Program Structure
Our cohort-based, 60-semester unit, year-round program is designed to prepare professional leaders to lead reform efforts in California's PK-12 through post-secondary/adult education schools. All degree candidates complete an independent research project as part of the final doctoral dissertation. The program is designed to enable educational professionals working full-time to earn the degree within three years.
The program provides two specializations with alternating admission cycles:
- PK-12 in Educational Leadership (applications available 10/1/2024)
Post-Secondary in Educational Leadership (admitting cohort Fall 2026)
Applicants study in the particular specialization based on their background professional work experience and future leadership goals. Coursework will consist of core leadership courses taken by all students in the cohort and leadership courses specific to their specialization. We provide students with peer support and faculty advising and mentoring from entry to the doctoral program through completion of the dissertation process.
Program Fees
Estimated Program Costs:
- The Cal State APPLY application fee is currently $70.00
- Tuition for the Ed.D. program is $7,187.20 per semester with 3 semesters a year (Fall, Spring, and Summer) regardless of course load.
- Program fees are based on a year-round program and include the cost of summer sessions. Students pay the same base fees charged for the University of California doctoral programs. Cal State LA is a pre-pay campus. Fees are collected prior to the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Tuition fees must be paid until you finish your program.
- CSU EdD Program fees are based on UC and CSU Trustee decisions
Most doctorate-level students apply for Financial Aid Loans. If you believe you will need assistance from Financial Aid to help assist with the cost of the program, please visit Cal State LA’s Financial Aid office. The EdD Program does not provide fellowships to assist with the cost of the program. However, if you apply for Financial Aid, a percentage of doctoral fees per year do get disbursed to those students who have a financial need. That need is determined by the Financial Aid office and the applicant's FAFSA application.
Cal State LA’s Financial Aid Office: Financial Aid and Scholarships | Cal State LA
Application Requirements
PK-12 (admitting cohort Fall 2025)
Post-Secondary (2026)
- An earned baccalaureate degree and master’s degree from accredited institution of higher education with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in upper division courses and 3.25 or above in graduate study. Official transcripts are required.
- The Cal State LA Doctorate in Educational Leadership is a doctoral degree program designed for those who wish to assume greater leadership roles in educational organizations and are committed to addressing the challenges of urban education through relevant and meaningful scholarship and practitioner-based inquiry. The program also looks to enhance the leadership skills of its candidates through place-based experiences. For this reason, we ask that all applicants have at least four years of professional work experience in a California educational institution, preferably in public PK-12 schools or community colleges.
- The EdD Program uses CSU Apply to generate your supplemental application. You must upload all required electronic documents to the EdD supplemental application (listed below). No paper copies will be accepted.
- We accept one cohort per year. The typical cohort size is generally 15-18 new incoming students.
- New cohort applications are available in the month of October, for the following fall semester.
- On the CSU Apply application, graduate/doctorate level applicants do not need to fill out the following two sections on the CSU Apply Application: Academic History or Supporting Information
- Application Youtube Tutorial
Ed.D. Required Documents to upload:
A professional resume outlining both their academic degree attainment and professional educational work experience.
Demonstrated excellence in writing as demonstrated by samples of academic and professional documents. No more than 10 pages.
Three confidential letters of recommendation attesting to the leadership and scholarship potential of the applicant.
- One letter should be from a university faculty member who is familiar with the applicant’s work.
- One letter should be from a person who has supervised the applicant in an employment setting.
- One should address the applicant’s fit for the Option they are pursuing (i.e. PK-12 Educational Leadership or Postsecondary Educational Leadership).
A written statement of professional purpose that reflects an understanding of the future challenges facing educational organizations and the community they serve.
- A statement of career purpose that describe your reasons for pursuing doctoral study and that reflects your understanding of the challenges facing PK-16 public schools in California.
- What are three accomplishments that demonstrate your leadership potential and skills for participating in education reform? You may consider successful achievements in school, in postsecondary institutions, in your community, and/or more generally in reform and education/social policy leadership.
Discuss experiences and characteristics that demonstrate your ability to succeed in a rigorous program of doctoral studies in education. Include discussion that provides specific evidence concerning:
- Your previous academic study;
- Your problem-solving ability; and
- Your interest in critically accessing and improving educational policies and practices.
- A statement of career purpose that describe your reasons for pursuing doctoral study and that reflects your understanding of the challenges facing PK-16 public schools in California.
An electronic copy of transcripts from each college of attendance after high school. Must be printed within one year of applying to the program. These can be unofficial (opened but current). Official transcripts must be sent to the Cal State LA's Admissions office.
Note: Applicants to the Ed.D. are required to participate in an admissions interview per Executive Order 991, Article 4 (https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/11288323/latest/)
Official Transcripts
Graduate Application and Admission | Cal State LA
In addition to the admission application(s), all supporting academic records must be submitted to the Admissions Office within 3 weeks of Cal State Apply application submission. For Fall admission, transcripts should include coursework completed through the preceding fall term (usually ending in December).
Visit Submitting Documents for information about sending in your academic records and test scores to Cal State LA.
Ed.D. Program Info
Thank you so much for your interest in the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at Cal State LA!
