The Department of Educator and Leadership Preparation at Texas A&M University-San Antonio was approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in January to start advertising its Doctor of Education degree, or Ed.D., which will welcome 15 students in fall 2026.
The program expects to receive final approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges within the first week of June.
The framework for the degree is all set up and ready to go after approval.
“The design of this program is that it has three categories of coursework or three prongs to the program,” W. Sean Kearney, professor of educational administration, said.
The three categories are the leadership component, research component and cognate area.
The leadership component consists of six courses.
The research component consists of six courses that lead into a dissertation of practice. A dissertation of practice is the ending research project for an Ed.D.
The cognate area includes the elective courses students get to take. The different cognates are superintendency, bilingual, early childhood, special education and interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary, which has some classes from each cognate.
Many of the classes focus on building solutions that school leaders face today.
“The purpose of our program is to be rooted in the community,” Lawrence Scott, associate professor of educational leadership, said.
Students will gain social and experiential connections to the community through this program. A&M-San Antonio combines theory and practice in the courses to give students the skills needed to succeed.
“People that would be interested in this degree would be educators and school leaders who want to expand their knowledge base and conduct actual research to improve educational experiences for all children and adolescents in our community,” Elisabeth Krimbill, associate professor of educational leadership, said.
Over 50 students have reached out to the Department of Educator and Leadership Preparation for information about the Ed.D., and officials expect around 50 more once they start marketing the program.
Between 75 and 150 students are expected to apply for the Ed.D. program in fall 2026, Krimbill said.
Only 15 students will be accepted into the program.
Two faculty member positions will be posted during this spring semester.
Students will start seeing billboards and hearing announcements about the program on the radio soon.
The department is relying on current students and alumni to market the program.
They are working closely with the marketing and strategic communications office at A&M-San Antonio to get the program out there.
“This program is so unique, it will probably sell itself,” Krimbill said.
For more information on the Ed.D. program at A&M-San Antonio, email elisabeth.krimbill@tamusa.edu.
