The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) was organized to provide guidance for universities to collaboratively redesign the Education Doctorate (Ed.D) to make it a stronger program for school practitioners (CPED, n.d.). CPED recommended the traditional dissertation be replaced with what they refer to as the Dissertation in Practice (DiP). However, CPED provided no specific guidance for the type of skills, knowledge, and dispositions the DiP should measure. The purpose of this study was to determine the project types that should be allowed for use as the DiP in the professional practice Ed. D. in Education program at a large, public university for students enrolled in the program working in K-12 schools and school districts. The study employed a qualitative approach to a needs analysis to determine results. The results of the research identified specific project types that best support K-12 school improvement. Implications of this research include using the results to determine the range of DiP projects for the Ed. D. in Education program for those students working in the K-12 environment. As this study was a needs analysis that serves as a basis for program instructional decisions, the results may inform other universities offering professional practice education doctorates on how to modify or enhance their programs as well.