Degrees · Ohio
PhD in Education Pathways in Ohio
PhD in Education in Ohio is a graduate award, not Professional Principal License. This table lists 14 institutions with matching IPEDS completions. Completions are not approval to recommend candidates for the license. Use the Ohio principal checklist for the credential.
A PhD in Education is a research doctorate preparing scholars for faculty, policy, and research roles. Like the EdD, it is not an initial teaching license. Candidates seeking classroom certification should follow state licensure routes separately.
Reviewed by Brittnie Vargas, School principal, M.Ed.Editorial processHow this degree relates to the Ohio principal credential
The Ohio license is Professional Principal License. Read the principal checklist for steps, exams, and the board source — this page is the IPEDS inventory for PhD in Education, not a second copy of that checklist.
Ohio’s principal license is grade-banded, which is the detail that most often undoes an otherwise complete CORE application. The State Board of Education of Ohio issues a Professional Principal License tied to early childhood, middle-level, 5–12, or related bands that match the ages and grade levels of the candidate’s qualifying teaching. Two years of successful high-school teaching under a standard or professional license supports a 5–12 principal license; those same years do not automatically unlock an early-childhood principal license. Professional pupil-services experience can substitute for teaching when it is the professional pupil-services license and the ages align, but a pupil-services role in a high school does not, by itself, create a PK–6 principal license.
Preparation is an approved principal program plus a dean’s recommendation, not a self-assembled transcript of leadership electives. The State Board’s principal-licenses page treats the recommendation as a required element. Candidates who finish coursework, pass OAE 015, and then wait months for a dean’s letter are not “done” in CORE until that recommendation posts. OAE 015 Educational Leadership is the examination the pathway names; other Ohio Assessments for Educators content tests used for teaching licenses do not replace 015.
Institutions with PhD in Education programs in Ohio
Rows come from IPEDS awards by CIP and award level. This extract reported no completion counts, so none are shown. An institution that conferred awards is not automatically approved to recommend candidates for Professional Principal License.
| Institution | CIP | Award level |
|---|---|---|
| Antioch University (Yellow Springs, OH) | 13.0401 Educational Leadership and Administration, General | Doctorate (research) |
| Ashland University (Ashland, OH) | 13.0401 Educational Leadership and Administration, General | Doctorate (research) |
| Bowling Green State University-Main Campus (Bowling Green, OH) | 13.0401 Educational Leadership and Administration, General | Doctorate (research) |
| Bowling Green State University-Main Campus (Bowling Green, OH) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Doctorate (research) |
| Kent State University at Kent (Kent, OH) | 13.0401 Educational Leadership and Administration, General | Doctorate (research) |
| Kent State University at Kent (Kent, OH) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Doctorate (research) |
| Miami University-Oxford (Oxford, OH) | 13.0401 Educational Leadership and Administration, General | Doctorate (research) |
| Ohio University-Main Campus (Athens, OH) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Doctorate (research) |
| Ohio University-Main Campus (Athens, OH) | 13.0411 Superintendency and Educational System Administration | Doctorate (research) |
| University of Cincinnati-Main Campus (Cincinnati, OH) | 13.0499 Educational Administration and Supervision, Other | Doctorate (research) |
| University of Dayton (Dayton, OH) | 13.0401 Educational Leadership and Administration, General | Doctorate (research) |
| University of Toledo (Toledo, OH) | 13.0401 Educational Leadership and Administration, General | Doctorate (research) |
| University of Toledo (Toledo, OH) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Doctorate (research) |
| Youngstown State University (Youngstown, OH) | 13.0401 Educational Leadership and Administration, General | Doctorate (research) |
Frequently asked questions
Will a PhD let me skip teacher certification?
No. K–12 classroom licensure is governed by state requirements. A doctorate does not replace fingerprinting, exams, or an approved preparation route unless a specific state rule says otherwise, verify with the state board.
Should I choose a PhD or an EdD for school leadership?
Choose an EdD when the target is applied leadership in a school system. Choose a PhD when the target is original research or a faculty career. Neither title is the principal license.
Does a PhD satisfy a principal internship?
Only if the program is also the state-approved administrator preparation sequence and the internship meets the board’s setting and hour rules. A research dissertation is not an internship.