doctorate in education online ireland

• PhD Study in Ireland – 2023

With one the world’s oldest higher education system, there is no doubt that Ireland is a popular place to do a PhD. When you study a PhD in the ‘Emerald Isle’ you give yourself the opportunity to experience high-quality teaching and research. As an added bonus for PhD students in Ireland, the country has invested considerably in science, engineering and technology related research.

Why study a PhD in Ireland?

• Academic legacy – Ireland provides quality and specialised education with three sectors of education : the university sector, the technological sector and the colleges of education. Ireland is also home to some of the top 200 universities in the world.
• Research opportunities – Universities in Ireland are some of the top research institutes in the world. PhD students have the opportunity to be part of world- renowned research programmes in Ireland.
• Career opportunities – Ireland has a busy job market that offers post-study work opportunities for graduates in almost all fields. IT, Engineering and Food and Agriculture are some of the most popular careers in Ireland.
• History and culture – Ireland is steeped in culture with beautiful historical buildings. The country’s oldest university, Trinity College Dublin, is recognised for its historic contributions across the world
• It is an EU country – Ireland’s proximity to the rest of Europe makes it a popular study destination. Ireland is about an hour or two away from most of the major European cities. Not that Ireland does not have enough to offer on its own shores but if you want to go travelling, you can always plan a trip into Europe in your time off!

Structured PhDs in Ireland

Ireland has moved towards more structured PhD programmes with the principle that as a modern PhD student you should also develop important specialist and transferrable skills along with your original research.

Structured PhDs are very similar to traditional PhDs but also include progress monitoring by advisory and supervisory panels, ongoing professional development needs evaluation, access to development opportunities and professional placements.

On a structured PhD programme, you will usually engage with research enterprise partners. This facilitates input from non-academic stakeholders on the content of your doctoral programme. The enterprise partner may also provide a non-academic supervisor, an industry placement, and be an employment destination after completion of your PhD

Academic calendar for PhDs in Ireland

A typical PhD in Ireland lasts three to four years. A structured PhD is likely to take longer (closer to the full four years).

The academic year in Ireland is similar to that in the UK. It is divided into two semesters from September to December and then from January to April.

Supervision during a PhD in Ireland

You will have at least one academic supervisor during your PhD in Ireland. You primary supervisor will be an active academic and have principal responsibility for the management and supervision of your studies and research.

You may also have a secondary supervisor (or a joint supervisor) who may be non-academic. There is also a supporting supervisory panel of other researchers to monitor your progress and the supervision process – these can be from different universities or countries.

Assessment during a PhD in Ireland

Full-time PhD students are initially registered as Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) and must complete an assessment in their first year to upgrade to a PhD .

The core component of a PhD is that you produce original research which is assessed based on a written thesis and an oral examination (viva voce) . These are judged by both an internal and external examiner

You need approval from your primary supervisor to submit the thesis. If you are enrolled in a structured PhD programme, you may also be required to complete some training components.

Ireland has a lot to offer outside the classroom, from scenic views to historical places to visit. You can read our living in Ireland guide for all the information on how to make the most of your stay in the country.

We cover. . .

If you think Ireland could be your PhD study destination, we have more information on applications, fees, funding and visas below.

• Applications : We've covered the Postgraduate Application Centre (PAC) which acts like an online portal for PhD applications in Ireland and the documents you'll need to submit with your applications. in our guide, you can also find out whther you'll need to give a langauge test to be able to study a PhD in Ireland.
• Funding : International students usually pay at least €9,000 a year for a PhD! If you're wondering whether there are any funding options availible for you, our guide covers scholarhips like the Enterprise Partnership Programme, the Government of Ireland Scholarhsip Programme and other non-governmental scholarships and grants.
• Visas :Find out whether you need to apply for a student visa to study in Ireland and how to apply for one. We also give you a list of documents you'll need to submit with your application and an idea of how much it's ging to cost.
• Accommodation : If you're wondering where you'll live while in Ireland, look no further than our guide which covers on and off campus accommodation, private rentals and homestays.
• Working :Thinking of taking up a job while you study ? We cover the kinds of jobs you can do, where to find them and, if you're an international student, what permissions you need to have. We also talk about if you can stay and work in the country after you've finished studying as well.

Think you’re ready to find the perfect project for you?

Search our database of PhD programmes in Ireland

Our postgrad newsletter shares courses, funding news, stories and advice

This guide tells you all about everything you need to apply for a PhD programme in Ireland.

This guide tells you all about how much a PhD in Ireland costs and where to find the right funding for it.

Want to study a PhD in Ireland? This guide gives a detailed introduction to the kind of visa you need to study in Ireland and how to apply for it.

What's it like to live in the Republic of Ireland during a PhD? Our guide covers accommodation, student living costs, working and other key information.

