School Administration (MSA)

Program Admission Requirements

Applicants must:

• Hold or be eligible to hold a North Carolina Class A Teaching License or a comparable license from another state
• Have completed at least 3 years of successful full-time classroom teaching 
• Be currently employed in a NC school working under the supervision of a licensed NC principal or superintendent
• 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.
• Submit current resume
• Submit District Verification Form
• Submit equity-centered leadership goal statement (1 page, in application system)

Program Description

The Masters in School Administration (MSA) is earned through the completion of a two-year, four-semester graduate program. Students will take twelve, three-credit courses, for a total of 36 credit-hours. This graduate program is a Distance Learning program. However, one course per semester is delivered via a hybrid format. This hybrid course meets face-to-face at our Biltmore Park Instructional Site in Asheville, NC, on four Saturdays each semester. The remaining instructional hours for the program are delivered in an on-line format.

Within the 36 hour program, students complete a school-based internship (6 credit hours) over two semesters. Internships are competency-based and involve many aspects of a principal's responsibilities, including leadership of an equity-centered improvement initiative.