UW-Stout’s Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Career & Technical Education Leadership prepares you for a leadership role in secondary and postsecondary education. Our program builds upon your professional experiences to help you develop the vision, strategy and administrative qualities essential to managing and leading institutions of workforce education, including secondary divisions of career and technical education and vocational education.
100% Online: Complete Your Degree at Your Own Pace and Schedule.
UW-Stout's 100% online Doctor of Education degree program has a few select openings for well-qualified individuals interested in pursuing leadership roles in career, technical, and workforce education. We encourage you to request a Zoom or Teams webinar meeting with Dr. Michael Selover, Professor & Program Director, Ed.D. in CTE-Leadership.
Applied Research-Focused Curriculum
As opposed to the more theoretical and philosophical focus of the Ph.D., the Ed.D. doctoral program has an applied research focus. Through applied academics, you will learn to shape the current and future systems, affect their vision, purpose and design. You will accomplish this through applied research, strategic planning and mindful leadership.
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Career & Technical Education Leadership Graduates
- Effectively lead educational institutions with continual improvement processes
- Engage with business and industry entities and establish key relationships
- Use, analyze and synthesize data for program planning and decision-making
- Develop faculty and staff to be leaders in their respective fields
Program Overview
Fulfill Your Electives Earning a Professional Certificate
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Specialist Certificate
- Blended and Online Teaching & Training Certificate
- Career & Technical Education (CTE) Leadership Certificate
- Improving the User Experience Certficate
- Instructional Design Certificate
- Organizational Development & Consulting Certificate
- Practical Skills for Beginning K-12 Career & Technical Educators Certificate
- Reading Specialist Certification
- Reading Teacher Certification
- Strategic Leadership in Talent Development Certificate
- Teaching Adult Learners Certificate
Program Highlights
- Course delivery includes online and scheduled synchronous webinar-seminars
- Earn a degree in three years while working full time
- Financial support available, including student loans, scholarships, and graduate assistantships
- Applications accepted and reviewed each spring
Use the Request Information form to receive a program summary and learn more about the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Career & Technology Education Leadership.
Request Information
“This program leveraged my industry experience and inspired me to apply it to career and technical education leadership. I earned my doctorate in three-and-a-half years, and had a tenure-track faculty position before I graduated. This program and its outstanding faculty changed my life.”
Educational Cohorts
Once enrolled in the Ed.D. Career & Technical Education Leadership program, you will progress through the educational experience as part of an executive cohort. Cohorts range in size from 12-18 students, with an average student age of approximately 39 years.
Our program design has proven to be a collaborative community that works. Evidence of this is a high retention rate, student collegiality via a solid peer support system, and knowing program faculty in a face to face and online way. Together, the cohort supports you in making consistent progress through to your dissertation defense.
"The Doctor of Education in Career & Technical Education Leadership program at UW Stout allows students to bring their professional expertise to classroom discussions and activities. Our cohort group continues to benchmark after graduation with several of us contacting each other for advice on professional matters."Dr. E.J. Daigle ('18)
Dean, Robotics & Manufacturing
Dunwoody College of Technology
Program Design & Delivery
Cohort Model: (Cohort: Program students collectively onboard their doctoral journey, progress through an intentional sequence of courses, advance through their prelim, dissertation research, dissertation defense, and graduate together) yields exceptional doctoral degree completion.
Program Course Delivery: Within the Ed.D. in CTEL program, online coursework is blended with webinar-seminars (online synchronous seminars) in key courses (19 Credits) while 21 credits are asynchronous online. Eight credits of electives may be taken via the delivery method of the student’s choice, and 12 Credits of dissertation research are completed independently, away from campus, and mentored by the dissertation advisor. All seminars are designed on the premise that synchronous online experiences foster deeper learning and connection across cohort members; thereby, supporting the collective and individual cohort members personally and professionally along the learning journey.
Webinar-Seminar Experience: The CTE-L Doctoral program leverages online learning with three synchronous online Webinar-Seminars each semester along with two synchronous Webinar-Seminar in the summer session. The program's cohort design has proven to be a collaborative community that works. Evidence of this is a high retention rate and student collegiality via a solid peer support system. Together, we support you in making consistent progress through your dissertation defense.
| Summer Seminars 2024 | Online with… | Seminar 1 | |||
| CTE 912 | Education Policy and Leadership: 1PM - 5PM | Synchronous Webinars | June 14 | ||
| CTE 916 | Research Seminar II (Prospectus Development) 4PM - 8PM | June 21 | |||
| Fall Seminars 2024: 4PM - 8PM | Online with... | Seminar 1 | Seminar 2 | Seminar 3 | |
| CTE 911 | Comparative Systems in CTE | Synchronous Webinars | Sept 6 | Oct 4 | Nov 8 |
| WINTERM Seminar 2025: 4PM - 8PM | Seminar 1 | Seminar 2 | Scheduled on a Friday from 1 PM to 5 PM | ||
| CTE913 | Program, Planning, Developmen | Synchronous Webinars | Jan 10 | Jan 17 | With added synchronous meetings dates agreed on between the instructor and students |
| Spring Seminar 2025: 4PM - 8PM | Seminar 1 | Seminar 2 | Seminar 3 | ||
| CTE 922 | Strategic Planning and Administration in CTE | Synchronous Webinars | Feb 7 | March 7 | April 4 |
| Summer Seminars 2025 | Seminar 1 | Scheduled on a Friday from 1 PM to 5 PM | |||
| CTE 921 | Qualitative and Mixed Research Methods | Synchronous Webinars | June 13 | With added synchronous meetings dates agreed on between the instructor and students | |
| CTE 917 | Research Seminar III. (Literature Writing Focus) | June 20 | |||
*Seminars are part of select courses, 2 per semester and 1 per summer term.
