The Carnegie Foundation commissioned a collection of essays as part of the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate (CID). Essays and essayists represent six disciplines that are part of the CID: chemistry, education, English, history, mathematics, and neuroscience. Intended to engender conversation about the conceptual foundation of doctoral education, the essays are intended as a starting point and not the last word in disciplinary discussions. The purpose of this paper is to speculate on the essential goals and characteristics of a doctorate in education that is designed to develop persons who are stewards of their field. As described by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, stewards are able to generate new knowledge, understand the intellectual history of the field, use the best ideas and practices in current work, and represent that knowledge to others both within and outside the field. Stewards have a respectful sense of the broader intellectual landscape, including paradigms and questions, and they are able to speak about how their field contributes important understanding to these larger questions. They have a strong sense of obligation to their field and help preserve the best while promoting change and improvement. This paper discusses the steward of education, and the role of doctoral programs in fostering stewards of education. There are two doctoral degrees in education, the Ph.D., and the Ed.D. Although the paper focuses on the Ph.D. degree, the overarching frame of the analysis applies to both degrees. (EV)