I have tried to gather as much information from people who are currently studying / have completed either of these qualifications to try and establish whether or not there is any feeling of discrimination between these awards. The reason I ask is that I have the opportunity of doing the Ed D part time while continuing to teach full time and feel that, because my first MA was not in my specific area (language, cultural communication and media), it would be of great benefit to study taught moduels in these areas. My concern is that I do not want to invest all my time, effort (and money!) into a programme that is not going to put me on an even footing with people who have a PhD. Can anybody offer me any insight in relation to what you have experienced / are experiencing? Thank you in advance

Hi Zesty,

I am not far off making this decision for myself. My Masters should be done within days or weeks and I can apply for one of these in the next academic year (for myself in Australia-that would be January). Anyway, to get to the point, I have been wondering which to do and so have been exploring the options.

My findings are that it tends to be a decision best made as to what suits your purpose and goals. For example, I do believe that the Phd still carries just that bit more credibility as a terminal (or highest level) research degree. I know you can go higher in some European countries, like Germany, and the odd uni here or there but for most of us, the Phd would be the pinnacle. The Educational Doctorate is very high but appears to sit just that little bit lower than your all purpose Phd. I would think that if you want to go the academic road and this is your goal (lecturing in Uni-research-being an academic) then the Phd is probably what you would want to do.

Having said this, the DEd is a high qualification and it is a great practioner type qualification. A degree that will train you in research that is designed to be practical in mind for those professionals who still wish to work in their field as teachers, principals, educational managers, public servants, etc. Not that a Phd wont do this-but I know as a teacher, for example, it isn't something that is necessarily highly regarded if you want to teach-it is more important that you are a proficient teacher and professional, than whether you have a Phd or not. If you have a Phd and can't teach (in schools-not uni-different kettle of fish altogether) then you don't really get terribly much respect for the Phd.

Ed Doctorates are designed, in most cases, for fairly busy professionals who are working-so while it is long, intensive and requires genuine research, the research is often tailored to your professional work and can be for example-three major research projects of a masters (20,000) word level, presented with a theoretical paper that links them of around 15,000 words or so. It always has some research course work to help you get back into the swing of research and methods.

I think if you intend to stay in professional life (mostly) and just want to really fine tune your knowledge, perhaps be able to educate adults, teach a single course at uni as an adjunct, or present at conferences, then the DEd, is probably really all you need, and it is regarded as a very high level qualification-and one you can often complete in the 6 to 7 years outlined as well.

However, for going the academic pathway as a lecturer or professor, you probably need to take on the Phd. Less guidance and mainly on a single topic-but it is the pathway for this type of work.