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.
• be currently employed in a NC school working under the supervision of a licensed NC principal or superintendent
• 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.