Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)
The Doctor of Education (Ed.D) in Educational Leadership at PLU is a 3-year, low-residency doctoral program designed for working school administrators. The program offers a direct pathway to obtain both an Ed.D. degree and a Washington State Superintendent Certification.
Our program offers two distinct doctoral tracks for candidates dependent on your current certification status:
Ed.D. + Washington Superintendent Certification
- Best For: Current school leaders looking to advance to district-level administration.
- Key Feature: Includes a year-long internship within a P-12 school district.
- Timeline: Candidates become eligible for the Washington State Superintendent certificate at the end of the second summer. Total degree completion takes 3 years.
Ed.D. for Certified Superintendents
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Best For: Already certified superintendents who want to earn their doctoral degree.
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Key Feature: An accelerated pathway that recognizes prior administrative credentials.
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Timeline: All doctoral degree requirements are completed within a 3-year timeframe.
Why PLU’s Ed.D?
Small & Personal
Our in-person cohort model helps develop a strong faculty and fellow student support network and community
3-Year Completion
Whether you’re a certified superintendent, or looking to earn your superintendent certification you’ll complete your degree within the 3-year timeframe.
Low-Residency
Our Blended / Low-Residency program has online synchronous & asynchronous components + 1 in-person weekend meeting per month on the PLU campus.
Advanced Leadership Coursework
Our Ed.D focuses on driving systemic equity, instructional excellence, and organizational change in P-12 systems.
Superintendent Coursework
We prepare leaders for system-wide district management, policy generation, and fiscal responsibility.
Applied Projects
Instead of a traditional, theory-heavy dissertation, PLU utilizes two job-embedded applied projects.
"I appreciate the cohort model, the local practitioners who work with us, and the focus on equity and student centered leadership. I feel lucky that such a high quality institution is affordable to regular educators so we can continue to learn and improve ourselves." Julie '26
PLU’s School of Education Guiding Principles
We believe that inspired teaching starts with strong relationships with students, families, and communities, and that teachers have an integral role as leaders who cultivate through those relationships socially-conscious, democratically-literate students who work to improve their immediate and broader communities.
Our program is committed to developing educators who:
Respect the complexity of teaching and learning.
Embrace collaboration and foster the active construction of knowledge.
Enact socially just, equity-focused instruction.
Implement culturally relevant, intellectually rich content.
Career Prospects & Preparation
employment rise
average superintendent salary in Pierce County school districts
higher median weekly earnings for doctoral degree holders than master's degree holders
*Statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and WCCSEO.