Erik Estrada
Social Media Editor
AUSTIN—The first doctoral degree program at Texas A&M University-San Antonio is one step away from full approval.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board unanimously approved the university’s request to establish a Doctor of Education, or Ed.D., in educational leadership July 24 during a quarterly meeting at the George H.W. Bush State Office Building.
The fully online program, which would begin in fall 2026, will prepare K-12 administrators such as principals, assistant principals and superintendents. However, final approval is still pending from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
“The possibilities for our students, now they can see themselves in a doctoral program, graduating with a doctoral degree,” Elisabeth Krimbill, associate education professor, said after the meeting. “When it happens in your own backyard, it becomes a possibility versus this thing in the ivory towers of education.”
The team of faculty and administration at the board meeting credited Krimbill for spearheading the effort.
There are 16 current faculty members who will teach courses and support dissertation research in the program, according to agenda materials from the meeting. The university plans to hire two additional faculty members.
The program provides a leadership foundation for administrators, but also for teachers.
“That’s what typically these programs are designed for, but we took a unique step and say there are leaders in the classroom, (too),” said Emma Savage-Davis, dean of the College of Education and Human Development.
The program is a cross-disciplinary collaboration, which will require 54 credits for degree completion.
“This is their program,” Savage-Davis said of the professors who led efforts to establish the program. “Along with the other faculty who are not here. Because our faculty from our early childhood program, our special ed program and our bilingual program are not here, but they are positioned to be a part of this program.”
The program has been in the works since fall 2022, although the university began gathering data as early as fall 2020, Provost Mohamed Abdelrahman and Krimbill said. The Texas A&M System’s Board of Regents approved the degree program in August 2023.
Sean Kearney, education professor, said the university pushed for the program to meet the needs of the community.
“So I would start with saying that this is a win for the South Side of San Antonio, as well as the broader city and region,” Kearney said.
As the only university on the South Side of San Antonio, offering a doctoral program is part of an overall effort to provide equitable opportunities to this largely Hispanic, overlooked side of the city.
“Our education partners in our K-12 districts have been asking for a practitioner doctoral degree to better prepare teachers, campus and central office leaders, and this degree was created specifically as a response to their requests,” said Kearney. “So we’re honored to serve the community and looking forward to meeting the need that has been identified.”
To support the proposal for a doctoral program, the university provided materials to the THECB that gave statistics on the importance of establishing programs like this.
According to the Texas Workforce Commissioner, there is a “13% increase in the need for K-12 education administrators from 2022 to 2032.”
These projections reflect the need for education administrators statewide.
In a Hanover Research Report requested by A&M-San Antonio, “an increasing number of school leadership roles, such as a superintendent, require or prefer a doctoral degree.”
Students who attend the online doctoral program can expect an average cost of $10,440 per year for both residents and non-residents, according to agenda materials from the meeting.
Savage-Davis said students would be able to finish the program in four years, with the possibility of adding a three-year fast-track option in the future.
A&M-San Antonio President Hector Ochoa said the goal is to continue implementing more undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs.
Abdelrahman said he hopes to develop the next doctoral program in STEM with a focus on genetics and genomics.
The team seemed thrilled to accomplish the achievement and hopeful to set A&M-San Antonio off on its latest journey.
“A historical moment for our university, and it’s our very first doctoral program,” said Ting Liu, dean of graduate studies. “It’s really making us very visible in the South Side and in Texas.”
In Texas, there are currently 26 public institutions with similar programs, A&M-San Antonio slated to be the 27th.
“We’re 16 years old and for us to have moved into this lane so early, you know, sky’s the limit on our future,” said Savage-Davis.
Valeria Medina contributed to this story.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article misspelled Sean Kearney’s name. The error has been corrected.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the date as July 24. It has been corrected to July 25.
