Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership

Elevate your career with a doctoral program that’s as unique as you are.

Choose a program where you can change who you are inside and outside the workplace. As a candidate for the Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership, you’ll develop your skills and form unique networks across diverse organizational sectors in a collaborative cohort setting. You’ll learn from educators and visiting practitioners across a wide variety of leadership contexts and focus on the equity and inclusion challenges of today and tomorrow. Your executive style, 7-week courses will engage you in synchronous weekend online learning for the first two years of the program, with one weeklong summer course between years one and two, held at our beachfront Atlantic City campus.

As a culminating project, you’ll complete a dissertation-in-practice, a dynamic and unique research project that will help you advance your career and challenge you to address an ongoing organizational issue in your work or society. The Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership program was designed as a uniquely integrated leadership development and education experience to be flexible, accessible, and capable of advancing you to the next level as a leader.

Click here to watch our Virtual Organization Leadership Roundtable Discussion


About the Program

A program that is as dynamic as you are.

The Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership program is uniquely diverse and innovative in its interdisciplinary structure and focus. All elements of the program include a wide variety of leadership curriculum and theories, giving you opportunities to engage and learn with renowned educators and leaders across industry sectors. The program welcomes leaders from all types of professional backgrounds, disciplines, and organizations, including business, P12 education, higher education, faith-based, government including military, health care, and non-profit agencies.

A community that is as collaborative as you are.

Thanks to the program’s unique model, you will join a cohort of experienced and passionate leaders in an online community setting that will lead to you establishing lasting friendships as your cohort works together to complete the program’s three-year and a semester journey. With a uniquely collaborative cohort and the program’s strong emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion, you’ll gain perspectives, insights, and skills to advance your thinking and prepare you to become the greatest leader and “you” that you can be!

A program that is as flexible as you are.

With a primarily online class format, the program will be accessible to you no matter where your life takes you. The Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership program’s faculty is highly skilled in online course instruction, and nearly all class sessions are held synchronously with your cohort on weekends. That means you’ll be learning dynamic leadership concepts and building relationships with other creative and passionate leaders across all backgrounds right from the comfort and convenience of your own location. We offer our single residential course in mid-July of your first year in the program, steps from the boardwalk at our Atlantic City campus.

An opportunity as rare as you are.

The Ed.D. program admits students on an annual, cohort basis. We welcome leaders of all organizational backgrounds and educational contexts to apply now. Spots for the next Fall cohort are filling up fast, and our community just won’t be the same without your insight and abilities! Join us, and let us be a part of the next exciting stage in your leadership journey.

Want to take a deeper dive into the Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership program?

  • Try A Class: Log in to join an Ed.D. cohort class online during the Fall and Spring semesters. 
  • Chat with a current student: Learn about the program from a student's perspective.
  • View Key Program Moments: Video footage from events, workshops, milestones, and firsthand experiences 

Interested in one of these engagement opportunities? Email gradschool@stockton.edu and a staff member will assist you.

 

The program provided formal and in-depth training on leadership development in a cross-organizational setting that allowed me to gain new insight from others whose experience was very different from my own.
Marquetta Alexander, Ed.D.
Marquetta Alexander, Ed.D.
Director of Diversity and Inclusion, RWJBarnabas Health
Cohort 3 - Class of 2021
The curriculum of the program and the sharing of knowledge through interactions with my fellow cohort members have greatly contributed to my individual growth and success as a leader.
Ed Cobbs, Ed.D.
Ed Cobbs, Ed.D.
Chief of Police, Delaware River Port Authority
Cohort 4 - Class of 2022
The degree has given credibility and opened new doors for my career; if I didn't have the doctorate, I wouldn't have had some of the opportunities I've had the past few years.
Cheryl Robinson, Ed.D.
Cheryl Robinson, Ed.D.
Founder, Ready2Roar; Contributor, ForbesWomen
Cohort 2 - Class of 2020

LEAD Cohort 1 Grad

Cohort 4 Graduates - Commencement, May 2022


Program Background  

Program Pillars

  1. Hybrid-Online Synchronous

    All program courses are held online on weekends through live sessions with your full cohort. Advance your career and your leadership abilities all from the comfort of your home.

