The Ed.D. is delivered primarly online (along with one-week summer residencies) and is designed to facilitate the learning styles of adults and provide a collaborative community for higher-level thinking and problem solving. The problem-oriented curriculum and cognate specialties allow for individualization of programs. Undergirding the entire program is critical thinking, scholarly research that informs practice, writing and learning from a Christian worldview. The capstone project, as with any doctoral program, is the submission and defense of a doctoral dissertation.

Each student will designate a cognate from one of seven concentration areas: Adult Education, Character Education, Christian Education Leadership, Distance Education, Higher Education, K-12 School Leadership, and Special Education/Educational Psychology. Some cognates, if completed with the addition of an internship, may fulfill licensure requirements in the State of Virginia.

The doctoral program may be completed in a minimum of three years; however, this minimum is for those who meet all required deadlines in regard to coursework, candidacy requirements and dissertation defense. The average time for completion is three to four years. A Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) is earned when 30 credits of doctorate-level coursework is completed. The maximum time that is allowed to complete the program is seven years.

Cognate Areas

Students may choose from the following concentration/cognate areas:

1. Adult Education
2. Character Education
3. Christian Education Leadership
4. Distance Education
5. Educational Psychology
6. Higher Education (TAR)
7. Higher Education Leadership and Management
8. K-12 School Leadership
9. Special Education