Suzanne Windsor-Liscombe
Job Title
Teacher-Administrator
Employer
Retired Educator from the Burnaby School District
Review details about the recently announced changes to study and work permits that apply to master’s and doctoral degree students. Read more
The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy provides advanced preparation for education practitioners with leadership and policy responsibilities in both formal and nonformal settings. These settings include, among many others, the post-secondary sector, business and health organizations, unions, and community groups, as well as the K-12 school system.
The program is grounded in the belief that it is important for participants to engage in scholarly discourse about understanding, critiquing, and improving practice in educational settings. It consists of six required seminars, two elective courses, a comprehensive examination, and a dissertation. While the program addresses Canadian educational issues and perspectives in a global context, it is the particular settings and leadership or policy responsibilities of the participants that are the starting points of seminars. The expertise of qualified adjunct faculty from related professional fields supplements that of the regular faculty members.
Students are admitted to the Ed.D. in cohorts of 10 to 15 and proceed as a group through required courses and the comprehensive examination which occurs at the end of Year 2. Students then propose and execute their dissertation research projects. Students must complete all program requirements within six years of initial enrolment. Required courses are offered on campus for two consecutive Summer Sessions (July to mid-August) and two consecutive Winter Sessions (on weekends from September to early April).
Please ensure you follow the instructions in the online application system. After submitting your application, it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all supporting materials are submitted properly and by the application deadline. The Admissions Committee will only review complete applications. You can check the status of your application and supporting materials through the online application system.
The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:
Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.
Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.
Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:
Overall score requirement: 92
Reading
22
Writing
22
Speaking
22
Listening
22
Overall score requirement: 6.5
Reading
6.0
Writing
6.0
Speaking
6.0
Listening
6.0
Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:
The GRE is not required.
All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.
Many programs require a statement of interest, sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.
Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.
Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.
All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.
Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.
All full-time students in UBC-Vancouver PhD programs will be provided with a funding package of at least $40,000 for each of the first four years of their PhD from September 2026. The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships. Please check with your prospective graduate program for specific details of the funding provided to its PhD students.
All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.
Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.
Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union.
Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.
Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans.
All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.
UBC has working agreements with MPower Financing - an organization providing international students with no-cosigner, no-collateral education loans to study in Canada - and Windmill Microlending - an organization providing loans to skilled immigrants.
Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.
The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.
International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 24 hours a week during academic sessions.
A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement.
Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.
Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.
Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.
Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.
These statistics show data for the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications | 1 | 38 | 0 | 41 | 35 |
| Offers | 0 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 12 |
| New Registrations | 0 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 11 |
| Total Enrolment | 46 | 53 | 53 | 54 | 49 |
Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.
This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Dr. Warkentin’s research examines how characteristics of place inform curriculum in higher education. Focused on Stó:lō Téméxw, the land commonly known as the Fraser Valley, this project combines historical analysis and conversations with Indigenous leaders and educators to inform unlearning and relationality in specific areas of curriculum. |
| 2025 | Post-secondary student mental health has been well studied, but not much is known about the faculty side. Dr. Westcott’s study helps address this by mapping instructor experiences responding to students in distress. She recommends ways to support instructors in enacting care, while acknowledging instructor wellbeing is important in its own right. |
| 2025 | Dr. Desjarlais-Smith’s research explored wholistic leadership perspectives of Indigenous women in the K-12 education system. Her research shows that Indigenous women leaders struggle to maintain their Indigeneity while navigating decolonizing education systems. The research calls for systematic changes to educational organizations. |
| 2025 | Dr. Gagnon examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teaching practices, uncovering a heterogeneous acceleration in digital adoption, a redefinition of pedagogical beliefs, lasting changes in teaching modalities, and shifts in power dynamics over their adoption. His work advances understanding of educational transformation in times of crisis. |
| 2024 | Dr. Poirier examines the role of university practitioners responsible for engaging with local communities. His study is one of the first to look at the roles, tensions, and perspectives that mark the life of such practitioners within Canadian universities. His research adds to dialogue around how public universities can best fulfill their mission. |
| 2024 | Dr. Johnson’s research analyzed the caring practices of women in higher education leadership in Canada and the U.S. through phenomenological analysis, highlighting the political nature of caring and the challenges women, especially from marginalized groups, face. Findings benefit institutions fostering authentic and inclusive leadership. |
| 2024 | Dr. Gledhill used timeline life history methodology to examine the concept of trust for women principals in secondary schools in Canada. She developed a visual metaphor based on mycorrhizal threads to explain how trust builds or declines within a gendered substructure. Her research provides insight into ways principals can build trust and recognize low-trust situations. |
| 2024 | Dr. Cho explored the transformative learning process among the 'Education Beyond Borders' members in Canada and Kenya in their collaboration. Her research helps to understand how the educators from the Global North and South navigated the issues of power and privilege in the postcolonial setting and adds to the conversation of decolonizing pedagogy. |
| 2024 | Dr. McCabe's research explored ableism in higher education, examining collective agreements and institutional policies governing academic responsibilities showing that ableism is strongly entrenched and condoned in university policies and governance. |
| 2024 | Dr. Baker's work focuses on the impact that Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous Ways of Knowing had on settler educators in the North Vancouver School District and found that educators have the responsibility to infuse Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous Ways of Knowing into practice. All learners will benefit as Indigenous Education is for all. |
Educational Leadership and Policy provides advanced preparation for education practitioners with leadership and policy responsibilities in both formal and nonformal settings. These settings include, among many others, the post-secondary sector, business and health organizations, unions, and community groups, as well as the K-12 school system.
Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this form.