Advanced Executive Leadership EdD

Degree Awarded:  Doctor of Education (EdD)
Minimum Required Credits: 42 
Co-op Option(s):  None
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 13.0401
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 11.9039

About the Program

The EdD in Advanced Executive Leadership is an accelerated program that develops senior leaders’ capacity to lead within complex systems shaped by policy, power, and human dynamics. Students gain advanced competencies in systems thinking, strategic leadership, policy analysis, and organizational learning. Emphasis is placed on critical reflection, perspective-taking, and adaptive action, with a focus on advancing equity and social justice in professional practice. Grounded in policy environments and the interplay between individual and organizational change, graduates develop a refined theory of action and the ability to analyze problems of practice, design strategic responses, and lead meaningful, sustainable change across sectors.

Students engage in an integrated, cohort-based experience that combines interdisciplinary coursework with global study and policy-focused immersion experiences. Each semester is structured around a cycle of surfacing assumptions, testing ideas in practice, examining outcomes, and evolving leadership approaches. Through these repeated cycles, students connect theory and practice, apply their learning in their professional contexts, and deepen their understanding of how systems and policies shape outcomes and inequities.

Graduates are prepared to advance into or deepen senior leadership roles across education, healthcare, nonprofit, corporate, and public-serving organizations. The program equips leaders to navigate and influence complex environments, lead cross-sector initiatives, and drive organizational and system-level change. The reflective case study dissertation further positions graduates to contribute to professional practice, policy conversations, and continued scholarly or applied research.

Distinct from traditional doctoral programs, Drexel’s experiential model integrates applied research, leadership development, and immersive learning through coordinated global and policy experiences. Structured inquiry cycles and a practice-based dissertation create a cohesive, high-impact learning journey that connects local and global contexts. Graduates emerge with the capacity to translate insight into action and to lead for equitable, systemic impact within complex, evolving systems.

Admission Requirements

Degree Requirements

Program Learning Outcomes