**Dates are selected in a manner to accommodate common professional conferences and holidays
Schedule & Courses Associated with Webinar-Seminars
For more information on course sequence, program goals and student expectations, download the Ed.D. CTEL Student Handbook
Why an Ed.D vs. Ph.D. in CTEL
The EdD (Doctor of Education) is focused on education practitioners and leaders aiming to identify and solve complex problems in education. In comparison, a Ph.D (Doctor of Philosophy) aims to prepare scholars and professional researchers contributing to new knowledge. The pragmatic Ed.D focuses on developing thoughtful and responsive leaders through advanced knowledge and practice contribution.
The Ed.D is the terminal degree for those seeking to lead, administer, and manage educational institutions and programs. Its courses are thematic, reflective, and applicable to the field of practice in Career and Technical Education Leadership. Research spans the breadth of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Research outcome embrace theory to drive knowledge and practice in the Career and Technical Education Leadership. The dissertation results in data-informed findings, discussion, and recommendations intent on decision-making and advancement for influencing practice in the field.
Customized Tuition & Fees
UW-Stout degree programs using the customized instruction model are designed with the adult learner in mind. If you're comparing UW-Stout's online degree customized instruction (CI) tuition to our competitors, keep in mind:
- Customized instruction tuition rate includes the textbook rental fee.
- There are no additional or hidden university-based semester or technology fees.
- Students in customized instruction programs pay the same rate of tuition regardless of where you live--Wisconsin, California, Texas, or in a foreign country.
More Value for Your Money
Customized Instruction also provides:
- Program Director/Coordinator: Faculty with academic and industry expertise.
- Student Services Advisor: One point of contact, providing dedicated support throughout your degree program.
- Course Sequences & Matrices: Plan ahead with clear program outlines so you know what courses are offered when.
- Stackable Courses & Programs: Many of our courses and certificates can be applied to our degree programs.
- Flexibility: Courses are designed to offer the flexibility and convenience working professionals need to get ahead in their careers without sacrificing their current income and responsibilities.
Other universities will present costs and value differently, so make sure you're comparing apples to apples.
General UW-Stout Graduate School Application
All prospective graduate students at UW-Stout must follow a standard application process through UW-Stout Graduate Studies. Beyond that, each graduate program has specific requirements that must be met to be successfully admitted to the program:
Program-Specific Admission Requirements
Eligibility
The Ideal Candidate: Students enrolling in this program should have experience as instructors, faculty, staff or leaders within CTE and/or workforce education, including public and private training, human resource development and support services.
Program-Specific Application Requirements
To successfully apply for the program, first complete the UW System Application and receive your Application ID. Then, use this ID to fill out the UW-Stout Graduate Studies Collection Form, where you will provide the following:
- Curriculum Vita/Resume
- Letter of Application
- Fit and Personal Commitment
- State your personal and professional goals, how you align with The Ideal Candidate Statement (see above). Why/how is this degree is a good fit for you?
- Address commitment to the cohort: How will you adjust your schedule to allow for three years of cohort doctoral program study?
- Address your ability to work collaboratively and contribute positively in a cohort environment. Describe what positive collaboration means to you; illustrate through evidence of past experiences.
- 800-1,000 Word Essay Writing Sample
- Identify and discuss a problem, opportunity, idea, trend or practice within the scope of Career & Technical Education/Workforce Development. Articulate a point of view and support it with evidence.
- Conform to current APA format.
- Two Letters of Reference
- One letter should be from a current or former supervisor.
*The Collection Form Site requires an Application ID provided upon completion of the UW-System Application
Application Deadlines
Ed.D. CTEL cohorts begin every fall semester. Applications are accepted starting on August 1 and remain open until the cohort is full.
Non-Degree Seeking Students
Applicants who desire to begin doctoral coursework in a spring semester may elect to take courses that apply to the Ed.D. CTEL elective curriculum (700 level or above) portion of the program. Applicants choosing this path will enter as a non-degree seeking Ed.D. CTEL students; meaning they are taking coursework, but are not officially admitted to the program. In March of the spring semester, the non-degree seeking students will need to apply to the Ed.D. CTEL program with the intent, if program admission is granted, for those credits to transfer into their program plan.
History of Career, Technical, Workforce and Human Resource Education
The University of Wisconsin-Stout is steeped within a history of career, technical, work and human resource education and training. UW-Stout is home to the most comprehensive array of Career and Technical Education Leadership (CTEL) baccalaureate through doctoral degree programs in the country.
In addition to the Doctorate in Career, Technical Education and Training, our other CTEL programs include the B.S. in Career, Technical Education and Training (CTET) and the Masters of Science in Career, Technical Education and Training with a focus on professional advancement in practice and leadership.
UW-Stout also offers distinct secondary-level CTEL subject area teacher licenser programs at the baccalaureate level in Marketing and Business Education, Family and Consumer Sciences Education and Technology Education.
Advisory Committee Members
| Rose | Cibulka | Associate Dean, New Richmond Region | WITC |
| Julie | Furst-Bowe | Vice President | CVTC |
| Josh | Gamer | Dean of Integrated Technologies | Western Technical College |
| Amy | Gullixson | Student Services Adviser | UW-Stout Online |
| Jennifer | Hendryx | Curriculum Coordinator | Moraine Park |
| Roxane | Herricks | Vice President of HR | Authenticom, Inc. |
| Urs | Haltinner | Program Director | UW-Stout |
| Richard | Joerger | Emeriti Faculty University of MN | |
| Bradon | Napoli | EdD Student Rep | |
| Meridith | Wentz | Assistant Chancellor of Planning, Assessment & Research | UW-Stout |
| John | Will | President | WITC |
| Alethea | Cook | Associate Dean | Northwood Technical College |
