Doctor of Education Leadership

Remarkable Colleagues
The first advantage of the Ed.L.D. Program is the cohort itself. Your classmates represent some of the most passionate and accomplished educators in America. They are also eager to collaborate and learn from one another. Ed.L.D. students 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.

Individualized Curriculum
Another advantage of the Ed.L.D. Program is the ability to tailor some program content to your individual strengths and career goals. Each Ed.L.D. student comes from a different professional background with a different balance of skills. In year one, in addition to completing a core curriculum, every student chooses an elective and receives one-on-one leadership coaching to help identify areas of improvement. In year two, students work with coaches and advisors to choose electives that deepen knowledge and fill gaps in experience or education.

Practical Leadership Experience
The 10-month paid residency in year three of the program is much more than an externship or summer position. Our partner organizations hire Ed.L.D. students to lead high-priority projects. The residency offers a practical, hands-on opportunity for third-year students to hone their leadership skills in a supportive professional setting. Through a careful matching process, students work with organizations that support their professional goals, providing a foothold in the industry and a growing network of contacts.

The Ed.L.D. curriculum is a balance of multidisciplinary coursework and practice-based learning. Core courses and electives are taught by recognized leaders from across Harvard’s graduate programs in fields like data-based education reform, organizational change and innovation, and effective leadership strategies for urban schools. Students develop and test their leadership skills through team projects and an immersive third-year residency.

Year One

All 25 students in the cohort take the same classes in four core areas: learning and teaching, leadership and organizational change, politics and policy, and personal mastery (including one-on-one executive coaching). Sample units in the year one curriculum include:

• A608 Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Learning (fall)
• L100AY The Workplace Lab (fall)
• L101AY Ed.L.D. Leadership Workshops and Seminars (fall)
• L102 Leaders of Learning (fall)
• L103 Thinking Strategically about Education Reform (fall)
• L104AY Practicing Leadership Inside and Out (fall)
• L106AY Race, Equity, and Leadership (fall) 

• L100BY The Workplace Lab for System-Level Leaders (spring)
• L101BY Ed.L.D. Leadership Workshops and Seminars (spring)
• L104BY Practicing Leadership Inside and Out (spring)
• L105 Evidence-Based Leadership in Education
• L106BY Race, Equity, and Leadership (spring)
• One elective in either Learning & Teaching or Politics & Policy (spring)

View all courses in the Academic Catalogue.

Year Two

Each cohort member works with program advisors to choose an individualized sequence of electives from any of the Harvard graduate schools. Samples of year two electives include:

• L201 Ed.L.D. Second-Year Core Leadership Seminar (fall)
• L203AY Second-Year Practicing Leadership: Peer and Pod Coaching (fall)
• L202 Second-Year Core Leadership Seminar (spring 2017)
• L203BY Second-Year Practicing Leadership: Peer and Pod Coaching (spring)

View all courses in the Academic Catalogue.

• Harvard Business School
• Harvard Kennedy School

Year Three

Among the most innovative features of the Ed.L.D. Program is a paid residency during the third year at one of our partner organizations, which include school systems and departments of education, as well as some of the nation's most influential and dynamic nonprofit, mission-based for-profit, and philanthropic organizations.

Students will be intentionally pushed out of their comfort zones and be asked to work systemically and make a significant contribution to the partner organization. In addition, the residency will provide students with the professional mentoring, practical experiences, and network of connections they need to position themselves as future leaders in the education sector.

As part of the residency, each Ed.L.D. resident will define (with supervisors from their partner organization) a strategic project on which to focus. In the strategic project, the resident will have an opportunity to lead one or two major efforts on behalf of the organization, such as the creation or implementation of current initiatives. The project allows residents to practice and improve upon their leadership skills, add important value to the mission and strategy of the partner organization, work systemically, and hold high-level accountability.

During the residency period, all Ed.L.D. candidates will produce a written Capstone. The Capstone is a descriptive, analytic, and reflective account of the third-year student's leadership of and contributions to a strategic project within an Ed.L.D. partner organization. It is a demonstration of the student's ability to diagnose challenges, engage others, develop strategy to successfully address challenges, work towards a vision and goals, and learn from the results. The Capstone serves as an integral part of the third-year residency experience. Sample Capstone topics of recent Ed.L.D. graduates include:

• Accountability, Coherence, and Improvement: Leadership Reflection and Growth in the Los Angeles Unified School District
• Leadership Development for Entrepreneurial Education Leaders Working to Build Public & Private Sector Support
• Disrupting Teacher Preparation: Lessons in Collaboration and Innovation Across the Learning to Teach Community of Practice
• Pursuing Educational Equality for English Language Learners

Summaries of the following Capstones are available by clicking below:

• Breaking Down Silos in a School District: Findings from an Ed.L.D. Project in Montgomery County
• Expanding Students' Access to Meaningful STEM Learning Opportunities Through Strategic Community Partnerships
• Developing a New Teacher Leadership and Compensation System in Iowa: A Consensus-Based Process
• Finding Great Teachers for Blended-Learning Schools

In the third year, residents stay connected with their Ed.L.D. cohort and HGSE through technology and by returning to Harvard periodically for intensive workshops. 

Students work closely with the program faculty during their second year to determine the best match with a partner organization for their third year residency. In matching, faculty take a number of factors into account, including each student's career goals and geographic preferences. The program expects that the current list of partners will continue to evolve based on organizational and student interest, and as the Ed.L.D. alumni network continues to grow. 

• L300AY Ed.L.D. Residency
• L300BY Ed.L.D. Residency
• Ed.L.D. Capstone

Ed.L.D. students learn with renowned faculty from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Kennedy School. Faculty from the three schools share their individual expertise in the Ed.L.D. Program and work collaboratively to provide a challenging and coherent experience for students. Faculty who teach in the Ed.L.D. core curriculum and advise Ed.L.D. students include: