Loyola University School of Education Catholic Educator (CE) doctoral cohort offers Catholic school educators a unique opportunity to earn the Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on improving Catholic schools with creative, innovative leadership.

Catholic Educator Doctoral Cohort*

Students who enroll in the Ed.D. CE cohort program will receive the multiple benefits of participating in a cohort program at Loyola.

• All of the courses in the program will be taught by highly qualified professors. 
• Students in this cohort program will attend classes together and will therefore benefit from discussing their unique educational and professional experiences in Catholic schools.
• CE cohort candidates will have the opportunity to engage in team-based research focused on improving Catholic schools.

The Catholic Educator Ed.D. cohort group will complete all the requirements for the Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with the following modifications:

• The two CIEP 500 level seminar courses will be designed to address issues related specifically to faith-based schools.
• The four focus area elective courses will be selected to enhance the focus on Catholic education.
• The dissertation will be replaced by a capstone project, which will consist of extensive, team-based research on an identified problem/defined issue in PreK-12 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese.

* A cohort is a group of students who attend together all of the required courses leading to a degree. Students benefit from networking and bonding with one another during the course of their program. Once a cohort is formed, the students remain together for the duration of their degree program. New students are not admitted to a cohort after it begins.

Scholarship Programs

Loyola Scholarship: Loyola University Chicago supports the development of leaders for Catholic Schools by offering a 1/3 tuition scholarship for coursework. This does not include the team-based capstone research project, which has a per semester fee.

Chicago Archdioceses Scholarship: Through a special partnership with Loyola, the Archdiocese of Chicago offers an additional 1/3 tuition scholarship for coursework for Catholic educators who are currently employed in a Chicago Archdiocesan elementary or secondary school. These educators also commit to continue in a Catholic school in the Archdiocese for three years after graduation.

Degree Program Eligibility

All applicants must have a master's degree, at least two years of teaching experience, and currently be employed in a Catholic elementary or secondary school. In addition, the successful candidate will be an advocate of Catholic education with a commitment to remain as an educator/leader in Catholic schools.

Application Requirements include the following:

In addition to the requirements listed on the Application Process page - Ed.D. Curriculum & Instruction,

• one letter of recommendation should be from the applicant's current superintendent, associate superintendent or assistant superintendent
• the statement of purpose should also address your commitment to Catholic education

Fall 2010 Cohort is closed.  Future cohort date to be determined.

Contact Us

For more information please e-mail Michelle Lia, Ed.D. at mlia@luc.edu or call 312-915-6925.