  2. Interdisciplinary Structure

    Your cohort will be filled with industry professionals across various sectors and backgrounds. Courses will cover a wide range of cutting-edge leadership issues and competencies.

  3. DEI-Focused

    The program prides itself in a strong emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion, with curriculum designed to help develop students to address the social issues of today and tomorrow.

  4. Research Driven

    Throughout the course of the program, you will build skills and awareness necessary to serve as a researcher leader. The dissertation-in-practice serves as a culmination to that journey.

Curriculum

Degree Requirements

The doctorate in Organizational Leadership is a 54-credit program, beyond the Master's degree. Courses are offered executive style, online Friday nights and Saturdays with one summer-intensive week-long face-to-face experience.

Ed.D. Curriculum Worksheet- 54 credits

Sample schedule is for students beginning Fall Term

Course Sequence Subject to Change

Year 1- Fall Semester (6 credits) Year 1- Spring Semester (6 credits)

LEAD 6010 Leading your Organization

LEAD 6020 Engaging Communities & Stakeholders

LEAD 6030 Adapting to Change & Complexity

LEAD 6040 Transforming an Organizational Culture

Year 1 - Summer Session (3 credits)

LEAD 6050  Thinking Creatively, Innovatively & Entrepreneurially (One week - July Residency in Atlantic City)

LEAD 6001 Competency Artifact Completion I (Beginning with Cohort 8)

Year 2- Fall Semester (6 credits) Year 2- Spring Semester (6 credits)

LEAD 6100 Quantitative and Qualitative Research

LEAD 6071 Diversity, Equity, and Inclustion

LEAD 6002 Competency Artifact Completion II (Beginning with Cohort 8)

LEAD 6080 Cultivating Organizational Talent and Innovation

LEAD 6500 Research Seminar I

LEAD 6003 Competency Artifact Completion III (Beginning with Cohort 8)

Year 2- Summer Session (3 credits)

LEAD 6800 Developing Dissertation in Practice Proposal I

LEAD 6004 Competency Artifact Completion IV (Beginning with Cohort 8)

Year 3- Fall Semester (6 credits) Year 3- Spring Semester (6 credits)

LEAD 6801 Developing Dissertation in Practice Proposal II

LEAD 6061 Ethics, Evaluation, Assessing, & Planning

LEAD 7100 Dissertation In Practice/Action Research

 

Year 4- Culminating Dissertation/Action Research Experience (12 credits)

LEAD 7101 Dissertation In Practice/Action Research

LEAD 7102 Dissertation In Practice/Action Research

Course Descriptions as of Summer 2023
Scheduled Class Meetings 2024 - 2025

Dissertation-in-Practice

The doctoral action research/dissertation-in-practice is the capstone experience of the Stockton University Ed. D. in Organizational Leadership program. Like the doctoral program itself, the action research/dissertation-in-practice is innovative. There is a profound desire to know more about ones's research setting and less concern for universality of findings as more value is placed on the relevance of the findings to the researcher and his/her local collaborators as well as the benefits to the organization. The action research doctoral dissertation in practice is distinctive because of its interrelated purposes. The purpose of a doctoral participant’s action research implementation is to make a positive difference in an organizational setting in which the candidate currently is serving.

For course descriptions, please visit The University's Course Catalog.

Admissions Criteria

Application Deadline

Fall enrollment: Rolling admissions
Spring option: non-matriculated courses may be available

Prerequisite Requirements

  • Master's degree or first professional degree (i.e. M.D., J.D.) from a regionally accredited institution of higher education
  • Minimum overall GPA of at least a 3.0

To be considered for admission to the Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership program, applicants must submit the following by the deadline.

  1. Click here to start your application
  2. Application fee: $50 (non-refundable), submitted with your online application
  3. Three current letters of recommendation (sent electronically via the online application)
  4. Graduate application essay
  5. Ed.D. program essay: 
    • In at least 400 words, discuss the following: a) your vision of organizational leadership and b) why anyone would want to be led by you.

