Q: What are the benefits of each?
A: Both the Ed.D. and Ph.D. are research based degrees demanding the same level of academic rigour.[3][4]The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) recognize numerous doctoral degrees as equivalent (but see footnote 3 here). A list can be found at doctorate. At most colleges and universities in the United States that offer doctorates in education, the college or university chooses to offer an Ed.D. (Doctor of Education), a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) in Education, or both. Several of the top schools of education in the United States only offer their doctorates in education as Ed.D.s (e.g., Teachers College/Columbia University, Harvard University, George Washington University, etc.), whereas other top schools of education only offer their doctorates in education as Ph.D.s (Stanford University, Peabody College/Vanderbilt, UCLA, etc.), and yet others top schools of education choose to offer Ed.D.s for degrees in applied research and Ph.D.s for theoretical research (UC Berkeley, University of Oregon, University of Pennsylvania, etc.). Finally, in rare circumstances, a school of education may offer both degrees with an Ed.D. being project-based and a Ph.D. being research-based (St. Louis University). In the United States, the Ed.D. and Ph.D. are both recognized for appointment as a lecturer or professor in a university. It may also be recognized as training for administration positions in education, such as superintendent of schools, human resource director, or principal.