The core difference in the doctorate in education vs PhD question is orientation. A Doctorate in Education (EdD) is a professional doctorate: its research usually starts from a problem in educational practice, often the candidate’s own, and aims to improve that practice while adding to knowledge. A PhD is a research degree built around an original contribution to knowledge in a discipline, and is usually organised mainly around independent, supervised research. Both are doctorates, both require original research, and both lead to the title “Doctor”. Neither is simply a harder version of the other. The better choice depends on the question you want to spend several years answering.

This guide sets out how the two usually differ, develops one research interest as an EdD and as a PhD so you can see the difference in practice, and ends with questions to help teachers, including those working in international schools, decide.

What is a Doctorate in Education?

A Doctorate in Education, usually shortened to EdD, is designed for experienced education professionals: teachers, school leaders, advisers, trainers and others working in or around education. Programmes vary between universities, but many share these features:

A taught first stage. Modules on research methods, educational theory and professional practice, usually assessed through assignments, before the main research project begins.
A cohort. Candidates often move through the taught stage together, which provides peer support and discussion.
Practice-based research. The thesis usually investigates a question arising from professional practice and is expected to say something useful about that practice as well as contribute to knowledge.
Part-time study alongside work. Candidates typically stay in their jobs, and the workplace is often the research setting.

A post on the British Educational Research Association’s blog describes the same pattern: professional doctorates often have a taught element that offers collaboration, support and networking, and they draw on the candidate’s professional experience, whereas a PhD is based on individual research and does not require that grounding in the workplace.

What is a PhD?

A PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is the research doctorate awarded across academic disciplines, from physics to history to education. If your interest is educational, you might study for a PhD in Education specifically, or for a PhD in a broader field, such as humanities and social sciences, with an educational topic. Common features include:

Research from the start. Many programmes include research training, often concentrated in the first year, but the degree is judged mainly on the thesis.
An original contribution to knowledge. The thesis is expected to add something new to the field’s understanding or theory and to position it carefully within existing research.
Independent, supervised work. Candidates work closely with one or more supervisors, often with less structured contact with other candidates than in a cohort-based EdD.
An oral examination. Many PhDs end with a viva voce or defence, in which examiners question the candidate on the thesis. Many EdDs do too.

Doctorate in education vs PhD: the key differences

The table summarises typical differences. Every university designs its own programmes, so treat it as a guide to the questions worth asking rather than a rule.

	Doctorate in Education (EdD)	PhD
Main purpose	Understand and improve professional practice through research	Generate new knowledge or theory in a discipline
Typical starting point	A problem or puzzle in your own professional context	A gap or debate in the research literature
Structure	Often a taught stage followed by a thesis	Mainly supervised research, sometimes with research training
Peer contact	Often cohort-based	Often more individual
Research setting	Frequently your own workplace or sector	Wherever the question requires, often several settings
Thesis contribution	To knowledge and to practice	To knowledge and theory
Typical candidate	Experienced practitioner studying part-time	Varies widely, from early-career researchers to experienced professionals
Title on completion	Doctor	Doctor

One interest, two doctorates: a worked example

The clearest way to see the difference is to take one research interest and develop it both ways. The example below is illustrative. Imagine a secondary science teacher in an English-medium international school who has noticed that multilingual pupils who do well in written tasks rarely speak in whole-class discussion.

As an EdD project

Possible question: How does introducing structured talk routines change the participation of multilingual learners in Grade 9 science discussions in my department?

Likely design: Practitioner research, perhaps in cycles: baseline observations of who speaks in lessons, introduction of routines such as sentence frames and think-pair-share, further observation, pupil focus groups, and interviews with colleagues who try the routines.

What the thesis offers: An account of what changed and why in a real department, analysed against research on classroom talk and language learning, with implications other departments could test.

What needs careful handling: Researching your own pupils and colleagues raises questions of power and consent. Pupils may think they have to take part because you are their teacher, and colleagues may be identifiable in a small school even when names are removed.

As a PhD project

Possible question: How do multilingual adolescents in English-medium international schools come to see themselves as science learners?

Likely design: A study across several schools, perhaps with in-depth interviews and classroom observation over a school year, drawing on theories of identity and language learning to interpret the data.

What the thesis offers: A contribution to how researchers understand language, identity and subject learning, which teachers might later apply but which is not designed around one school’s improvement.

What needs careful handling: Gaining access to several schools, choosing a sample you can justify, and keeping the scope achievable.

Both are serious doctoral projects. If you read the EdD version and thought “that is what I want to find out”, that is a useful signal. If the PhD question stayed with you, that is a signal too.