  6. Resume
  7. Official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended (master's degree or first professional degree required- i.e. M.D., J.D.) should be emailed, mailed, or dropped off directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

    By mail:

    Office of Graduate Admissions, N-Wing 007a
    101 Vera King Farris Drive
    Galloway, NJ 08205-9441

    Electronically:

    gradschool@stockton.edu

  8. Collaborative group interview with program faculty (eligible applicants will be scheduled after admissions materials are received)
  9. Submit a writing sample of at least 10 pages in length that demonstrates your academic writing abilities for which you are the solo author:
    • It is suggested that academic papers from prior coursework (for example: master’s thesis, capstone) or journal articles that will represent you best in the admissions process. Your submission should cite from peer reviewed articles.
    • If a prior academic paper is not available, you are requested to create an academic paper on a topic of your choice. Your submission should cite from peer reviewed articles.
    • Alternatively, you may provide a professional writing sample; this may be a work-based report that evidences your critical thinking and writing skills.

Frequently Asked Questions

Attendance serves an essential role in the program. Attendance is critical to learning, to the learner’s responsibility to connect with and provide feedback to her or his fellow learners, and for collaborative inquiry. Given that the each course meets only four weekends throughout the semester, that attendance and class participation are a portion of the learner’s grade, that the material in this course builds throughout the semester, attendance is mandatory.  Each fall and spring semester, a student enrolls in two courses, one in sub-term A and another in sub-term B. Each course will meet four times, every other weekend; Friday evening (6 p.m. to 9 p.m.) and all day Saturday (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.). First year students must also complete a one-week summer intensive course during the first summer in Phase I of the program.

 

All courses for the Organizational Leadership program are online. First year students must also complete a one-week summer intensive course during the first summer in Phase I of the program.
Students will only be admitted for fall enrollment only. Spring enrollment is available, but only on non-matriculated basis if courses have openings.

Stockton's Organizational Leadership program will review applications on a rolling basis. This means that fully completed applications for admissions will be considered on a rolling basis. Once admission files are complete, interviews would be conducted for the most qualified applicants. 

Yes, for the spring only. Students are not able to register for classes in the Ed.D. program as a non-matriculated student for the fall. 

No. Students are not able to transfer credits into this program.
The program consists of 54 credits offered face to face and is offered in two phases. The first phase is approximately one and a half years and consists of eight courses including one summer session. The second phase is approximately two years and consists of four courses plus the dissertation in practice experience.

Applicants must complete the Online Application which can be accessed by clicking here.  A complete application includes three letters of recommendation, a graduate application essay, and three supplemental program essays, resume, official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended, and the $50 application fee. 

All transcripts must reflect all coursework taken from every post-secondary institution attended, even if you transferred, withdrew, did not graduate, or the coursework appears on other transcripts. 

If you have applied to Stockton's graduate school within the last five years, you may re-utilize official transcripts and/or official course-by-course evaluations of international credentials. If you have applied more than five years ago, you must submit new official transcripts and/or official course-by-course evaluations. If you began, completed, or are currently undertaking academic coursework official transcripts verifying new coursework and/or degrees, certificates, licenses, endorsements, certifications, etc. must be submitted.

Stockton's Organizational Leadership program will review applications on a rolling basis. This means that fully completed applications for Fall admission will be considered once complete. All completed applications will be sent to the Organizational Leadership Program's Admissions Committee. If appropriate, the Committee will reach out and conduct interviews of the "most qualified" applicants.

All applicants will receive notification of their admissions status no later than July 15 for Fall applicants. Although the review of applications is rolling, the Admissions Committee will work to create a diverse cohort that will balance enrollment by economic sector.
Admission to graduate school is competitive and many programs do not have the capacity to accept all qualified students. Stockton does not automatically place students on a waitlist; these students are highly qualified however, we do not have an admissions spot available at this time.
Waitlist questions are the toughest questions to answer because we are relying on other people to change their mind about not attending Stockton and this could happen between now and the start of classes. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict what will happen. At this time we do not need any more information and should we need additional information a member of the Graduate Admissions teams will contact you.

Need lodging? Traveling to Atlantic City for class and want to spend the night? Stockton University has discount programs with local hotels. Consider staying at the Show Boat or Tropicana in Atlantic City.

Reservations for the month must be booked by the first Friday of the month. 

For Tropicana, please click here.

