Earn a PhD from Lesley University

Step into your future and advance your career with a PhD in Education or Mental Health & Well-Being.

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Ready to find the perfect fit for you?

Doctoral programs at Lesley University are primarily flexible, low-residency, and designed to fit your busy life. We’ll work with you to help you level up your career, contribute to your field, and make your dream a reality. If you’ve been considering whether or when to earn your PhD:

Now’s the time. And Lesley’s the place.

Expressive Therapies

Unlock the power of your creativity to inspire healing and effect meaningful change. Deepen your expertise, advance groundbreaking research, and shape the future of arts-based therapy. Established over 40 years ago, we were the first graduate program in the U.S. to train professionals in this emerging discipline and remain a leader in the field, offering a range of academic pathways—including certificates, master’s, and doctoral degrees—to support professionals at every stage of their careers.

Counseling & Psychology

If you’re an experienced counselor or clinician looking to deepen your expertise, our non-clinical Counseling & Psychology PhD is the perfect way to expand your training, particularly in research methodologies and teaching. You’ll become better equipped to advance social justice, expand your knowledge of cutting-edge theories and techniques, and connect with applied research opportunities. Our weekend cohort model meets the needs of busy professionals, while allowing you to explore research that is meaningful to the communities you serve.

Educational Leadership

Lead with vision, inspire change, and shape the future of education. Appropriate for superintendents and principals as well as coaches and department heads, this PhD program will help you grow as a strategic leader and develop the skills to put your vision into action. You’ll gain the advanced knowledge and research acumen needed to influence policy, guide institutions, and empower the next generation of learners.

Individually Designed Program in Education

Design a PhD program that’s as unique as your passions, goals, and visions for the future of education. Tailor your research to address the questions that matter most to you and the communities you serve. World-class faculty will partner with you to create a personalized path that will help you leave a meaningful mark on the field of education.

Why pursue a PhD?

As an advanced mental health or education practitioner, you understand the complex issues that schools, organizations, and communities face. A PhD gives you the credibility, status, and knowledge you need to drive change. You’ll expand your knowledge base, make a scholarly contribution to your field, and build a cohort of peers that you can rely on and network with. Plus, there’s the added perk of widening your career potential and increasing your salary.

Why pursue a PhD at Lesley University

Our flexible, low-residency, or monthly weekend cohort programs ensure that earning your next degree aligns with your busy life. When you are meeting on campus, you’re in Cambridge, one of the strongest hubs in the country for education and mental health practice and research. Lesley doctoral programs are led by world-recognized faculty who partner with you to design the programs that will benefit you the most, whether you’re looking to advance to the next phase of your career in education, strengthen your expressive therapies practice, or enhance your non-clinical counseling skills.

The PhD program at Lesley helped me to define my core values and goals better and to put them into practice professionally

- Sarah Schwerdel

PhD Alumni

Lesley University

29 Everett St, Cambridge, MA 02138
617.349.8800