Online doctorate in education: comparing Taito’s 12 doctoral routes and choosing one

An online doctorate in education lets you take a question from your own professional work to doctoral level while you keep your school post. Taito offers twelve fully online doctoral routes, awarded by four universities: UCAM in Spain, Guglielmo Marconi University in Italy, Woolf University in Malta and UTAMED in Spain. They lead to different titles. They organise the first year differently, and they’re written for different people. Compare them in the table, then use the goal section to narrow your list.

Online doctorate in education options compared

Every route here is studied fully online. Durations and credit totals come from each programme page. Universities count credits in different ways: the Marconi and UTAMED programmes use ECTS (the European credit system), the UCAM pages list credits, and the Woolf PhD counts study hours.

Nine routes are Doctorates in Education, the professional doctorate usually shortened to EdD. One carries the PhD title. Only the integrated route includes a master’s stage.

Three shapes of doctorate: professional, research and integrated

The UK’s Quality Assurance Agency publishes a characteristics statement for doctoral degrees that sets out the common forms. It’s written about UK doctorates, so use it for the vocabulary. It doesn’t describe these programmes.

• Professional doctorates. The statement notes that professional doctorates began with the Doctor of Education, for employed professionals returning mid-career, and that they included intensive taught modules at the start of study. The award still rests on a supervised research project, normally set within the candidate’s own profession.
• Research doctorates (PhD). The PhD has traditionally centred on independent research with a supervisor.
• Integrated doctorates. These are more structured, with taught modules at master’s or doctoral level in the first year or two. They normally offer master’s-level exit awards based on those taught modules.

Every form asks for an original contribution to knowledge, examined through a thesis and an oral examination (the viva). Our guide to the Doctorate in Education vs PhD compares the two main types in more depth.

What the first year looks like on each route

Year one is where the routes part company. Module titles below are quoted exactly as the programme pages give them.

UCAM Doctoral Degree in Education

Year one is 60 credits across five modules: Introduction to Educational Research Method; Critical Thinking: Reflective and Reflexive Practice; Leading Change and Innovation; Educational Technology and Organisational Development; and Doctoral Research Proposal (Master’s Thesis). Years two and three cover dissertation registration, confirmation of supervision, the dissertation and the defence.

UCAM Integrated Doctoral Degree in Education

It opens with the taught master’s stage: Transformative Learning; Instructional Leadership; Critical Reflection in Educational Practice; Introduction to Educational Research; Curriculum Design and Technology; and Research Methods. The doctoral stage then repeats the year-one modules of the UCAM Doctoral Degree in Education before the dissertation. Along the way, the programme page lists three UCAM awards: a Master’s Degree in Education (MEd), a Master’s Degree in Research in Education (MRes) and the Doctoral Degree in Education.

Guglielmo Marconi Doctorate in Education and specialisations

Year one is 60 ECTS across five modules of 12 ECTS each: Educational Research Design and Method; Research Perspectives in Generative AI and Innovation in Education; Applied Research for Diversity and Inclusion in Education; Leadership for Sustainable Educational Development; and Doctoral Research Proposal. The general Doctorate in Education and all six specialisations list the same five year-one modules. What changes is the field named in your award title and the area your thesis covers. Ask an advisor how the specialisation shapes supervision.

Woolf Doctorate in Educational Leadership

Year One: Advanced Research Planning and Methodology includes Advanced Research Planning and Methodology; Fundamentals of Research Methodology; Leadership and Management in Educational Settings; Leading Educational Change and Innovation; Technology and Innovation in Educational Leadership; Educational Leadership for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and Doctoral Thesis Writing and Research Methods. Year Two: Research Development and Progress Review is supervised research. Year Three: The Thesis ends with Thesis Completion and Viva Voce Examination.

Woolf PhD in Humanities and Social Sciences

Year one (2,000 hours) goes on research preparation: Advanced Research Planning and Methodology; Fundamentals of Research Methodology; Design of Research Projects; Research Ethics and Sustainability; and Doctoral Thesis Writing and Research Methods. Year two (1,000 hours) is Research Development and Progress Review. Year three (1,500 hours) is Thesis Completion and Viva Voce Examination.

UTAMED Doctorate in AI in Education

Year one is six modules of 10 ECTS each: Research Design and Practices; AI Driven Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment; Generative AI in Education; AI Innovation, Leadership and Change in Education; Ethics, Governance and Policy in AI in Education; and Doctoral Research Proposal. Years two and three are 60 ECTS each.

Which route fits your goal

Pick the question first. The programme follows from it.

You want to improve practice in your school or organisation

This is the textbook case for a professional doctorate. A question such as “How does structured peer observation change feedback practice in a secondary maths department?” starts in practice and aims to improve it. UCAM’s Doctoral Degree in Education and Guglielmo Marconi University’s Doctorate in Education both open with a taught research year, then move to a supervised thesis. UCAM’s taught year leans towards reflective practice and change. Marconi’s covers generative AI, inclusion and sustainable leadership.