For Showboat, please click on the appropriate links below: 

October -http://bookings.ihotelier.com/bookings.jsp?groupID=2274211&hotelID=104218

November -http://bookings.ihotelier.com/bookings.jsp?groupID=2274223&hotelID=104218

December -http://bookings.ihotelier.com/bookings.jsp?groupID=2274239&hotelID=104218

Lead with Inspiration - Cheryl Robinson
Lead with Advocacy - Marquetta Alexander

 

Lead with Communication - Chad Roberts

 

Lead with Balance - Akeel Gaines

 

Lead with Passion - Renai Ellison

 

Lead with Empathy - ShyQuira Garden

 

Lead with Acuity - Mark Rizzo

 

Lead with Development - Bill Perkins

 

Lead with Agility - Shirlene Henry-James

 

Lead with Order - Ed Cobbs
2022 Dissertation Showcase

2022 Dissertation Showcase

Doctoral Candidates from Cohort 5 share their research plans as they begin their dissertation-in-practice journeys in Spring 2022.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit Day 1 - Kimberly Reed

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit Day 1 - Kimberly Reed

In the opening keynote address of the DEI Summit, DEI Consultant, best selling author, and dynamic motivational speaker Kimberly Reed speaks of the importance of leading with a DEI-focused lens in a global and diverse society.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit Day 2 - Dr. Marquetta Alexander

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit Day 2 - Dr. Marquetta Alexander

Dr. Marquetta Alexander, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at RWJBarnabas Health and Member of Cohort 3 presents "Leveling the Playing Field: Leading with a DEI Focused Lens in a Diverse and Global Society."

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit Day 3 - Stephanie Wright

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit Day 3 - Stephanie Wright

Assistant Director of Student Conduct at Rutgers University and Doctoral Candidate, Cohort 5 Stephanie Wright presents on "Equity: A Leaders Choice" and the importance of authenticity in DEI work.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit Day 4 - Terrance Jones

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit Day 4 - Terrance Jones

DEI Consultant Terrance Jones discusses the implications and benefits of inclusion and belonging in organizational settings in "Leveling the Playing Field: Leadership with a DEI-Focused Lens in a Global and Diverse Society".

The Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership Advisory Board at Stockton University provides external guidance, support, and insight to assist in developing and advancing the Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership Program. The primary goal of the Advisory Board is to incorporate diverse external perspectives regarding industry trends and leadership practices into program development, curriculum, student engagement, and student/alumni success. 

 

Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership Advisory Board Members

  • Shawn Abner-Purnell, Chief Diversity Officer, South Jersey Industries 
  • Dr. Susan Adelizzi-Schmidt, President, Suasion Communications Group
  • Dr. Marquetta Alexander, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, RWJ Barnabas Health 
  • Dan Brown, President and CEO, Atlantic City Rescue Mission  
  • Dr. Lapell Chapman, Principal, Pleasantville High School 
  • Dr. Edward Cobbs Jr., Chief of Police, Delaware River Port Authority 
  • Dr. Kevin Coopersmith, Adjunct Professor, Stockton University 
  • Dr. Kimberly Dickerson, Assistant Dean, School of Education, Stockton University 
  • Dr. Barbara Gaba, President, Atlantic Cape Community College 
  • Dr. John Gray, LEAD faculty 
  • Erin Husenaj, Head of Employee Engagement, TD Bank 
  • Tara Karver, Senior Director, HR & Certified Executive Coach, Comcast 
  • Dr. Claudine Keenan, Dean, School of Education, Stockton University 
  • Dr. Terry King, Deputy Chief of Detectives, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office 
  • Dr. Esther Lawrence, Assistant Dean, School of Business, Stockton University 
  • Rev. Kevin O'Brien, Pastor, Ocean City Baptist Church 
  • Dr. Sue Porterfield, Vice President for Research, Kean University 
  • Dr. John Quinn, LEAD faculty 
  • Dr. Paula Roberson, ​Director, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation, Hudson County Community College 
  • Dr. Sequetta Sweet, LEAD faculty & Program Chair 
  • Caree Wagner, Student Cohort 8 

 


Apply today. If you have further questions you can Request More Information or call the Office of Graduate Studies at (609) 626-3640 or E-mail gradschool@stockton.edu.

Dr. Sequetta F. Sweet
Chair, Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership Program
Assistant Professor of Organizational Leadership