Ed.D. vs. Ph.D.

[mstaylor]

I have always wanted to go into education policy/the government side of education. I have bachelor degrees in both Elementary Education and History. I know I want a degree in Education Policy to move forwards in working as an analyst or a lobbyist. I'm currently a full-time teacher and am trying to decide which will be the best professional route for me: Ed.D. or a Ph.D. Any advice, personal experience, information is greatly appreciated!

[SummoningSquare]

Generally, an EdD is for professionals (administrators, principals, directors, etc.) who want a terminal credential but not a research career. A PhD is a research degree for people with research backgrounds who want a research career.

A lot of people also get involved in ed policy through a masters degree like an MEd or MPP. My understanding is that it's a pretty competitive space, but most of the top schools have good networks that certainly help. It's also a bit of a strange academic space in that a significant portion of the most useful and innovative work is being done by people with degrees in economics, public policy, and the like, not education. (Fun exercise: compare the most recent work by people in the top 5 US News Ed Policy programs with the education stuff on NBER.)

 

[GradSchoolGrad]

23 minutes ago, SummoningSquare said:

Generally, an EdD is for professionals (administrators, principals, directors, etc.) who want a terminal credential but not a research career. A PhD is a research degree for people with research backgrounds who want a research career.

A lot of people also get involved in ed policy through a masters degree like an MEd or MPP. My understanding is that it's a pretty competitive space, but most of the top schools have good networks that certainly help. It's also a bit of a strange academic space in that a significant portion of the most useful and innovative work is being done by people with degrees in economics, public policy, and the like, not education. (Fun exercise: compare the most recent work by people in the top 5 US News Ed Policy programs with the education stuff on NBER.)

 

So there are pros and cons for every single degree to Ed Policy:

1. MPP 
Pro --> Fastest way to Ed Policy as an analyst of sorts

Cons --> You kind of cap out pretty quickly as you are seen as 2nd class to PhDs. Not many key leaders in Ed are MPP. That is because it generally leads analysis jobs and not leadership roles (granted that is changing of late)

 

2. MEd --> 

Pro --> Credibility among the pedagogical community

Cons --> not that credible for pivoting to policy. Oftentimes teachers are incentivized to get this Masters as a means to boost their salary as most states have a Master's degree pay bump. 

3. EdD

Pro --> less intensive than PhD and you do get to focus on the administration side of Education 

Cons --> not that well respected among the academic community (I have heard EdDs referred to as J/V PhDs before). Also, its not like you'll easily get a job based on the credential alone. You'll need a body of prior experience. A lot of times people get EdD's to pivot into administrative or more senior leadership roles in education

4. PhDs

Pros --> most credibility and you granted the academics is research based, you can rather easily pivot into both policy and administrative

Cons --> The time, the stress, and how the country is pretty much oversaturated with PhDs focusing on Education on one way or another

 

Please keep in mind that Ed Policy is over saturated with graduate students interested in the area. I went to grad school seeking to focus on Ed Policy and then I saw people in their 30s with Ivy League degrees deemed basically stuck in the same analytical processes year after year in XYZ research center and realized I wanted something with more pivot options + growth potential. 

There are lots of policy areas tangential to education that are under focused upon but struggle to get graduate student interest. I have some former teacher friends pivot to these areas because its not as cut throat competitively (in an interesting passive aggressive way) + you actually have more opportunities to make impact.

1. Housing Policy

2. Food Policy

3. Healthcare Policy 

[t_ruth]

On 3/31/2021 at 9:33 PM, SummoningSquare said:

...a significant portion of the most useful and innovative work is being done by people with degrees in economics, public policy, and the like, not education. (Fun exercise: compare the most recent work by people in the top 5 US News Ed Policy programs with the education stuff on NBER.)

 

I agree with a lot of what SummoningSquare said about comparing the degree options except the above. Who decides "usefulness"? So many folx who are working in the ed arena without actual classroom experience or exposure are doing things don't actually end up being useful in a real classroom. It's a point of contention that so many people from outside of ed think that they have the solution to educational issues. I see the usefulness of interdisciplinary teams (I work in many myself), but am also frustrated by the hubris of many econ/public policy researchers.

[Wisprof]

The challenge may not be how you regard a degree, but how others regard it. 

There is a bias in this country for the Ph.D. whether or not a potential role expects a research degree. 

 It's also true that a Ph.D. granted by some institutions lacks the integrity inherent in others.

 Additionally, some Ed.D.s  have research components with as much scholarly credibility as can be found in a Ph.D. program.

 One has to study the nature of the program in question. Even then, were you to find one that impresses you, it might not 

  impress a potential employer.

  Bottom line: If your sole goal is to get a quality hire with the right degree, you may not respect yourself as much as you 

  hope others will.