Program Details
The online EdD offers four in-demand concentrations:
Each online EdD track builds specific skillsets and areas of expertise, allowing you to choose the path that aligns best with your professional goals.
Educational Leadership
This track equips educators to move into leadership roles, such as school principal, district administrator, or curriculum director, with a focus on law, finance, and organizational management to drive positive outcomes in schools.
Higher Education
This track prepares you for leadership or faculty roles in colleges and universities, building your expertise in student development, institutional management, and higher education policy to strengthen your impact on postsecondary education.
Teaching & Learning
Designed for current educators, this track specializes your knowledge in curriculum design, instructional strategies, and learning theory — empowering you to lead instructional innovation, coach teachers, and improve student outcomes.
Organizational Leadership & Development
This track develops leaders across sectors, focusing on strategic leadership, organizational change, and team development. It prepares students to tackle challenges and drive growth in business, nonprofit, and other organizational settings.
Yes, every student completes a final project with the option to choose between a dissertation or a culminating experience (capstone). Both pathways let students produce actionable results that they can bring to their workplace and apply to future roles.
The dissertation path is ideal for students who want to contribute original research to the field of education. It’s a traditional academic route that builds deep expertise and prepares graduates for roles in research, policy, or higher education.
The culminating experience (capstone) project is designed for professionals who want to solve real-world problems in their own organizations or communities. It’s a hands-on, practice-based approach that applies research to improve programs, policies, or systems.
Typically, dissertation research and composition fall at the end of a degree program and can take years to complete. Our process is different. Interwoven throughout the EdD program are dissertation writing courses, where the daunting aspects of a dissertation project are broken down into clear, manageable tasks. This structure allows students to start their dissertations early, stay connected to their research, and complete their degrees in a timely manner.
While all the courses are fully online, there are plenty of opportunities to connect with classmates and faculty. Under a cohort-based model, you will complete your courses alongside the same group of students throughout the program. This model will help you develop those critical relationships and further build a professional network.
Students also experience a mix of asynchronous online courses (meaning there are no mandated log-in times for classes), as well as optional live classes on a week-by-week basis. Students can join live Zoom sessions which provide the opportunity to connect with peers and faculty in real time.
Additionally, students are supported by other EdD students—or accountability partners—during the program. Accountability partners are fellow doctoral students who commit to supporting each other’s academic progress through regular check-ins, goal-setting, and reflective dialogue. Unlike advisors or committee members, accountability partners are peers, not evaluators
Accountability partners pair up and help each other by:
- Maintaining momentum on IRB, and dissertation writing
- Staying engaged and persistent, particularly during independent research phases
- Reducing isolation by fostering scholarly community and shared problem-solving
- Strengthening reflective practice, a core expectation of doctoral-level work
This program can be completed in two years (six semesters).
In this program, you will study under engaged, doctorally-prepared, prolific scholars, practitioners, and leaders who are committed to your success.
Students from a number of states are welcome to apply to AAIC's online EdD program. Please see our State Authorization page for more detailed information.
Yes, all coursework is 100% online and designed to be flexible, with no required log-in times or campus visits.
The program can be completed in 40 credit hours.
The online EdD program has three intakes per year (fall, spring, summer).
AIC’s online EdD is fast, affordable, and customizable. With four concentrations and two final project options, students can align their degree with their career goals, maximize their impact, and complete their education in just two years — without ever traveling to campus.
Additionally, AIC is a nationally recognized institution, ranked by U.S. News & World Report, with a long-standing legacy of academic rigor and dedicated faculty and staff.