You want a research-led doctorate with the PhD title

Perhaps your question is more conceptual, for example “How have ideas of learner autonomy changed in English-medium schooling since 2000?”, and you want the PhD title. Then look at the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Humanities and Social Sciences from Woolf University. It’s the only PhD among Taito’s routes. Its first year goes on research planning, methodology, project design and research ethics, with no subject modules.

Your interest is artificial intelligence in education

Plenty of people search for a PhD in AI in education. Taito’s dedicated route is the Doctorate in AI in Education from UTAMED, and the award title is a doctorate. It isn’t a PhD. Every year-one module is about AI, from curriculum and assessment to ethics and policy. If you’d rather hold the PhD title and still research an AI topic, the Woolf PhD’s Advanced Research Planning and Methodology module description lists “behaviour, classroom training, AI in education” among its specialised areas.

You lead, or want to lead, a team or institution

For a doctorate in educational leadership online, Woolf University’s Doctorate in Educational Leadership puts leadership at the centre of year one. Modules on leadership and management, change, technology and inclusion sit alongside research methods. Entry asks for senior management experience. If you prefer the Marconi structure, look at the Doctorate in Education in Educational Management and Administration instead.

You already know your specialist field

If your research sits clearly in one area, a Marconi specialisation puts that field in your award title: Educational Technology, International Education, Assessment & Quality Assurance in Education, Sustainability in Education and Educational Psychology, as well as Educational Management and Administration. Say you teach in an international school across more than one curriculum. International Education suits questions that compare systems. Assessment & Quality Assurance suits questions about moderation and school self-evaluation.

You do not have a master’s degree yet

UCAM’s Integrated Doctoral Degree in Education was built for this. It’s an integrated doctorate in education that runs the master’s stage and the doctoral thesis as one 40-month route, so you don’t apply twice. Its page lists a bachelor’s degree with transcripts among the documents. The Doctorate in AI in Education also lists a bachelor’s degree as its entry requirement. An advisor can confirm whether your background fits either.

Entry requirements at a glance

These are the requirements as the programme pages list them. An advisor confirms eligibility case by case.

• UCAM Doctoral Degree in Education and all seven Marconi routes: a master’s degree in education, at least three years of work experience in education management at an appropriately senior level, and English at IELTS 6.0.
• Woolf Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Woolf PhD: a master’s or a related EQF 7 degree, several years of experience in a senior management or executive role, and leadership experience.
• UCAM Integrated Doctoral Degree in Education: documents include a bachelor’s degree with transcripts, a statement of purpose and an experience or employment letter.
• UTAMED Doctorate in AI in Education: a bachelor’s degree.

A five-step checklist before you speak to an advisor

1. Write your question in one sentence. Does it start from a problem in your own practice, or from a gap in what is known? The first points to a professional doctorate, the second to a PhD.
2. Shortlist two routes from the table. Read the focus column first, then compare the first-year modules.
3. Check entry against your record. Set your highest qualification and years in post against the list above. No master’s? Start with the integrated route.
4. Plan for three years. Teachers in international schools often move schools or countries. Would your research question survive a move?
5. Prepare your questions. Ask the advisor about intake dates, how supervisors are assigned, how often supervision meetings happen and how long the thesis is. Financial details are available on request.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get a doctorate in education online?

Yes. All twelve of Taito’s doctoral routes are studied fully online, from the taught modules through supervision to the final thesis defence. That covers the UCAM, Guglielmo Marconi, Woolf and UTAMED programmes alike. You keep your teaching post while you study, and an advisor can explain how live sessions and supervision fit around a school timetable.

How long does an online EdD take?

Most of Taito’s routes are listed at three years: the UCAM Doctoral Degree in Education, the seven Guglielmo Marconi routes (the Educational Psychology page states 36 months), both Woolf doctorates and the UTAMED Doctorate in AI in Education. The Integrated Doctoral Degree in Education takes 40 months because it includes the master’s stage.

Is the Doctorate in AI in Education a PhD?

No. The award title is Doctorate in AI in Education, awarded by UTAMED, Spain. Its taught first year is entirely about AI, and research follows. The only Taito route that carries the PhD title is the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Humanities and Social Sciences from Woolf University, Malta.

Can I do a doctorate in education without a master’s?

Two routes list a bachelor’s degree on their programme pages. One is UCAM’s Integrated Doctoral Degree in Education, which builds a master’s stage into the programme. The other is UTAMED’s Doctorate in AI in Education. The remaining routes list a master’s degree, and an advisor can check your qualifications before you apply.

Each route is fully online, delivered by Taito and awarded by its university: UCAM for the Doctoral Degree in Education and the Integrated Doctoral Degree in Education, Guglielmo Marconi University for the Doctorate in Education and its specialisations, Woolf University for the leadership doctorate and the PhD, and UTAMED for the Doctorate in AI in Education. Talk to an advisor about intakes and which route suits your question.