What Support Will I Need to Complete My Ed.D. Dissertation?

Having a strong support network—from faculty and staff to fellow students— will help you stay energized and on track as you research, write and defend your doctor of education dissertation.

Look for a well-structured Ed.D. program.

Everyone knows the horror stories of the dissertation that won’t end. “You hear about dissertations taking 10 years,” said Dawn White, who works in a Minnesota school system’s central office and is finishing her Ed.D. at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.

Don’t be that candidate. Along with narrowing down programs that fit your philosophy, format, location and price range, look for a program that has benchmarks, creating a clear path for researching, writing and defending your dissertation within a reasonable timeframe.

At Sacred Heart University, the Ed.D. program has built-in support in the form of clear deliverables, semester by semester. “Everything is scaffolded to get us to the dissertation,” White said.

SHU’s doctoral program, with tracks in both K-12 educational leadership and higher education leadership, focuses on developing skills that enhance social, emotional and academic learning and promote social justice to comprehensively oversee organizations and effectively and ethically lead faculty and staff.

The core set of classes is a roadmap to complete the dissertation in practice during the third year of the practical, applied program, said program director David G. Title, Ed.D. A reasonable, but brisk pace allows students to plan their career timelines and anticipate expenses, said Dee Walters, who successfully defended her dissertation in 2023.

Look for a program that allows you to apply your Ed.D. dissertation research and findings to real life.

Dissertations often deal with lofty topics and philosophical questions. Programs that encourage centering your research on more practical, applicable issues can help you find a ready-made support system both in your program and in the field.

SHU’s Improvement Science framework means that candidates address a complex issue that exists in the educational landscape—including issues they’ve experienced in their own school systems or universities—in their aptly named dissertation in practice. The program requires candidates to define and address the problem of practice and, ultimately, improve student experiences and outcomes—sometimes beginning while they are working on their dissertations.

“You could look at a problem of practice and diagnose it, so to speak,” said Walters.

SHU’s program is part of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED), including more than 130 colleges and schools of education that are committed to a future of equity-minded education professionals. The model encourages dialogue, experimentation, critical feedback and evaluation—in short, a multi-faceted support system.

“We give them a framework and they work on something that might actually be helpful, useful,” said Title.

Each course and meeting in the low-residency SHU program speaks to another aspect of the dissertation, said Shannan Carlson, who recently defended her dissertation at SHU. “Everything was a building block from content to dissertation to application.”

Look for an Ed.D. program with well-defined faculty support.

Your best mentors in an Ed.D. program are your faculty. While many programs are designed for working professionals and showcase the flexibility of online and hybrid features, strong connections to experts are key to finding knowledgeable sounding boards and sources.

At SHU, all Ed.D. candidates take a series of dissertation seminars over a full calendar year with close assistance and feedback from a faculty member. When it comes time to begin their dissertation, they are assigned a chair and a second committee member who are closely aligned with their chosen topic. Having a chair assigned took some of the time and stress out of finding and asking faculty members to sign on to a project, Carlson said.

Each dissertation chair has no more than five candidates assigned to him or her, Title said. The chair meets with the student every other week at first and once every week as the project nears completion, allowing for plenty of personalized support and reflection.

The candidate chooses a third committee member, often someone from the research site, which tightens the relationship between the dissertation and improvements in practice, Title said.

“I was quite satisfied with the way the process turned out,” Walters said.

Look for an Ed.D. program with built-in peer support.

Given the nature of Ed.D. programs, many include candidates from across the country and beyond and many incorporate low-residency scenarios, hybrid, part-time options and online components. As a result, getting to know one’s colleagues can be difficult.

With students hailing from as far away as Wisconsin, Oregon, Georgia and Maine, SHU anticipated this challenge and fosters a tight-knit cohort system that features a July residency on our Connecticut campus. Candidates are able to meet and collaborate at key junctures in the program, bouncing ideas off one another and gaining inspiration from each other’s journeys. The group bonded over their time together through text threads, emails and phone calls, White and Carlson said.

SHU is also part of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) Holmes Scholarship Program, adding a second layer of mentorship and peer support for students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Walters and others appreciated the camaraderie. “We definitely had a close cohort,” Walters said.

Staff support is also key to dissertation success.

When considering an Ed.D. program, look at how well the department staff and others on campus are embedded in the program. It’s good to know you can turn to support staff and experts in other departments to get the job done.

SHU’s Ed.D. program is pleased to have a dedicated librarian attached to the program at the Ryan Matura Library. This staffer is well-versed in education topics and resources, providing crucial assistance at the beginning of dissertation research and other steps along the way, Title said.

Want to know more about Sacred Heart University’s Ed.D. programs?

Curious about earning your Ed.D.? Talk to Keith Hassell for the higher education leadership track at hassellk@sacredheart.edu or Cristen Meehl for the K-12 educational leadership track at meehlc@sacredheart.edu.