Colleges & Universities that provide Doctoral Degrees in Education

Many individuals want to go as far as they can in the field of education. If you love teaching and understanding how people learn, what could be better than going as far as the field of education will allow you to go? The last stop on the educational degree college train is obtaining a doctorate degree in the field of education. This is often called a doctor of education or an Ed. D. or D.Ed. This degree is a research based degree and allows graduates to be employed in academic, administrative, clinical, research education jobs, civil service, or by private institutions.

Coursework for Education Doctorate Degree

The coursework involved with obtaining a doctorate degree in education is very rigorous. Students will generally have already obtained both a bachelors and masters degrees in education or like fields. A doctorate degree can require several years of coursework. Most programs require students to complete at least 15 full college courses beyond a master's degree program. There is often a comprehensive exam and a dissertation required before graduating with the degree. Dissertations generally accumulate around some type of major research project where students report their findings and research regarding their project. When obtaining a doctorate degree in education students can also select a specialty including areas like counseling, curriculum and instruction, teaching, education administration, educational leadership, education policy, education counseling, educational technology, higher education, or linguistics.

Pay Scale for Those with Education Graduate Degrees

Some teachers do seek training beyond a master's degree in education and even obtain a doctorate degree in the field. Many school administrators, especially principals, may obtain an education doctorate degree to be competitive in their field. For teachers, those who have at least 30 educational credits beyond a master's degree have average salaries around $53,000 annually. Once this same teacher has taught for 25 years, their average pay would be around $79,000 annually, according to Top Education Degrees.

For those going into school administrative positions, the pay with a doctorate degree can be excellent. For example, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2008 found that school principals had average salaries of $85,000 for elementary school principals, $91,000 for junior high and middle school principals, and $97,000 for High School Principals.

Those with education doctorate degrees wanting to work in colleges and universities also have excellent salaries. For example, academic deans of colleges or universities had average salaries from $150,000 to $92,000 annually. Other positions like dean of students averaged around $88,000 annually, and registrars averaged around $74,000 annually.