William Paterson launches doctorate aimed at creating executive leaders

William Paterson University is launching a doctoral program to prepare students for executive leadership roles, it announced this week.

The Wayne-based college said in a news release that the doctor of education in leadership will begin in July 2021. It will be a three-year, 55-credit program that will prepare participants for roles in education, social services, health care, business and more.

“This new doctoral degree provides a valuable, and integrated, way of engaging leaders from multiple organizational settings,” Joshua Powers, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said in a prepared statement. “Societal needs transcend sectors, and leaders prepared to address problems in that way are critical.”

The program is aimed at working professionals, with limited required in-person attendance and most work done online, William Paterson said.

Candidates for the doctorate would take two courses each fall and spring, as well as completing a three-day residency requirement each summer. Courses meet in person one Saturday per month.

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Applications for the first cohort are due Feb. 1. For more information, email graduate@wpunj.edu or call 973-720-3641.