Ed.D. Programs in Hawaii

Earning a Doctor of Education Degree in Hawaii

The only Hawaii university to appear in our school listings is the regionally accredited University of Hawaii at Manoa. If you wanted to pick any HI school to offer the Ed.D., this would be the one!

UH Manoa’s doctorate has been shaped by the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED), which emphasizes the merits of applied learning and field-based opportunities. Plus it comes from a well-funded College of Education that can afford to offer internal scholarships & awards. However, it’s not a degree that’s designed to help with the HICISL process (i.e. certification).

Considering a move to the Pacific? Our career section contains a frank discussion of Hawaii’s employment market, including links to PK-20 administrative job & wage data. Unfortunately, there aren’t a great deal of educational leadership associations in the state. But you’ll find plenty of comradeship in the HIDOE’s Leadership Institute—see the section on conferences & training programs for details.

Doctoral Education Funding in Hawaii

Internal Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards

For this section, we’ve focused on institutional aid—awards & scholarships that come directly from the university. Per credit tuition at UHM is expensive, even for residents, so you may want to talk to your employer about the possibility of tuition reimbursement. UHM’s Office of Financial Aid Services can also provide advice on federal & private loans.

University of Hawaii at Manoa

The College of Education has a section devoted to Graduate Tuition & Scholarships. There are some awards in this list that apply to doctoral students. The Graduate Division also has ideas for Financial Support. Feel free to ask the Ed.D. program coordinator if you’ll be eligible to apply for an Achievement Scholarship.

Ed.D. students are normally full-time employees, usually in educational and/or community organizations in Hawaii, so graduate assistantships may not be relevant. Also, this program is not eligible for the UH employee tuition waiver or WICHE tuition rates.

School Administration Certification Requirements in Hawaii

Hawaii Certification Institute for School Leaders (HICISL)

The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) handles licensure & certification for public school leaders. The HIDOE certifies school administrators through the Hawaii Certification Institute for School Leaders (HICISL), which is managed by the Department’s Leadership Institute. The two-year HICISL program promotes the performance of aspiring school leaders through coaching, coursework, and residency components.

HICISL Baseline Requirements

There are two main tracks for candidates who wish to apply for the HICISL program. Track A is the regular track for teachers who wish to move up into administration. Track B may be relevant to experienced folks and out-of-state candidates.

Track A Requirements

• Tenured, certificated teacher currently employed in the HIDOE public school system
• Four or more years of K-12 teaching experience
• Satisfactory performance evaluations

Track B Requirements

• Currently non-tenured HIDOE employee or non-HIDOE employee
• Holds a K-12 administrator license or a master’s degree in educational administration or educational leadership from an accredited university
• Three or more years of K-12 teaching experience
• Satisfactory performance evaluations

Note: There are additional experience requirements for licensed out-of-state administrators who are interested in vice-principal or principal positions. See the licensure & certification section for details.

Educational Leadership Jobs in Hawaii

Educational Leadership Career Outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is an excellent source of employment & wage data for elementary & secondary school education administrators and postsecondary education administrators in every state. We’re a big fan of the maps on these pages—hover over an area to view the data points.

HIDOE doesn’t employ a huge number of K-12 administrators. But it offers more jobs than many other states in a similar situation (e.g. Alaska, Montana, etc.) and it’s almost always striving to fill vacancies. Out-of-staters should be aware that Hawaii only has one statewide school district—the HIDOE. It’s comprised of 256 public schools and 34 charter schools.

You’ll find more nuanced K-12 information in the HIDOE’s section on School Data and Reports. This contains School Reports (you can also search for relevant reports by searching for the school name in the Report Finder) and State Reports, including Employment Reports. For instance, the Leeward Oahu area often hires the largest number of new teachers each year.

Job opportunities for Hawaii postsecondary education administrators are fairly limited due to the small number of higher education institutions. But the University of Hawaii at Manoa is a major public research university and Hawaii Pacific University is a reasonably sized private school. If you’re interested in the public sphere, UH’s Institutional Research and Analysis Office (IRAO) publishes numerous reports on its colleges & universities, including Faculty and Staff Tables.

Educational Leadership Salaries

Annual mean wages for four types of HI education administrator, including preschool, are listed in the BLS’s State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for Hawaii.

Hawaii K-12 administrators tend to earn high wages—mean wages for the Hawaii/Kauai non-metropolitan area are often some of the best in the country. You can also view the state’s annual Teachers’ Salary Schedule in HIDOE’s Working in Hawaii section.

Having said that, the budget for public school salaries comes out of the state’s general fund, which can be underfunded, and the cost of living in Hawaii is astronomical. Much of your salary may go toward real estate.

To compensate for living expenses, wages for Hawaii postsecondary education administrators are also uniformly high—the state is typically right up there with big players like New York.

If you’re eyeing a job at a public university, the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly has a section devoted to University of Hawaii Salaries, with reports on Executive Management Salaries, Faculty Salaries, Campus Salaries, and more. UH Manoa, as you might expect, pays the best.

Educational Leadership Job Boards

Traditional job sites (e.g. Indeed, HigherEdJobs, LinkedIn, TopSchoolJobs, etc.) will have postings for Hawaii PK-20 administrators and educational leaders. You can also try a few local job boards.

• HIDOE posts Employment Opportunities for teachers, district/state office educational officers, and more.
• The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools (HAIS) has its own Job Board.
• The University of Hawaii System posts career opportunities at WorkAtUH.

Educational Leadership Organizations in Hawaii

Educational Leadership Associations

• Hawaii Association of Secondary School Administrators (HASSA): HASSA doesn’t have an independent website, but it’s listed as a state affiliate of NASSP.
• Hawaii Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (HASCD): HASCD provides professional development and educational leadership opportunities that are essential to the way Hawaii educators learn, teach, and lead. It’s a state affiliate of ASCD.
• Hawaii Elementary and Middle School Administrator’s Association (HEMSAA): HEMSAA doesn’t have an independent website, but it does provide a membership application form. It’s a state affiliate of NAESP.
• Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA): HSTA is the state’s teachers’ union. It’s an affiliate of the NEA.
• PacFAA (Pacific Financial Aid Association): PacFAA is a non-profit organization that provides support to financial aid administrators and other agencies involved in the administration of financial aid programs in postsecondary educational institutions across the Pacific. It’s affiliated with NASFAA.

Note: State and national educator organizations often have funds & scholarships available for continuing education (e.g. Ed.D.). Check the website and ask about opportunities.

Educational Leadership Events in Hawaii

Educational Leadership Conferences

• HASCD Annual Professional Development Conference: This one-day conference in April usually features a keynote speaker and a theme (e.g. “Creating a Culture of Innovation”).
• PacFAA Conference: PacFAA’s flagship conference for financial aid professionals is held over two days in late March.

Educational Leadership Training

• HASCD Online Courses: HASCD has reworked many popular ASCD self-paced online professional development courses to meet the need of Hawai‘i educators. Educators employed by the HIDOE can earn credits for salary reclassification.
• The Leadership Institute: The HIDOE oversees a large number of leadership training programs through this institute. One of the most important ones is the HICISL, but it also organizes a Leadership Symposium, New Principal Academy, State Office Leadership Academy, and more.