What the stages of a doctorate usually look like

Whichever route you choose, most doctorates move through a similar sequence, although the order and timing vary by programme:

Proposal. You refine your question, review the relevant research and plan your methods. On an EdD this often sits at the end of the taught stage; on a PhD it is usually the first major milestone.
Review and ethical approval. Your university reviews the plan, and research involving people needs ethical approval before any data is collected.
Data collection. Interviews, observations, surveys, documents or a mix, depending on the question.
Analysis and writing. Usually the longest stage. Drafting chapters as you go, rather than leaving writing to the end, keeps the thesis manageable.
Submission and examination. The thesis is examined, often followed by an oral examination and any corrections the examiners request.

Common assumptions worth questioning

“A PhD is a higher degree than an EdD.” Both are doctoral degrees. They differ in orientation and structure rather than in level.
“An EdD is a PhD with less research.” Some EdD theses are shorter because the taught stage carries part of the assessment, but the research must still be original and of doctoral standard.
“A PhD is only for academics, and an EdD only for school leaders.” People with each degree work in many roles. What matters is whether the degree’s style of research suits the questions you care about.
“You must know your exact question before applying.” You need a credible starting proposal, but questions are routinely refined in the early stages of a doctorate.

Studying a doctorate while teaching in an international school

Many teachers take an education doctorate part-time while working. That raises practical questions worth answering before you apply:

Time. Doctoral study needs regular, protected time over several years. Look honestly at your timetable, leadership duties and the school calendar, including report and examination seasons.
Your research setting. Teachers in international schools often move schools or countries. If your research depends on one school, consider what would happen if you moved partway through. A question that could be studied in more than one setting is more resilient.
Permissions. Researching in a school needs the agreement of its leadership as well as your university’s ethical approval. Raise it early.
Consent in multilingual communities. Information sheets and consent forms may need to be available in families’ home languages and explained so that it is genuinely clear that taking part is optional.
Supervision across time zones. On an online programme, agree meeting times that work within your teaching week, and plan ahead for the busiest weeks of the school year.

How to choose: five questions

Work through these in writing. If you are still deciding whether you need a doctorate at all, start with this guide to choosing between a master’s or doctorate.

Where does your question come from? If it comes from a problem you meet at work and want to solve, an EdD-style design may fit. If it comes from reading, and you want to understand something whether or not it changes your school, a PhD-style design may fit.
Who should read your thesis first? Colleagues and leaders who could act on it, or researchers who will build on it? Ideally both, but one audience usually comes first.
Do you want a cohort and a taught stage? Some people value the structure and peers; others want to start their own research straight away.
How stable is your research setting? Practice-based research needs reliable access to a practice setting for several years.
What work do you want to be doing? Think about the roles and projects you want, then ask people already doing that work what they studied and why.

To see how the answers combine, take two examples. A head of department whose question comes from their own school, who wants colleagues to use the findings and who values a cohort would lean towards an EdD. A teacher fascinated by a question in the literature, planning to research across several schools and comfortable working independently, would lean towards a PhD. Many people fall somewhere between, and then the structure of the specific programme matters more than the label.

Frequently asked questions

What is a doctorate in education?

A doctorate in education (EdD) is a professional doctorate for experienced education practitioners. It usually combines a taught stage covering research methods and theory with a substantial thesis based on original research into a question from professional practice. It is typically studied part-time alongside work and, like a PhD, leads to the title Doctor.

How long is a doctorate in education?

It depends on the university, the programme structure and whether you study full-time or part-time. Part-time education doctorates are usually spread over several years, and some allow extensions. For example, the Doctoral Degree in Education described below is structured over three years. Check the minimum and maximum registration periods of any programme before applying.

Can I do a PhD in education after an MEd?

A master’s degree such as an MEd is a common route into doctoral study, particularly if it included research methods and a dissertation. Entry requirements are set by each university and usually include a research proposal. Your master’s dissertation can be a useful starting point, whether you then apply for a PhD or a professional doctorate.

What are the entry requirements for a doctorate in education?

Each university sets its own, but they commonly include a master’s degree, several years of relevant professional experience, evidence of English proficiency if English is not your first language, and a short research proposal or statement of interest. Some programmes also ask for experience at a particular level of responsibility, so read the entry criteria carefully.

Taito Education offers a programme of each kind. The Doctoral Degree in Education, awarded by Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM), Spain, is studied fully online over three years; see the doctorate in education online page. The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Humanities and Social Sciences, awarded by Woolf University, Malta, is also studied fully online over three years; see the PhD in humanities and social sciences page.

Doctorate in Education vs PhD: how the two doctorates differ and how to choose

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