Ed.D. Programs in Vermont

Earning a Doctor of Education Degree in Vermont

In our school listings, you’ll see just one Vermont institution that offers a doctoral program in education: UVM. If you choose it, you’ll end up going to a well-respected university that’s CAEP-accredited and a long-time member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED). UVM doesn’t offer a great deal of doctoral funding, but it’s doing some good work with partner schools.

Looking for an alternative option? You could talk to SNHU about the possibility of starting or joining one of the Vermont cohorts in SNHU’s Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. See our state profile of New Hampshire for more info on this degree.

Planning your post-graduation strategy? Have a look at our career section. To help you prepare for job interviews, we’ve highlighted sources of PK-20 administrative job & wage data, including school report cards and salary tables. Vermont newcomers can also read up on VT educational leadership associations (e.g. VPA) and find dates for conferences & professional development programs.

Doctoral Education Funding in Vermont

Internal Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards

For this section, we chose to focus on institutional aid—awards & fellowships offered by the university. UVM’s Student Financial Services and the Graduate College can provide advice on federal & private loans and tuition reimbursement from work. You should also feel free to ask the Ed.D. program coordinator how current students are funded.

University of Vermont

The Graduate College has a section on Funding Your Graduate Degree, with details on Assistantships/Fellowships available through UVM resources. The Ed.D. is designed for full-time working professionals, so assistantships may or may not be relevant to you. The page on Graduate Student Scholarships has further ideas, but we didn’t see any awards that were specific to the doctorate.

School Administration Licensure Requirements in Vermont

Administrator Endorsements

The Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) handles licensure for public school educators and the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators (VSBPE) sets the rules. Educational leaders in Vermont typically add an administrator endorsement to their existing license. Your options for this include:

• Assistant Director for Adult Education (Endorsement #20)
• Career Technical Center Director (Endorsement #92)
• Director of Curriculum (Endorsement #93)
• Director of Special Education (Endorsement #86)
• Principal (Endorsement #91)
• Superintendent (Endorsement #90)
• Supervisor (Endorsement #75)

You’ll find requirements for each of these endorsements listed in Rule 5440 VSBPE Licensing Endorsements—see AOE’s section on Licensing Endorsement Areas for the link. AOE also provides a list of Programs Approved for the Preparation of Educators. In Vermont, principals and superintendents need to hold a master’s degree as a minimum.

However, we need to point out that the Rule 5440 link may be outdated—the VSBPE voted to approve revised rules for administrator endorsements in February/March 2019. We’ve listed the new requirements for principals & superintendents, but you should check with AOE to make sure they have not undergone further revision.

Administrator Endorsements: Baseline Requirements

In order to qualify for any Vermont administrator endorsement, you must demonstrate competencies in Core Leadership Standards for Vermont Educators through experiences and expertise as evidenced below:

• Master’s degree
• Leadership coursework
• Coursework required for the specific administrator license
• Knowledge and application of school law, state regulations, and school board process to develop policies
• Leadership experience evidenced by documentation of 300 hours of supervised field experience that shows competency in the Core Leadership Standards through evidence aligned to each of the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders

In addition, the School Leaders Licensure Assessment test is required for all educators seeking any administrator endorsement unless they have completed a master’s degree in educational leadership.

Note: According to the revised rules, when adding a second administrative endorsement, the full 300 hour requirement may not be required.

Principal Endorsement (#91)

In order to qualify for a Principal endorsement, you must also:

• Have three or more years of PK-12 teaching experience as a licensed educator

Superintendent Endorsement (#90)

In order to qualify for a Superintendent endorsement, you must also:

• Have six or more years of experience including:
  • Three or more years of PK-12 teaching experience as a licensed educator
  • Three or more years of educational administration experience as a licensed administrator

Educational Leadership Jobs in Vermont

Educational Leadership Career Outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monitors employment & wage data for elementary & secondary school education administrators and postsecondary education administrators in every state. We especially favor the job maps on these pages, since they allow you to view Vermont in context with its neighbors. Hover over an area to view the data points.

For example, Vermont doesn’t have a lot of K-12 administrators—no surprise, when you factor in population numbers. But it often has the highest concentration of these administrators in the country. Burlington usually accounts for ~27% of the employment market.

If you’d like to know more about specific K-12 schools & districts in Vermont:

• The AOE has a comprehensive section on Data and Reporting, with links to Financial Reports, K-12 School Reports, and reports on Educational Performance.
• In particular, the Teacher and Staff FTE Report has a detailed breakdown of administrative staff numbers. Jobs have remained steady for most categories. Having said that, the period between 2012-2017 saw a rise in positions for Vermont special education directors.

