Mar 29, 2024  
ARCHIVED 2018-2019 Graduate Catalog 
    
ARCHIVED 2018-2019 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Public School Leadership (Post Master’s Certificate)


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Program Admission Requirements:

Applicants must:

  • have completed a Master’s degree in Education or a related field from an accredited institution.
  • hold or be eligible to hold a North Carolina A teaching license or a comparable license for another state.
  • have completed at least 3 years of successful full-time teaching or equivalent experience in public schools. Pre-school teachers may include private sector experience.
  • document ability to succeed at graduate level studies by meeting one of the following:
    • a master’s degree with a preferred 3.5 GPA from an accredited university in an educationally-related field or
    • a doctoral degree from an accredited university in an educationally-related field
  • submit three letters of recommendation from employers or former instructors who are in a position to judge the applicant’s aptitude for graduate study and potential as a school leader. One recommendation must be from a current immediate supervisor.
  • have completed (or take) graduate courses in research, curriculum, educational foundations and advanced psychology as part of their master’s degree program.
  • submit a current resume
  • submit a leadership goal statement (1-2 pages)

Program Description:

The certificate in Public School Leadership is earned through the completion of a one-year, three semester graduate program.  Students will take eight, three-credit courses, for a total of 24 credit-hours.  This graduate program is a Distance Learning program.  However, one course per semester, excluding summer semesters, is delivered via a hybrid format.  This hybrid course meets face-to-face at our Biltmore Park Instructional Site in Asheville, NC from 9:00AM - 4:00PM on four Saturdays during each semester.  The remaining instructional hours for the program will be delivered in an on-line format.

Students will complete a school-based internship (6 credit hours) over 2 semesters.  Internships are competency-based and involve many aspects of a principal’s responsibilities, including leadership of an improvement initiative. 

A student who cannot complete the required courses in a given semester will be required to petition the faculty to change to a different cohort. The program requires completion of the certificate within 6 years of admission. Certificate and licensure requirements are coordinated throughout the program but are independently granted by NCDPI. Certificate completion does not guarantee licensure recommendation.

Required Courses


Course requirements for recommendation of the Add-on license certificate in School Administration (Principal) requires 24 hours total. Due to the cohort model, all EDL courses must be taken in the semester designated or the candidate must petition to change cohorts as specified on the program advising website.

Other Requirements:


Each student admitted to the Post Masters Certificate in Public School Leadership is required to know the material on the program advising website and is responsible to contact his/her advisor for assistance prior to registering.

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