View our EdD Early Childhood specialization completion requirements
Minimum degree requirements:
60 quarter credits
- Core courses (50 cr.)
- Capstone (10 cr.)
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Why Choose a PhD in Public Policy and Administration Program?
Get ready to become a powerful public policy changemaker at home and around the world.
Walden University's online PhD in Public Policy and Administration program gives you the opportunity to elevate your skills and be ready for new challenges as a researcher, university professor, or administrative leader. Through our public policy graduate programs, you can develop comprehensive skills that qualify you for high-level positions in a global context, including:
- Analyzing policy to help steward informed policy development
- Developing and executing public policy
- Creating sustainable solutions
- Educating the next generation of public policy professionals
How You Can Benefit From Walden’s Online School of Public Policy
Aligned with Walden’s mission of social change, this online PhD in Public Policy and Administration program allows you to benefit from:
- The Scholar-Practitioner Model, a fundamental part of the Walden experience. Students learn to be not only consumers of knowledge, but practitioners who use their new skills and insights to effect positive social change in society. Scholar-practitioners bridge the gap between academia and the real world by applying the valuable findings of their doctoral research to address current problems in their profession.
- A unique global perspective, which is important to both U.S.-based and international students alike. Students can benefit from global case studies, and a foundation course tailored to the experience of international students.
- A doctoral writing experience that is customized to your own interests and expertise, unlike other structured doctoral programs. Experienced and knowledgeable faculty will guide you through the entire process.
- Four academic residencies that enhance your understanding and accelerate your progress during your doctoral journey. In-person residencies are unique opportunities to meet with peers, staff, and faculty, helping you gain the necessary skills and experience to develop and complete your dissertation.
- A distinguished international faculty of doctoral-level practitioners with extensive experience developing national and international public policy and educating the next generation of professionals.
- A fast-track doctoral degree program option if you have completed a Master of Public Administration (MPA) or MS in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from Walden. Automatically receive 15 credits toward your PhD in Public Policy.
Meet Accomplished Graduates of Our PhD in Public Policy and Administration Program
Dr. Danette O’Neal, a 2011 graduate, is passionate about public policy and administration. She owns Danette O’Neal Realtors, is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) educator, and is a professor and subject matter expert for Strayer, REALTOR® University, and Argosy universities. She also serves on the 2015–2016 State and Local Issues Policy Committee, Research Committee, and Public Policy Coordinating Committee for the National Association of Realtors.
Dr. Phillip Neely, a 2011 graduate, has published scholarly articles and is writing a guide to dissertation research with Walden faculty member Dr. Walter McCollum. As a former sheriff major, Dr. Neely pursued his degree with the goal of becoming a police chief, but soon redirected his passion toward teaching. He is now an associate professor at Saint Leo University. He is a resident of Atlanta, Georgia, where he is also an active Alumni Ambassador.
On earning his online PhD in Public Policy degree from Walden University, Dr. Neely said, “The public policy and administration program at Walden University is very exciting. You’re going to learn so much. The program develops the individual. It helps mature you into a better individual through research, through writing, through the interaction that you have with the faculty that’s very open and diverse.”
Walden University, an accredited institution, supports working professionals in achieving their academic goals and making a greater impact in their professions and communities. Students from all 50 states and from around the world pursue certificate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees online at Walden.
Explore Walden University's PhD in Public Policy and Administration program and position yourself for success. Earn your doctoral degree in a convenient online format that fits your busy life.