An application for the TESOL Doctor of Education (Ed.D) Program must include the following:

• Application form
• Application fee ($75)
• One recent color photograph (digital is okay).
• A scan of a current, government-issued photo ID
• Official transcripts, licenses or certificates. The Ed.D in TESOL Program requires a Master's degree in TESOL or Applied Linguistics or in a relevant area of Education required from an accredited institution recognized by the US Department of Education and/or CHEA, or by the government of the country in which the degree was awarded, and with an overall GPA of no less than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent from non-USA Institutions.
  ( Note:  If the university does not routinely issue transcripts in English, original language records must be submitted with official English translations. We will accept translations issued by the university or by the following professional translation services: Accredited Language Services; Berlitz; Liaison Linguistics; Josef Silny & Associates; American Evaluation & Translation Services (AETS); and Education Evaluators International. Translations must be exact and complete versions of the original records.)
• A resume documenting a minimum of 4 years experience in some aspect of TESOL (teaching, teacher education or publishing).
• An outline (1,000 words) of the possible research that the applicant envisions undertaking for the dissertation that demonstrates his/her research experience and abilities.

Three reference letters (on letterhead with contact information) attesting to personal and professional qualifications. One reference must be from each of the following:

• A recent employer.
• A TESOL professional who can attest to the applicant’s potential as a doctoral student.
• A member of the academic faculty where the applicant completed his/her MA.

Non-native English speakers must demonstrate college-level proficiency by providing original documentation in one of the following ways:

• Degree from an accredited institution where English is the primary language of instruction.
• Transcript from an accredited institution indicating completion of at least 30 semester hours of credit where the language of instruction was English (“B” average)
• A minimum TOEFL score of 550* PBT / 213 CBT/ 80 iBT.
• A minimum TOEIC score of 800*.
• A minimum IELTS score of 6.5*.
• A minimum PTE (Pearson Test of English Academic Score Report) of 58.
• A minimum BULATS Level 3 (60), accepted only for Cultura Inglesa in Brazil.
• A minimum grade of Level 3 on the ACT COMPASS’s English as a Second Language Placement Test.
• A minimum grade of Pre-1 on the Eiken English Proficiency Exam.
• A minimum B2 English proficiency level identified within the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) Standards and assessed through various ESOL examinations, including the University of Cambridge.

Once your application materials have been approved, you will need to submit an Enrollment Agreement and tuition payment to complete the enrollment process.

Internet Access: All students are required to have access to a computer equipped with Internet access capabilities.

Entrance Examination: There is no entrance examination required for admission to Anaheim University.

Transfer Credits:  Anaheim University will accept up to two graduate semester classes or 8 units awarded by another institution toward an Ed.D degree at Anaheim University. The entering student will be required to clearly demonstrate the equivalency of a transfer course through relevant documents (syllabus, catalog, course outline) and justify its acceptance through petition. No course will be considered for transfer with a grade lower than a “B” or its equivalent. Petitions are directed to the specific Dean for the affected program. There is a fee of $75 (Ed.D) per course of credit transferred, and the overall program cost will be adjusted to reflect credit for the approved class(es). All petitions for transfer credit must be submitted as part of the student’s initial application to the University. Credits awarded as part of another degree will not be accepted for transfer.

Prior Experiential Credit:  Anaheim University will not extend experiential credit to any student.

We currently do not accept students who reside in Alabama, Arkansas, Alaska, American Samoa, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Guam, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, N. Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, Virgin Islands, Wisconsin, and Wyoming due to regulatory matters. For more information, please call our Vice President of Administrative Affairs at 714-772-3330

TESOL Residential Session

Doctor of Education in TESOL (Ed.D.) Course Schedule

Real-time online classes are 90 minutes; the first hour is led by the professor and the final half-hour is for student-led discussion. All times are California/Pacific Time. Please note the schedule is subject to change.

Ed.D. TESOL REQUIRED 4-DAY RESIDENTIAL SESSIONS
Ed.D. TESOL students are required to attend two 4-day residential sessions during their program. Each year, an annual residential session will be held in California or other locations around the world on occasion. Details regarding the 2025 residential session are forthcoming.

All online class times are California/Pacific Time. Please note that California observes Daylight Savings Time each year from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.

Comprehensive Exams are scheduled according to student need. Students who fail the Comprehensive Exam will be enrolled in a Study Term and assigned a professor to mentor them through the process of studying and synthesizing their coursework.  They will pay the standard tuition and records fee for this support and to re-sit the exam.  

PLEASE NOTE: Failure to take a required course when one is offered may prevent a student from completing his/her program in the allotted time, as all course work must be completed before a student will be allowed to advance to the dissertation phase of the program. Schedules are subject to change.

Doctor of Education in TESOL (Ed.D) Program Fees

Affordable Pay-As-You-Learn System: Pay for only one course at a time.

**We offer a discounted on-campus housing option for the residential session -- the cost varies depending on location. You may opt for alternate accommodations. The cost of travel will vary, depending on your distance from the residential session and your mode of transportation. Anaheim University does not provide visa services. For Doctor of Education (Ed.D) in TESOL students attending the four-day residential sessions, it is the students’ responsibility to ensure that they have taken care of proper visa procedures, if required.

++Assumes completion in 19 terms. 

TESOL Residential Session in California

Note: A student can plan on approximately $700 in textbook purchases during the program. A textbook list may be found in the online resources of the student website. Real-time classes do not require specific materials beyond what is already supplied for the course.

Note: Anaheim University makes certain provisions in order to provide access to library resources and library services for all students enrolled directly through Anaheim University. However, students enrolled in Anaheim University’s online graduate degree programs are required to have an additional reserve fund to be used for the purchase of journals and research - materials that will aid them in their studies by providing information specific to their unique areas of interest and research - and to provide access to software and other resources that may help them in the completion of their studies. The research reserve fund is $1,500 for master's degree students and $2,000 for doctoral students to be used over the duration of their program. Students are not required to spend the entire research fund - only that amount necessary in order to carry out their research.

The above itemizes all of the fees and charges for which the student is responsible. You may find the refund policy in the section on Policies & Procedures.

*Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF): The Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) is administered by the California BPPE and applies only to California residents. The STRF fee is currently zero ($0) per one thousand dollars ($1,000) of institutional charges The State of California established the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) to relieve or mitigate economic loss suffered by a student in an educational program at a qualifying institution, who is or was a California resident while enrolled or was enrolled in a residency program, if the student enrolled in the institution, prepaid tuition, and suffered an economic loss. Unless relieved of the obligation to do so, you must pay the state-imposed assessment for the STRF, or it must be paid on your behalf, if you are a student in an educational program, who is a California resident, or are enrolled in a residency program, and prepay all or part of your tuition. You are not eligible for protection from the STRF and you are not required to pay the STRF assessment, if you are not a California resident, or are not enrolled in a residency program.

Each course is US$2,000.00 for tuition excluding books, materials and other costs as follows. Students must pay the required tuition fee prior to commencing their next course. The student is not required to pay this tuition fee until the student wishes to register for his or her next course.

Students interested in inquiring about non-interest-bearing monthly payment plan options should e-mail registrar@anaheim.edu

Tuition may be paid on a course-by-course basis. Students may make payment by check, credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover), money order or bank transfer (the student is responsible for any transactions fees imposed by the institution).

The Online Doctor of Education in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Ed.D. in TESOL) degree program consists of 16 courses and a dissertation, and will take approximately three to four years to complete.

Course Duration: Each course is nine weeks long.

Read more: Curriculum