Earn Your Master's in Less Than a Year
You can earn your M.S. in Educational Leadership in as little as nine months when you take advantage of the flexibility of the individualized learning pathways in core courses. With this state-approved pathway, you may earn your educational leadership certificate, be ready to enter your district’s respective leadership program and be equipped with the knowledge and skills to positively impact your community and the future of education.
Flexible, Individualized Curriculum Delivered Online
Our program uses individualized learning pathways that consider your previous experience and address your unique needs. The flexible online format allows you to complete coursework around your busy schedule. You may accelerate and finish a course before the term ends, leaving you time to prepare for the next class. You may also slow down when you come to a more challenging topic or just need the extra time.
Learn from Experts in Education
Members of our faculty are experts in the field, some of them currently serving in districts as Principals and Superintendents. Across your program experience, there will be opportunities to attend virtual guest speaker sessions with national leaders in education. In addition, field experiences and internship courses are taught by active building and district leaders from our partner districts across the state and the nation, which gives students the opportunity to build relationships and develop a powerful professional network.
Faculty Mentors
When you begin the MS in Educational Leadership program, you will be assigned a faculty mentor, who will support you across your personal educational journey. The faculty mentor will meet with you regularly throughout the program to provide course advising, support your work in the required field project, and help you navigate your program experience.
Virtual and Face-to-Face Field Experiences
Field experiences, which progress from observer to active practitioner, are embedded across the program to provide an opportunity for you to practice the skills you learned in the core courses. Virtual simulation field experiences are delivered via a hybrid artificial intelligence and human interaction platform that allow you to practice and refine your skills prior to engaging in authentic settings. Then you will complete your face-to-face experiences in one of our many partner districts under the supervision of practicing school leaders.
Field Experiences and Internship
The field experiences and internship experience spans 32 weeks and four courses allowing you sufficient time to develop and refine your leadership skills in collaboration with your faculty supervisor. As part of the internship experience, you will have the opportunity to serve in elementary, middle, and secondary settings, ensuring you are ready for any educational leadership role. Through collaboration with our office of placement services, we will assist you with locating settings for completing all requirements of the internship.
Field Project
In the MS in Educational Leadership program, you will engage in a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) experience that builds across the field experiences and internship courses. The focus of the PBL is to develop your capacity to propose an assessment-based solution to an educational challenge. As a culminating experience, you will present your final project to your peers, faculty, and district leaders at the Summer Symposium Showcase.
Summer Symposium
At the conclusion of the program, you will engage in a week-long summer symposium that will bring together your peers, faculty, and educational leaders across our partner districts. You will have the opportunity to attend sessions on wellness, mock experiences on school safety and issues of social justice, and other leading issues in education. Showcasing your field project in a conference setting will also help you build relationships and strengthen your professional network.
Be Prepared for Qualifying Exams like the FELE and Praxis II
To ensure your success in the field, we support you in your preparation for the qualifying exam (FELE or Praxis). All core courses include FELE style questions with reasons for the correct answers. The culminating seminar course includes access to exam preparation materials for each sub-test. The materials include practice questions, explanation videos, and progress monitoring. The seminar concludes with a mock exam to ensure you are more than ready for the exam.
Career Opportunities
Our graduates have built rewarding careers as K-12 Principals, Assistant Principals, District Administrators, Higher Education Instructors, and Admissions Directors. When you join the MS in Educational Leadership program you will join a national network of highly skilled and successful educational professionals with over 5,000 alums.
Who Should Apply?
Aspiring assistant principals, principals, teacher leaders, district leaders in public, charter, or private settings, and leaders of not-for-profit organizations will be prepared to lead an organization in transformational ways, close the achievement gap and lead schools that collaborate to build a democratic and socially just society.
The MS in Educational Leadership is available to practicing prekindergarten through 12th-grade teachers who wish to obtain graduate degrees and enter the field of educational leadership. Those with a bachelor's degree and a valid professional teaching certificate who wish to obtain a graduate degree and/or add a certification area in educational leadership are also welcome.