State of the Superintendency
Doctoral Recipients
School Administrator, March 2022

About 44 percent of all sitting superintendents nationwide hold a doctoral degree, according to AASA’s 2020 decennial study of the superintendency. That figure has barely budged since the end of the 20th century.

Those leading school systems with 3,000 or more enrolled students were much more likely to hold an Ed.D. or Ph.D. than those running smaller units, the study said.

A recent survey conducted by the New York State Council of School Superintendents found that superintendents of color earned doctorates at a higher level than their white colleagues, 47 percent versus 33 percent.

SOURCES: “The American School Superintendent: 2020 Study,” produced by AASA, and “2020 Snapshot,” produced by New York State Council of School Superintendents.