Public School Leadership (Post Master’s Certificate)

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:
  • satisfactory scores on the General Test of the Graduate Record Examinations (30th percentile or above) or
  • satisfactory scores on the Miller’s Analogy Test (30th percentile or above) or
  • a master’s degree with 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 the 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.

Note: Acceptance into the program does not constitute admission to candidacy, which is determined at the end of EDL 601.

Program Description:

The certificate in Public School Leadership is a 24 hour post-master’s graduate certificate program leading to licensure in the state of North Carolina as a school principal (Principal Add-On License). This cohort based program engages students in core courses in a proscribed order, which generally consists of a course load ranging from 5 to 7 hours. The year long internship aligns directly with courses and consists of 2 semester hours across three semesters. Internships are competency based and involve many aspects of a principal’s responsibilities. A student who cannot complete the required EDL hours 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. Certificate completion does not guarantee licensure recommendation.