Doctor of Education in Leadership for Educational Equity, Justice, Equity, and Diverse Identities (JEDI)

Program Details

The curriculum in CU Denver’s EdD concentration in Justice, Equity, and Diverse Identities centers on social justice and promotes ideas of educational equity, transformative education, and justice for historically marginalized learners, families, and communities. Students delve into the idea of educators as intellectual activists, facilitating liberation. The concentration area promotes an activist approach where students are equipped with a critical lens to rectify systemic issues. Graduates of this program serve as leaders across educational systems, P-20, government, community agencies, and other not-for-profit organizations.

Students of this EdD concentration will:

• Study and apply critical theories to current, historical, and sociopolitical realities of marginalized identities and communities while also exploring a variety of frameworks that align or complement individual interests and potential research areas.
• Work closely with faculty members as they progress through coursework and consider research avenues which explore questions of equity, ethics, and social justice to bring about solutions to complex problems of practice.
• Focus on leadership skills so you can construct and apply knowledge to make a positive difference in the lives of individuals, families, organizations, and communities.
• Develop and demonstrate academic writing and collaboration skills to build a professional knowledge base that integrates both practical and research knowledge, linking theory with systemic and systematic inquiry to center diverse communities and to build partnerships.
• Apply a critical theoretical lens to the generation, transformation, and use of professional knowledge and practice, culminating the program with a Doctoral Research Project (DRP). The DRP is a scholarly endeavor that impacts a complex problem of Practice using critical theories and methodologies to uncover experiences of students and families.

The program prepares educational leaders who:

• value educational excellence and social justice
• seek to lead change against educational inequities in underserved schools and communities
• value complexities and unique opportunities of diverse communities

Choose CU Denver's School of Education & Human Development

The program strives to provide an education that prepares students for excellence in their career as a leader. Graduates will be keenly aware of the value, complexities, and unique opportunities of urban and diverse communities. Our school is recognized for preparing leaders of distinction who value educational excellence and social justice. Additionally, SEHD is counted among U.S. News & World Report's “Best Graduate Schools,” making us one of the top education schools in the country.

Courses

The 54-credit program coursework is completed in approximately three years followed by the time required to complete the Doctoral Research Project.

Cohort-based program: A new cohort begins every other summer beginning Summer 2027. Students who defer their acceptance to JEDI will wait two years to begin their program. We are not currently accepting applications for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Fully online courses with synchronous and asynchronous classes and seminars each semester; mix of eight and 16-week courses.

The curriculum includes the following elements:

• 12 hours in EdD core courses within equity, leadership and learning core areas (four 3-credit courses)
• Nine hours in the research core (three 3-credit courses)
• 12 hours in concentration area courses (four 3-credit courses)
• Six hours of elective courses (two 3-credit courses)
• 15 hours of seminars and the completion of a doctoral research project

The program strives to expose students to context-specific best practices, interdisciplinary connections, and applied research. This is all set within an environment that stresses the application of theory to practice. The EdD program has been designed to enable students to complete program requirements in three to four years.