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Doctor of Education Leadership

Additional Information

• Download the Doctoral Viewbook
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America needs transformative leaders in preK–12 education whose passion for education quality and equity is matched by a knowledge of learning and development, the organizational management skills to translate visionary ideas into practical success, and a firm grasp of the role of context and politics in shaping leadership. Graduates of the three-year, multidisciplinary Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education will be prepared to become those leaders.

The Ed.L.D Program — taught by faculty from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Harvard Business School, and the Harvard Kennedy School — will train you for system-level leadership positions in school systems, state and federal departments of education, and national nonprofit organizations. Ed.L.D. is a full-time, three-year program built on a cohort learning model. Cohorts consist of up to 25 students from diverse professional backgrounds (including district/charter management leaders, nonprofit directors, principals, teachers, and policy researchers) who progress through the program together.

All Ed.L.D. students receive a full tuition funding package plus stipends, work opportunities, and a paid third-year residency at a partner organization.

The Ed.L.D. Program prepares graduates to do work for the public good in the American public education sector, whether that be at the system or state level. Specifically, the program is designed to accelerate the progress graduates make toward achieving meaningful impact in influential roles and/or crossing boundaries in the following spaces in the public education sector:

• PreK–12 district or CMO leadership roles : superintendent of schools, chief academic officer, and/or deputy superintendent
• Foundation/philanthropy roles:  director, president and CEO, senior fellow
• Education nonprofit roles : president or executive director of backbone or collective impact organizations which support preK–12 schools. Ed.L.D. graduates will lead education nonprofits that explicitly focus on improving outcomes and opportunities for children, families, and communities.
• State or federal education leadership roles : commissioner or deputy commissioner roles. Could also include public education advocacy or education policy advisers to senior government officials.
• Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation roles:  Founder, CEO, president

Curriculum Information

The Ed.L.D. curriculum is a balance of multidisciplinary coursework and practice-based learning. Core courses and electives are taught by recognized leaders from across Harvard’s graduate programs in fields like data-based education reform, organizational change and innovation, and effective leadership strategies for urban schools. You will develop and test your leadership skills through team projects and an immersive third-year residency.

All students in the cohort take the same classes in four foundational content areas: learning and teaching, leadership and organizational change, politics and policy, adult development, and leadership inside and out (including one-on-one executive coaching). Courses taken during the first-year focus on practice-based learning and serve as the framework of your first-year experience.

Sample HGSE Courses

• Leading Change
• How People Learn
• Ed.L.D. Proseminar
• Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Learning
• Race, Equity, and Leadership
• Practicing Leadership Inside and Out
• Sector Change
• The Workplace Lab for System-Level Leaders

View  all courses  in the Academic Catalog.

Each cohort member works with program advisers to choose an individualized sequence of electives from any of the Harvard graduate schools. You will work closely with the program faculty and staff during your second year to determine the best match with a partner organization for your third-year residency. Matches are driven by mutual interest between the resident and the partner organization, and each student's career and learning goals and geographic preferences.

• Second Year Practicing Leadership Inside and Out
• Driving Change 
• Education Sector Nonprofits
• Negotiation Workshop
• Coaching with Equity in Mind
• Ethnic Studies and Education
• Deeper Learning for All:  Designing a 21st Century School System
• Institutional Change in School Organizations, Systems, and Sectors

You will take part in a 10-month paid residency at one of our partner organizations. There, you will work on a strategic project which synthesizes your experience and learning into a written Capstone project. You will stay connected to your Ed.L.D. cohort and HGSE through technology and by returning to Harvard periodically for intensive workshops.

Paid Residency 

Our partner organizations include school systems and departments of education, as well as some of the nation's most influential and dynamic nonprofit, mission-based for-profit, and philanthropic organizations.

You will be intentionally pushed out of your comfort zones and asked to work systemically and make a significant contribution to the partner organization. In addition, the residency will provide you with the professional mentoring, practical experiences, and network of connections they need to position themselves as future leaders in the education sector. 

Strategic Project 

You will define (with supervisors from your partner organization) a strategic project on which to focus. You will have the opportunity to lead one or two major efforts on behalf of the organization, such as the creation or implementation of current initiatives. The project allows you to practice and improve leadership skills, add important value to the mission and strategy of the partner organization, work systemically, and hold high-level accountability.

During the residency period, you will produce a written Capstone. The Capstone is a descriptive, analytic, and reflective account of your third-year leadership contributions to a strategic project within an Ed.L.D. partner organization. It is a demonstration of your ability to engage others, develop strategy to successfully address and diagnose challenges, work toward a vision and goals, and learn from the results.

