UM School of Education “Hybrid” Doctorate Enrollment Tops 100

For the third straight year, the University of Mississippi School of Education is seeing record application and enrollment growth in its new “Hybrid Ed.D.” program — UM’s new approach to the terminal Doctor of Education degree.

Designed for working education professionals, there were 48 applications in 2014, 85 applications for 2015 (a 77% jump) and 120 applications for 2016 (up 41% from the previous year). This fall, there are currently more than 100 Ed.D. students enrolled at UM.

“I want to commend our faculty for envisioning and designing these professional doctorates,” says David Rock, dean of the UM School of Education. “If we want to have the best education workforce, then we have to rethink how we train education professionals to meet the needs of their changing professions. These Ed.D. programs are challenging. But, they also create an opportunity for professionals who want to be change agents in their field.”

The rapid growth can be attributed to the new Ed.D. program’s creative and flexible approach geared toward education professionals with busy lives. UM’s “hybrid” approach combines online learning and face-to-face coursework on weekends. The Hybrid Ed.D. programs take three years to complete and have been so popular they have produced a 6.5% increase in overall graduate enrollment in the UM School of Education.

Currently, UM is offering Hybrid Ed.D. programs in K-12 educational leadership, higher education and secondary mathematics education. Depending on major, the face-to-face coursework takes place in Oxford, Jackson and other locations across the state.

“It’s the best of both worlds,” says Andrew Abernathy, communications specialist for the UM School of Education. “Education professionals who have demanding careers, who many times are the very people who want to earn a terminal degree, are able to make it work due to the flexibility.”

In addition to the hybrid nature of the coursework, the other primary difference between the traditional Ph.D. and the Hybrid Ed.D. is that the Hybrid Ed.D.’s dissertation is termed a “dissertation in practice.”

As part of a dissertation in practice. UM Hybrid Ed.D. students will be required to identify a real world problem in educational practice, formulate a plan to address the problem, implement the plan and evaluate the results.

The idea of a dissertation in practice has been in the works since 2007 with the formation of the nationally known Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) There are currently more than 80 colleges and schools of education working together to analyze and advance the professional doctorate in education.

Mark Ortwein, assistant professor of teacher education at Ole Miss, teaches the Ed.D. class called EDFD 707: The Professional Philosophy.

“I’ve been struck by the bond of friendship and professionalism that has developed between students. This kind of camaraderie is truly special in education and provides an added layer of support that promotes deeper learning and increases the likelihood of degree completion. This is no small matter given the high attrition rates in typical doctoral programs. I think this is one of the primary strengths of our cohort system.”

According to Abernathy, the program is not limited to those with undergraduate or master’s degrees in education. People enrolling in the higher education Ed.D. program come from many career areas within higher education.

“We have people from student affairs, athletics, UMMC and even people with MBAs who want to earn this degree,” Abernathy points out. “This program appeals to a wide variety of professionals and this allows our doctoral students to study higher education issues from many perspectives.”

Hybrid Ed.D. Student Profile

Second-year Ed.D. student Lynnette Johnson of Oxford currently works in Athletics at Ole Miss. She has a B.S. in physical education from East Carolina University and a master’s degree in education from Ole Miss. She is pursuing an Ed.D. in higher education.

Why did you choose the Hybrid Ed.D. program at Ole Miss?

“I was looking for a program that was shorter time period than a Ph.D. and had a larger administrative nexus. I also like to be a part of firsts. This program was new and very interesting.”

What are your thoughts/opinions that might help other students considering the program?

“You need to be prepared to go straight through three years. This is a cohort, so all students take the same class at the same time. You must graduate in the three years. You must attend classes on several Saturdays. You have to balance work, family and making sure you hit all class deadlines. You will enjoy getting to be close to your classmates as you attend class together. We are very supportive of each other. The Ole Miss School of Education has assembled very strong professors to lead the program.”

For more information on all School of Education graduate programs, visit this link: Graduate Programs

View the entire School of Education Graduate School view book “Opportunity Starts Here.”

Allison Buchanan is CEO of New Media Lab LLC, parent company of HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at allison.buchanan@hottytoddy.com She can be reached at

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UM School of Education “Hybrid” Doctorate Enrollment Tops 100

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