For more than three decades, Dr. Michelle “Mikki” Schmidt has trained leaders, planted churches, and invested in Christian schools across West Africa. When she was looking for a place that could further her understanding in Christian leadership, especially in the area of education, it only made sense to return to Columbia International University, a place she says she “already knew was committed to intellectual rigor and integrity as well as the heartbeat of God for the world.”
Mikki enrolled in CIU’s PhD in Educational Leadership program to pursue a deeper framework to do what God had already been calling her to do. CIU’s doctoral program is designed for exactly that kind of person.
If you are an educator, ministry leader, or cross-cultural worker who wants to grow your impact without stepping away from your calling, CIU’s PhD in Educational Leadership prepares you to lead with rigorous scholarship, biblical vision, and the practical wisdom your work demands.
A Doctorate Built for Leaders Already in the Field
Most doctoral programs are designed for scholars preparing to enter academic careers. CIU’s PhD in Educational Leadership is built for practitioners already doing the work. Mikki completed her degree while continuing her full-time work with ASCI’s Paths to School Improvement initiative, training school leaders across Africa in biblical worldview integration and best practices in educational leadership.
That kind of balance requires more than flexibility. It requires a program that takes your real-world context seriously. Mikki describes planning for time-zone differences, working on airplanes, and arranging for textbooks to be delivered in various ways. What made it work was a faculty willing to meet her where she was. “Professors set high standards,” she says, “but always worked with me if there were problems. They encouraged me to make the assignments as practical as possible in my context.”
The program’s online format, combined with CIU’s mission-centered culture, makes it one of the few doctoral programs in the country where a missionary living in Ghana and traveling around the world can earn a research degree without abandoning her work.
“CIU’s College of Education Doctoral Programs are designed for students who are busy as ministering professionals in settings around the world. Like Dr. Schmidt, students earn an advanced degree while also advancing the work of schools and organizations to impact the nations with the message of Christ.” – Dr. Michael Johnson, Dean of the College of Education.
What You Will Do with a PhD in Educational Leadership From CIU
Graduates of CIU’s doctoral program go on to lead Christian schools, shape policy in faith-based organizations, direct leadership training programs, and influence the next generation of educators globally. For Mikki, the degree opened new doors in research, teaching, and coaching school leaders across Africa.
Specifically, she describes the shift this way: her research enabled her to interact with school leaders on a level she hadn’t been able to access before. Listening to them reflect on how biblical stewardship had reshaped their leadership gave her fresh motivation to keep going. That same research is now informing training programs that will outlast her direct involvement.
CIU’s College of Education prepares doctoral students not just to hold a leadership title, but to build the kind of legacy that multiplies through others.
“My CIU doctoral journey demanded a rigorous commitment to excellence, but it was never devoid of human compassion, a call to personal growth, and an important emphasis on my walk of faith with Christ.” – Dr. Michelle “Mikki” Schmidt, PhD in Educational Leadership
Why CIU’s Biblical Foundation Changes the Way You Lead
CIU’s PhD in Educational Leadership roots every leadership framework in a biblical theology of stewardship, drawn from the whole counsel of Scripture. That distinction mattered deeply to Mikki, who returned to CIU over three decades after enrolling in a Bible certificate program in preparation for the mission field.
“I only had enough funds for one year,” she says, “but little did I know the Lord would lead me back to CIU 33 years later to go even deeper in my faith.” That continuity across three decades speaks to something real about what CIU builds into its students.
At the doctoral level, CIU’s integration of faith and scholarship shapes the research questions students pursue, the frameworks they bring to leadership challenges, and the way they understand transformation itself. For Mikki, that integration was deeply personal. Her research centered on transformational change, the kind that happens when God’s Word permeates thinking and the Holy Spirit reshapes a person from the inside out. When she reflects on what makes leadership effective across cultures, she points to Romans 12:2-5 and Ephesians 4:17-32 as the theological convictions that undergird her understanding of character, excellence, and relationships.
At CIU, biblical integration runs through every course and research question. The result is a doctorate that is both academically rigorous and missiologically coherent.
Community That Carries You Across the Finish Line
Mikki credits a small group of classmates from a mixed-methods research course as a key reason she finished strong. Their group project became a multi-year prayer partnership. Cohort members carried one another through the demands of the final stretch.
“I did not get to meet any of those project partners in person until the day of our hooding ceremony at CIU,” she says. “I am so thankful for them and how we witnessed God’s faithfulness in each other’s lives throughout that final stretch.”
Faculty relationships carry the same warmth. Multiple professors at CIU were, in Mikki’s words, “helpful and willing to listen, pray, and brainstorm.” That kind of investment does not happen by accident. It reflects a culture built on seeing and investing in students as whole people.
Is CIU’s PhD in Educational Leadership the Right Next Step for You?
CIU’s PhD in Educational Leadership is built for educators, missionaries, and ministry leaders. People who believe leadership is stewardship, excellence is worship, and growth happens in the hardest seasons.
So, if that resonates, CIU is your community. Calling matters here. Scholarship is held to the highest standard. Your faith is the foundation.
Graduate and doctoral students can apply for free, and a $500 Visit Scholarship is available for both campus and virtual visits. Learn more about financial aid and scholarships available to doctoral students.
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