Sample Topics

• Accountability, Coherence, and Improvement: Leadership Reflection and Growth in the Los Angeles Unified School District
• Leadership Development for Entrepreneurial Education Leaders Working to Build Public & Private Sector Support
• Disrupting Teacher Preparation: Lessons in Collaboration and Innovation Across the Learning to Teach Community of Practice
• Pursuing Educational Equality for English Language Learners

Sample Summaries 

• Breaking Down Silos in a School District: Findings from an Ed.L.D. Project in Montgomery County
• Expanding Students' Access to Meaningful STEM Learning Opportunities Through Strategic Community Partnerships
• Developing a New Teacher Leadership and Compensation System in Iowa: A Consensus-Based Process
• Finding Great Teachers for Blended-Learning Schools

GSE Theses and Dissertations from Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH)

Program Faculty

Ed.L.D. students learn with renowned faculty from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Kennedy School. Faculty from the three schools share their individual expertise in the Ed.L.D. Program and work collaboratively to provide a challenging and coherent experience for students. Faculty who teach in the Ed.L.D. core curriculum and advise Ed.L.D. students include:

Faculty Director

Frank D. Barnes

Frank Barnes is faculty director of the Doctor of Education Leadership Program. He has over 30 years experience as an educator, researcher, and organizer. As a chief accountability officer, he led turnaround efforts for large public school districts, including Boston Public Schools and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Kathryn Parker Boudett

Ebony N. Bridwell-Mitchell

Jennifer Perry Cheatham

Elizabeth City

Candice Crawford-Zakian

Marshall Ganz

Adria D. Goodson

Deborah helsing.

Monica C. Higgins

Deborah Jewell-Sherman

Lisa Laskow Lahey

Mary Grassa O'Neill

Irvin Leon Scott

Catherine Snow

Michael L. Tushman

Martin west.

Introduce Yourself

Tell us about yourself so that we can tailor our communication to best fit your interests and provide you with relevant information about our programs, events, and other opportunities to connect with us.

Program Highlights

Explore examples of the Doctor of Education Leadership experience and the impact its community is making on the field:

Do We Need Happiness Teachers?

After a trip to meet with the Dalai Lama, an Ed.L.D. student says we do

Combatting Chronic Absenteeism with Family Engagement 

As post-COVID absenteeism rates continue unabated, a look at how strong family-school engagement can help

Most Affordable Online Doctorate in Education (EdD) Programs for 2024

Organizations require great leadership to reach their full potential and weather the worst storms. If you are looking to become a more effective and thoughtful manager or team leader, you may be considering a graduate degree program. For people who are further along in their careers and looking for a more flexible option, an online Ed.D. program in organizational leadership may be a good fit. But earning a doctorate degree requires a big investment of both time and money. So Fortune has ranked eight online Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) programs by affordability. Tuition amounts were compiled using data provided by schools for our ranking of the best online Ed.D. programs in 2022. If schools did not provide the total tuition cost of the program, we multiplied the cost per credit amount by the minimum credit hours required to graduate. Cost per credit amounts were either provided by schools or taken from the program webpage. This ranking was last updated December 2022.

Online Ed.D. from Top-5-Ranked Peabody College

1. Trevecca Nazarene University

• ACCEPTANCE RATE
• CREDITS REQUIRED TO GRADUATE
• RETENTION RATE

2. Abilene Christian University

3. Spalding University

Hawai‘i Pacific University M.Ed. in Educational Leadership

4. Virginia Commonwealth University

5. University of Dayton

6. Drexel University

7. Baylor University

8. Vanderbilt University

Maryville University’s Doctor of Education | Online

View the contact page for more contact and location information

• Postgraduate
• Online Courses

Online Postgraduate Courses

The School of Medicine at Trinity College is committed to providing flexible learning opportunities for those wishing to further their education while balancing work and home commitments with their learning. As a result we offer a range of fully online courses, particularly desirable to healthcare professionals currently working in their chosen field, but ready to take the next step in their postgraduate education.   Online learning has been a part of the School of Medicine for a number of years and we are keen to encourage students to utilise this flexible approach in their further education.   Courses are delivered entirely online, with no requirement to attend in person. Most modules follow a standardised structured format, with new content being released weekly. A key feature of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is participation and discussion, and to this end weekly small learning tasks (e-tivities) are employed to ensure students engage with the learning material, their peers and the academic team continuously throughout the course. This may take the form of a discussion board, submission of a reflective comment or a quiz.

The core content is delivered via an interactive lecture, which you can review in your own time. This is then supplemented by an ‘Apply’ task, where the student is asked to apply their learning from this lecture to a scenario in their own profession. Weekly live tutorials are scheduled where the lead academic for each module reviews that week’s content, answers student questions and facilitates a discussion around the learning covered that week. Finally, each week, you will be directed to further resources which allow you to expand your knowledge on the subject area and develop a depth of learning on the topic.   Assessment for online courses are varied and are designed individually within modules to align to the learning outcomes of that module. Some examples of assessments utilised include written assignments, online exams, practical submissions of work completed, development of a business case or the application of a risk assessment tool in your clinical workplace.   The academic team delivering online courses operate a virtual ‘open door’ policy, and liaise closely with the students via the VLE or email throughout their course to ensure that all students are supported to achieve their learning objectives.

Postgraduate Certificate / Diploma/ M.Sc in Advanced Radiation Therapy

Postgraduate certificate in clinical exercise, postgraduate population health and health service research, postgraduate certificate in advanced ageing and frailty studies.