Why This Matters
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MANY EDUCATION ADMINISTRATOR JOBS REQUIRE MORE THAN A MASTER’S DEGREE
37% of postsecondary administrator jobs require a doctorate, while 44% of K-12 administrator jobs require at least a post-master’s certificate.
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7,700 MORE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION ADMINISTRATORS ARE NEEDED BY 2032
Over the next decade, the number of jobs for postsecondary education administrators is expected to grow slightly faster than the projected rate for all occupations combined.
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AVERAGE SALARY EXPECTATIONS ARE OVER $90,000
The average salary for K-12 principals is $101,320, while the average salary for college administrators is $99,940.
Our Research
This list features some of the best online doctorate in educational administration degree programs at top colleges nationwide. Each school featured is a nonprofit, accredited institution — either public or private — with a high standard of academic quality for post-secondary education.
We evaluated each school’s program on admission, retention, and graduation rates as well as tuition costs, faculty, reputation, and the resources provided for online students. Then, we calculated the Intelligent Score on a scale of 0 to 100. Read more about our ranking methodology.
Next, we compared this comprehensive list of online doctorate in educational administration degree programs to a list of aggregated college rankings from reputable publications like U.S. News & World Report, among others, to simplify a student’s college search. We pored through these rankings so students don’t have to.
- 52 hours to write this article
- 200 universities and colleges we assessed
- 378 education programs we compared
The Top 50 Online Doctorate in Educational Administration Programs
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What You Should Know About This Degree
A similar degree to a doctorate in educational administration is a doctorate in education. The main difference is that an educational administration program focuses on the systems of leadership within education and being able to support teachers, while a doctorate in education will focus more on theories of learning.
Only apply to schools approved by a DOE-recognized accrediting organization, such as the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) or Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). If your school isn’t accredited, you may be unable to access financial aid or transfer credits to another institution if needed.
Most employers at the K-12 level will be looking for you to be a licensed teacher in your state in addition to your doctorate degree. You may also need to get certified as a school administrator.
What’s Next?
Here are some questions to ask when researching online doctorate in educational administration programs:
- Am I eligible for this program? To be eligible for a doctorate in educational administration program, you’ll need a master’s degree in a relevant field. You may also need a certain number of years of work experience and an active teaching license.
- How long does it take to complete this online degree? The programs on our list range from 51 to 67 credits. For most people, this will take around two years of full-time study to complete. If a dissertation is required, this could increase the length of the program.
Another thing to keep in mind as you start the application process is that programs usually have very specific deadlines. You’ll have to provide documentation of your master’s degree, teaching license, and possibly some test scores, and that can take time to get together. If you want to do an assistantship or require loans to fund your doctorate program, you’ll also need to keep track of the deadlines for that.
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Related Degrees
- Educational Leadership
- Educational Administration
- Secondary Education