Scheduled ZOOM information sessions for the PreK-12 cohort option:
4:00-5:00pm
MARCH 2025:
Tuesday, March 4 4-5pm
Thursday, March 6 4-5pm
| FACULTY | CONTACT | Topics of Interest | Research Methods |
| Dr. Allison Mattheis Professor/Ed.D. Director [email protected] | Interests:
| Research Methods:
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| Dr. Maria Oropeza-Fujimoto Professor/ Ed.D. Associate Director [email protected] | Interests:
| Research Methods:
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| Dr. Theresa Meyerott Professor/Ed.D. Core Faculty [email protected] | Interests: Focus on academic success of historically marginalized students along the K-16 education continuum and the intersectionality with school culture, cultural proficiency, sense of belonging, and identity. | Research Methods: Mixed Methods Research |
| Dr. Robin Dodds Professor/ Ed.D. Affiliate Faculty [email protected] | Interests: Parents and caregivers of people with disabilities, early intervention, autism spectrum disorder, inclusion | Research Methods: Interview and Focus Groups, Grounded Theory Analysis, Survey Research, Factor Analysis |
| Dr. Charles "Chuck" Flores Professor/ Ed.D. Core Faculty [email protected] | Interests:
| Research Methods:
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| Dr. Yafen Lo Professor/ Ed.D. Affiliate Faculty [email protected] | Interests: Program assessment across diverse settings, including the professional development of family childcare providers, PK-3 topics within higher education, the effectiveness of early childhood education | Research Methods: Both qualitative and quantitative methods, including surveys, experiments, interviews, focus group, content analysis through various study designs. |
| Dr. Yunzhen "Judy" Huang Professor/ Ed.D. Affiliate Faculty [email protected] | Interests: Addiction recovery, positive psychology, implicit disability biases | Research Methods:
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| Dr. Lexi Hwang Professor/ Ed.D. Affiliate Faculty [email protected] | Interests: Strengthening K–postsecondary STEM education by integrating computational simulations, AR, VR, and AI with science pedagogy to enhance learning and expand the STEM pipeline; Advancing K–12 math education with a particular focus on fractions, algebra, and word problems; Supporting inclusive STEM teacher development through innovative training and evidence-based instructional strategies. | Research Methods: Quantitative methods, including advanced statistical approaches. Action research using single-case methods and conducting mixed-method studies. |
| Dr. Enrique Ochoa Professor/ Ed.D. Affiliate Faculty [email protected] | Interests: History of the Américas; Transnational Mexican Studies; Central American Studies; Latinx Studies; Teaching K-16 Critical Ethnic and Gender Studies; Social Movements and Transformational Pedagogies; Public History; Food Studies; Revolutionary Movements | Research Methods: Political economy; critical public history; critical ethnic and gender studies; Marxism, Anarchism, and Third World Revolutionary approaches. |
| Dr. Kimi Waite Professor/ Ed.D. Affiliate Faculty [email protected] | Interests: Environmental Justice and Climate Justice Curriculum & Pedagogy; Environmental Civic Learning; Critical Environmental Education; Citizen and Community Science; Zines and Radical Pedagogy | Research Methods: Critical qualitative research; Portraiture methodology; Citizen and Community Science Research; Teacher Action Research |
| Dr. Lili Zhou Professor/ Ed.D. Affiliate Faculty [email protected] | Interests: Intersection of mathematics education, teacher learning, and community-based approaches. I explore how preservice teachers develop critical awareness of effective mathematics instruction through practice-based experiences—such as simulation teaching and family math events—to bridge theory and practice while fostering inclusive, culturally responsive math classrooms. | Research Methods: Qualitative Research, Comparative Curriculum Analysis, Narrative Inquiry, Case Study, Thematic Analysis, Content Analysis, Mixed Methods |
Program Mission and Vision
Mission
The Cal State LA Educational Leadership Doctorate program is committed to equity and social justice through the development of leaders who reflect consciously, engage critically, and act justly to transform educational systems. We are responsive to and work in partnership with the culturally, linguistically and economically diverse communities of the Greater Los Angeles area.
Vision
These leaders will strategically dismantle and purposefully transform existing unjust systemic racial educational policies and practices through an ongoing practice of personal change and professional growth that involves:
Engagement in personal reflection, critical examination of social identities, unlearning and healing to develop humanizing understandings of leadership and education.
Incorporating the cultural knowledge and professional expertise of local communities.
Effective communication with multiple constituencies, educators, and community members in order to learn from and share best practices.
Combining theory with field knowledge to develop critically conscious analyses of current practices and develop novel approaches or appropriate interventions.
Participation in decision-making processes in local PK-12 schools and districts, community colleges, and regional and state institutional authorities.
EdD Faculty
Dr. Maria Oropeza-Fujimoto
Professor/ Ed.D. Assoc. Director/ Ed.D. Core Faculty
323.343.4343
[email protected]
Ed.D. vs a Ph.D.
The Cal State LA Doctorate in Educational Leadership is a doctoral degree program designed for those who wish to assume greater leadership roles in educational organizations and are committed to addressing the challenges of urban education through relevant and meaningful scholarship and practitioner-based inquiry. With an emphasis placed on leadership in practice, the program fosters an understanding of the many contexts in which educational leadership takes place. It focuses on the expertise, scholarship, and inquiry necessary to advance all students' rights to an education that supports social and economic justice and academic success. The program aims to develop leaders who engage in collaboration with members of diverse urban communities to analyze how the policies and practices of educational, political, and legal institutions are addressing issues of access, equity, and full democratic participation. The program also looks to enhance the leadership skills of its degree candidates through work and community-based experiences. To ensure that applicants have a professional background engaging with the educational sector and community that the sector serves, we ask that all applicants have at least four years of professional work experience in California educational institutions, preferably in public PK-12 schools or community colleges.
Quick Facts
- 3 year program (9 semesters)
- Semester costs: $6810.10 (YR 2024-25)
- Courses scheduled for the working student
- Supportive instructors and staff
- On-site and hybrid coursework
Contact Information
Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership
California State University, Los Angeles
King Hall C1065,
Phone: 323.343.6164
Fax: 323.343.4252
Email: [email protected]
EdD Program Administrative Coordinator: Cathy Morales,
AASE Department Email: Betty Lee, or Karen VonLawn
OFFICE HOURS
Monday | 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday | 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday | 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday | 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM