Doctor of Education Leadership

America needs transformative leaders in preK–12 education, individuals whose passion for educational quality and equity is matched by a knowledge of learning and development, a firm grasp of public policy issues, and the organizational management skills to translate visionary ideas into real-world success. Graduates of the three-year, multidisciplinary Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) Program — taught by faculty from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Harvard Business School, and the Harvard Kennedy School — are uniquely prepared for system-level leadership positions in school systems, national nonprofits and philanthropies, mission-driven for-profits, and state and federal departments of education.

Ed.L.D. is a full-time, three-year program built on a cohort learning model. Cohorts consist of 25 students from diverse professional backgrounds (including district/charter management leaders, entrepreneurs, nonprofit directors, principals, teachers, and policy researchers) who progress through the program together. In Ed.L.D. you will understand that the ambitious goal of transforming preK–12 education won’t be accomplished by any individual alone, but by a diverse movement of leaders in government, school systems, nonprofits, and educational for-profit ventures. All students receive a full tuition funding package plus stipends, work opportunities, and a paid third-year residency at a partner organization.

The Ed.L.D. program prepares graduates to do work for the public good, in the United States education public sector and in high-impact positions for high-impact organizations. Specifically, the program is designed to accelerate the progress graduates make toward achieving influential roles and/or crossing boundaries in the following spaces in the public education sector:

• Prenatal-12 district, CMO and/or state education leadership roles: Superintendent of Schools, Commissioner, Chief Academic Officer and/or Deputy Superintendent/Commissioner.
• Education nonprofit roles: President or Executive Director of backbone or collective impact organizations which support Pre-K-12 schools. Ed.L.D. graduates will lead education nonprofits that explicitly focus on improving outcomes and opportunities for children, families, and communities.
• State or federal education policy roles: Executive Director of Policy for public education advocacy, education policy advisors to Governors or state or local officials, and/or education think tanks. Students will generate and curate best practice research that leads to education policy recommendations that are rooted in evidence and data and push excellence and equity.
• Social entrepreneurship roles: leaders of education start-ups which address complex problems of practice facing American public education through innovative solutions for the education sector. Work in social entrepreneurship should also focus on scaling innovative ideas which have a research base.
• Foundations and philanthropy roles: senior leaders within education-focused foundations which support investments in education that focus on data, excellence, equity, and sustainability.