 admission term.

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries*

^{* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.}

For more information about graduate admissions, visit the graduate admission website. For more information on international admissions, visit the international admission website.

Admission Requirements

Applications to the Athletic Training Education concentration are not being accepted starting with the summer 2026 admission term.

• Master's degree from an accredited college or university
• Minimum 2.750 graduate GPA on a 4.000-point scale
• Official transcript(s)
• Résumé
• Goal statement (1-2 pages) explaining how applicant’s career intentions relate to and will be supported by the program, what they bring to the program and how they intend to use the degree to affect their practice
• Three letters of recommendation from organizational supervisors evidencing the applicant’s leadership capacity and experience in the organization and/or from former professors attesting to the applicant’s capacity for doctoral work
• Interview with designated program faculty (face-to-face or by video conference)
• English language proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions to waive) by earning one of the following:¹
  • Minimum 79 TOEFL iBT score
  • Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
  • Minimum 58 PTE score
  • Minimum 110 DET score

Applicants are reviewed holistically based their professional experience and the requirements listed above.

¹

International applicants who do not meet the above test scores will not be considered for admission.

Application Deadlines

• Summer Term
  • Priority deadline: February 15
    Applications submitted by this deadline will receive the strongest consideration for admission.

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

¹

Upon admission to candidacy, each doctoral candidate must register for EHHS 80199. It is expected that a doctoral candidate will continuously register for Dissertation I for a total of 30 credit hours, and thereafter EHHS 80299, each semester until all requirements for the degree have been met. Student dissertation research will be aligned with the needs of their organizations, useful to their organizations and intended to effect positive change in their organizations.

Athletic Training Education Concentration Requirements

Cultural Foundations of Education Concentration Requirements

Curriculum and Instruction Concentration Requirements

Educational Technology Concentration Requirements

Leadership in Educational Contexts Concentration Requirements

Special Education Concentration Requirements

Graduation Requirements

Professional Portfolio

Students present a professional portfolio upon the completion of coursework. The portfolio will include elements of selected coursework that best represents the student’s learning prior to moving onto the dissertation in practice. Students prepare the portfolio in an online format and defend to a committee of two faculty members from within the concentration. Once the portfolio has been successfully defended, the students move on to the final requirement: the dissertation in practice. Students propose a dissertation in practice that addresses a complex problem of practice. Students conduct an inquiry project to make a positive impact on the problem of practice.

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this program. Students will work with their advisor to develop a sequence based on their academic goals and history. Courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Frame questions of organizational leadership, educational change and social justice to bring about solutions to complex problems of practice
2. Develop and demonstrate a professional knowledge base that integrates both practical and research knowledge, and that links theory with systemic and systematic inquiry
3. Construct and apply knowledge interprofessionally to make a positive difference in the lives of individuals, families, organizations and communities
4. Develop and demonstrate interprofessional collaboration and communication skills to work with diverse communities and to build partnerships
5. Analyze problems of practice and use multiple interprofessional frames to develop meaningful solutions
6. Generate, transform and use professional knowledge in practice
7. Integrate technology as a tool for teaching, learning, assessment, management, planning and communication

Full Description

The Doctor of Education degree in Interprofessional Leadership engages students in the study of leadership from an interprofessional perspective. Given the complexity of 21st-century education and society, educators and leaders in all fields must be prepared to address problems across organizational boundaries. The objective of the degree is to develop leaders who are scholarly practitioners. The program is framed around questions of equity, ethics and social justice to foster leadership to address to complex problems of practice. The goal is to prepare leaders who can construct and apply knowledge to make a positive difference in the lives of individuals, families, organization and communities.

The Ed.D. degree is cohort-based and starts in the summer term. The program can be completed in three to four years.

The Interprofessional Leadership major comprises the following concentrations:

• The Athletic Training Education concentration provides the opportunity for students to prepare for the rigors of academic positions in a college or university by blending discipline specific theory and practice strategies related to athletic training education. Students gain extensive knowledge in higher education as a whole while developing critical skills necessary to establish a strong foundation in athletic training educational leadership. Students complete a comprehensive project directly related to athletic training education that addresses a contemporary issue in the profession through purposeful research strategies to generate educational change within the discipline.
• The Cultural Foundations of Education concentration prepares students for leadership roles in educational settings seeking to address problems of practice that reflect broad societal problems and thus defy simple solutions. Immersion in the literature of the field of social foundations of education exposes students to historical, sociological anthropological and philosophical understandings, enabling them to contextualize problems of practice within and beyond their particular institutional setting. Students develop facility with conceptual, critical and normative modes of analysis needed to unpack contemporary problems of practice and propose approaches to addressing them in ways that do justice to their complexity. This concentration will appeal to students who are already grappling with these problems in institutional settings and to those who wish to prepare themselves for such roles.
• The Curriculum and Instruction concentration prepares students to be curriculum leaders and lead positive curricular change in their classrooms, schools and communities. Students attain the knowledge and skills necessary to identify, conceptualize and research important problems related to the practice of curriculum development, curriculum leadership and curriculum evaluation. Additionally, students learn to develop, implement and evaluate solutions that are informed by currently available theory and research in curriculum and instruction.
• The Educational Technology concentration prepare leaders who are conversant in critical research, theories and methods in educational technology to facilitate positive change in their professional settings. The concentration is designed to help students advance their knowledge in educational technology research to implement educational technology initiatives in educational and business environments using research-informed and data-driven decisions.
• The Leadership in Educational Contexts concentration provides education in multidisciplinary perspectives on leadership throughout the range of educational contexts. The concentration prepares students to lead positive change through their work as ethical- and social justice-oriented scholarly practitioners. Concentration coursework focuses on advanced leadership theories and skills, as well as on sociocultural contexts of education organizations and systems. This concentration is appropriate for leaders and emerging leaders in PK-12 schooling, higher education and other organizations in which non-formal, informal and formal education takes place.
• The Special Education concentration prepares students for leadership roles in improving the practice of special education, from birth to adulthood. Students attain the knowledge and skills necessary to identify and conceptualize important problems related to the practice of special education, and to develop, implement and evaluate solutions that are informed by the best available research and theory in special education and related disciplines. This concentration provides doctoral level training to anyone seeking to lead positive change in how special education and related services are provided to learners with disabilities.