What is an applied dissertation?

University of Phoenix is set to debut its applied dissertation pathway, which blends real-world practice and scholarship. Find out what an applied dissertation entails and how it can benefit working adults.

The applied dissertation can be traced back to 1920, when Harvard University’s School of Education introduced its Doctor of Education (EdD) program. Harvard’s program followed the example set by Columbia’s Teachers College, which offered the first PhD program in education in the late 19th century. Harvard’s EdD program created a new distinction: Rather than theoretical, its programmatic focus was more technical and practice based.

In some ways, the applied dissertation is a natural extension of this distinction.

Rather than beginning with a gap in scholarly literature alone, applied doctoral studies often begin with a documented problem of practice occurring within a professional or organizational setting.

Applied dissertations are still similar to traditional programs in several ways. Both require research and reasoning skills and even some of the same coursework. 

The key differences between applied and traditional dissertations are:

• Primary focus: A traditional dissertation focuses on advancing scholarly or theoretical understanding within a discipline, whereas an applied dissertation investigates a real-world issue within a particular professional or organizational structure.
• Nature of the research problem: The research problem in an applied dissertation zeroes in on challenges that affect professional policies, practice, programs or organizational outcomes. The traditional method addresses issues such as unresolved scholarly questions or gaps in theory.
• Final product: Traditional dissertations involve a five-chapter scholarly manuscript, whereas applied dissertations have a variety of deliverables. At University of Phoenix, students develop practice-facing and scholarly dissemination products, including manuscripts (such as a white paper) and applied deliverables designed for professional and scholarly audiences (such as a peer-reviewed article).
• Intended audience: In traditional dissertations, the primary intended audience is fellow scholars and academic researchers within a student’s discipline, whereas an applied dissertation is intended for professional stakeholders such as organizational leaders, practitioners and field professionals.

So, what can an applied dissertation do for a student? Plenty, starting with the potential impact on real-world issues. Because doctoral students working on an applied dissertation are invited to study existing challenges or opportunities for improvement, their work can generate findings that inform organizational decision-making, future planning, policy discussions and professional practice.

Additionally, an applied dissertation cultivates leadership capabilities, problem-solving skills and analytical qualities, all of which can be attractive to employers. Students also have the opportunity to grow their networks while working on an applied dissertation. After all, to complete this type of dissertation, a student naturally needs to network and collaborate closely with stakeholders, community leaders and practitioners in an industry.

Finally, rather than treating academic and professional work as separate entities, an applied dissertation fuses the two in a meaningful project that can impact a student’s existing career. 

Launching in the fall of 2026, the applied dissertation program at University of Phoenix will be available for all doctoral programs that the College of Doctoral Studies currently offers: the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), the Doctor of Management (DM), the Doctor of Education (EdD) and the Doctor of Health Administration (DHA) program.

“The College of Doctoral Studies is grounded in the Scholar–Practitioner–Leader

(SPL) model, which integrates scholarship, practice and leadership to foster transformation across professional and organizational settings,” says Dr. Eylers.

“We’ve always catered to students who are solving a particular problem in business, and this program allows us to offer an alternative for our nontraditional student body,” he says.

Early coursework in both the applied and traditional dissertation pathways focuses on topics such as:

• Recognizing the characteristics of researchable problems
• Understanding how scholarly inquiry works
• Developing foundational research knowledge
• Exploring issues within a professional field that could benefit from deeper understanding

After the foundational work is complete, students begin to examine potential real-world business issues, working closely with faculty to learn what to look for, and decide if their dissertation problem is a better fit for a traditional or applied dissertation. Gradually, students will learn to notice problems, gaps or unanswered questions within a field, and then work with leaders in their organization or industry der to determine and examine a particular business issue, says Dr. Eylers. 

Dissertation topics can range from persistent organizational challenges that lack clear explanations, to ineffective programs or interventions with unclear outcomes. Students might focus on conflicting or unexplained findings with prior research, or they may address emerging issues in a particular field where there’s been limited research.

There are options, in other words, for disciplined and intellectually curious graduate students who wish to apply academic rigor to real-world issues.

The following examples illustrate this breadth across disciplines:

• Doctor of Education: A school district experiencing inconsistent implementation of a new literacy intervention within elementary schools may benefit from a study that interviews teachers about factors affecting implementation.
• Doctor of Management: An organization whose project management office experiences repeated delays in technology implementation may benefit from a study that puts its organizational processes and stakeholder experiences under the proverbial microscope.
• Doctor of Business Administration: A retail company with high turnover among first-year employees in one of its divisions may wish to better retain its workers. A study that examines onboarding experiences and employee retention at large within the company could help achieve that goal.
• Doctor of Health Administration: If a hospital experiences low participation in a patient discharge follow-up program, it may improve that rate by examining organizational and operational factors that affect patient engagement.

While the applied dissertation isn’t a new concept, it offers increasing relevance in a changing world. According to the World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs Report 2025, the demand for skills such as leadership, social influence, talent management and analytical thinking will only increase — all of which are necessary for successful applied dissertation research.

The applied dissertation answers the broader shift in education toward career-focused, practice-based models, bringing the insights of academia to the challenges of the existing professional world. “As these types of programs are growing, we’re excited to be among the universities leading the way to offer applied doctoral dissertations for students who choose that pathway,” says Eylers.

Learn more about the programs, faculty and dissertation journey at University of Phoenix’s College of Doctoral Studies.