Data aren’t always available for Vermont postsecondary education administrators on the BLS site. But you’ll find plenty of information on individual VT colleges and universities by using the National Center for Education Statistics’s IPEDS tool and College Navigator. In addition:

• The Vermont State Colleges System (VSCS) publishes detailed System Data (check out the Sourcebook).
• UVM’s Office of Institutional Research fulfills a similar function. Here you’ll find the Catamount Data Center, faculty and staff information, sourcebooks, and much more.

Educational Leadership Salaries

You’ll find annual mean wages for four types of education administrator, including preschool, listed in State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for Vermont.

Wages for Vermont K-12 administrators tend to be on par with Maine and New Hampshire. As you might expect, they’re better in Burlington and the south than they are in the Northeast Kingdom. You can compare the BLS’s numbers to the table of average administrator salaries listed in the AOE’s Teacher and Staff FTE Report.

If you can’t find any wage data for Vermont postsecondary education administrators on the BLS website, have a quick look at the Chronicle of Higher Education’s table of average Vermont Faculty Salaries. You’ll notice that Middlebury and UVM often top the list of high-paying employers. We also want to highlight a couple of public university resources:

• UVM’s section on UVM Annual Lists of Base Pay contains individual salaries (by name). Or you can view Average Faculty Salaries.
• VSCS’s annual Sourcebook contains average salaries of full-time faculty (by faculty rank) and average salaries of full-time employees by bargaining unit.

Educational Leadership Job Boards

Conventional job sites (e.g. Indeed, LinkedIn, HigherEdJobs, etc.) will contain postings for Vermont educational leaders and PK-20 administrators. But there are a few more specific options.

• Vermont Education Jobs is run by SchoolSpring. You can search for K-12 jobs by category (e.g. Administrator).
• The Vermont State Colleges System advertises Job Postings in its member institutions.
• UVM has its own website where you can Search Jobs by position type.

Educational Leadership Organizations in Vermont

Educational Leadership Associations

• Vermont Association of School Business Officials (VASBO): VASBO represents the needs and concerns of Vermont professionals involved on the business side of school administration (e.g. business managers). It offers certification and it’s a state affiliate of ASBO International.
• Vermont Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (VASFAA): VASFAA supports professionals in educational institutions and other organizations who are involved in the administration of student financial aid. Membership is by institution. It’s a state affiliate of NASFAA.
• Vermont Council of Special Education Administrations (VCSEA): VCSEA acts as a voice for Vermont special education administrators and other special education leaders. It’s affiliated with CASE.
• Vermont-National Education Association (Vermont-NEA): Vermont-NEA is a labor union representing ~13,000 public education employees. It’s a state affiliate of the NEA.
• Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA): VPA members include Vermont principals, assistant and associate principals, athletic directors, aspiring principals, retired school leaders, and other educational leaders. Check out its Annual Survey of School Leaders. It’s a state affiliate of NAESP and NASSP.
• Vermont School Boards Association (VSBA): VSBA helps all Vermont school boards serve as effective trustees for education on behalf of their communities. It often works closely with Vermont superintendents and it offers Superintendent Search services.
• Vermont Superintendents Association (VSA): VSA membership is open to Vermont superintendents and assistant superintendents and individuals with superintendent credentials who are working in other capacities.

Note: State and national educator organizations often have funds & scholarships available for continuing education (e.g. Ed.D.). Check the website and ask about opportunities.

Educational Leadership Events in Vermont

Educational Leadership Conferences

• Tri-State ASBO Conference: This joint three-day conference in May attracts ~100 school business officials from Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
• VASFAA Summer Conference: VASFAA’s flagship event for Vermont student financial administrators is held over two days in June.
• VPA Equity Summits: Equity Summits occur around the state at various times in the year. VPA invites school leaders, education partner organizations, and students to explore how to remove barriers to equity in Vermont’s public schools.
• VPA Leadership Academy: This annual three-day program for Vermont principals and aspiring principals is a combination of conference & training—you can choose from different educational strands. It usually takes place in late July/early August.
• VSA/VSBA Fall Conference: This two-day conference in early November brings together Vermont superintendents, school board members, and educational leaders.

Educational Leadership Training

• VCSEA New Leader Academy: The Academy is a year-long professional development program supporting Vermont special education administrators who are new to the field of administration.
• VPA Equity Practitioners Network (EPN): This two-year, cohort-based program is intended to help teams of school leaders implement structural systems change in their school and/or district.
• VPA Mentoring: VPA can help arrange mentoring for new school principals and career center directors.
• VSA Leadership Academy: This year-long professional development program for education leaders provides insights into the major responsibilities of the job of the superintendent and supports skill development in key areas. All-day session are held once a month over the year.