The Ed.D. Program offers an innovative approach, called thematic dissertation groups, in which students work collaboratively with faculty and practitioners from the field to study a contemporary problem in educational leadership. Bringing together a strong combination of experiences and perspectives to understanding the problem, the group's work culminates in a set of unique, complementary dissertations around thematically related topics.

Students write individual dissertations, but rely on their faculty group leaders and fellow group members for support, literature and research design recommendations, and feedback on drafts. Because their studies are related, group members hold each other accountable for staying on track and considering the freshest, most relevant theoretical and conceptual frameworks. The camaraderie and built-in support motivates students to stay focused, which ultimately helps to shorten the dissertation process. Pilot-tested by Rossier School faculty for more than ten years, thematic dissertations enable students to explore important questions and conduct research like administrators do in everyday settings--collaboratively.

Thematic dissertation groups are launched annually that appeal to a wide range of student interests. Some are concentration-specific, while others lend themselves to cross-concentration exploration. Recent themes include:

• Access and Persistence in Postsecondary Education
• Data-based Decisions in Education: What Data? Which Decisions?
• Effective Leadership Practices of the New Principal: Making a Successful Transition
• Improving Instruction for Professional Education
• Large Scale Educational Reform: Assessing the Evidence
• Student Engagement in High-Performing Urban High Schools
• Teaching and Learning: Innovative University School Partnerships for the Purpose of Teacher Education
• The 21st Century: The Changing Role and the Challenges of the Urban Superintendent
• The Role of the Academic Dean in Changing the Academy
• Urban Schools That Have Closed the Achievement Gap