All doctoral programs are aligned to the CEHD Conceptual Framework through the guiding 9 Doctoral Program Handbook version I – Aug 2007 9/11/2007 constructs: Inquiry, Action, and Advocacy. At the doctoral level:

• Inquiry is characterized by Knowledge of Field, and of Human Development and Learning, intersected with Research and Scholarship, exemplified by critical thinking and the generation of new knowledge.
• Action is characterized by the process of Synthesis and Application exemplified by problem solving and innovation putting new knowledge into useful practice.
• Advocacy is characterized by professional collaborative leadership oriented toward service to the profession and community focusing on social justice and equity.

These guiding constructs inform the design of CEHD doctoral programs facilitating the development of three orientations in their candidates. These are the beliefs and dispositions

• to inform practice with inquiry and reflection,
• to change practice through the acquisition of information, knowledge, and understanding, and
• to understand how inequity and social injustice impact individuals and communities, championing the commitment to make a difference.

The doctoral programs develop students' professional expertise and ethics, awareness of social responsibility, wisdom about policy development, and skills in research, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. To function as leaders in their fields, students require expertise in the knowledge and skill bases of their profession and an understanding of its ethical obligations. To function as leaders in their individual work organizations, they need wisdom about policy development and processes of institutional change that can move actual practice toward best practice. To function as leaders in their communities, particularly in urban settings, they need to be aware of their profession's responsibility to society, especially the provision of equitable service to a diverse clientele, and of social factors that impede the discharge of those responsibilities. In all these forms of leadership, program graduates need skills in synthesizing and evaluating existing research and designing studies to generate new knowledge, thinking critically about issues related to their work, communicating clearly with a variety of audiences, and working collaboratively with other professionals in response to the interdependence of their functions.

Each doctoral program in the CEHD has three main components within which the major themes are met: Research, Professional Specialty, and Electives.

• Coursework in the Research component is primarily responsible for providing students with the research competencies and skills needed for success in academic fields.
• Coursework in the Professional Specialty component is primarily responsible for developing professional expertise and knowledge of field, understanding of human development and learning, developing wisdom about policy development and awareness of social responsibility and ethics.
• Coursework in the Electives component allows the student to pursue particular professional and academic interests, such as the development of expertise in a cognate field or building a specialty in research methodology.

All three of these components contribute to development of skills in critical thinking, communication, equity and social justice, leadership and collaboration.