Educational Leadership

M.Ed. in educational leadership

Our M.Ed. degree in educational leadership prepares you to become a principal and fulfills all the coursework requirements for the initial administrative (principal) license from the Ohio Department of Education.

The M.Ed. is a 33-hour program culminating with a comprehensive examination:

• 24 credit hours in educational leadership core
• 6 credit hours in research core
• 3-credit hour course in foundations

One of the essential experiences of the M.Ed. program is the successful completion of the leadership practicum and internship. The internship is spread over three semesters so that you can experience first-hand an entire school year from the perspective of a building principal.

The M.Ed. program is designed to be completed in two years, including two summers. Students typically take one course in the fall, one course in the spring and three courses over the summer.

Candidates who successfully complete our M.Ed. program will gain insight into the challenges of educating PK-12 students and learn the vital leadership skills needed to effectively meet these challenges. You will be well prepared to successfully complete the Master’s Comprehensive Written Examination and the O.A.E. Administrator licensure examination.

OAE-15 Initial Administrative Licensure Examination

Once you have successfully completed the M.Ed. degree – including passage of the Comprehensive Examination – you must take and pass the ODE/OAE Administrator Exam (015) before an initial administrative license will be issued by the Ohio Department of Education.

M.Ed. required courses

You have two options to fulfill coursework requirements for your professional administrator – or principal – license:

• Building-level leadership certificate program (principal licensure) 
• Ed.S. program in educational leadership (principal licensure and central office electives)

Building-level leadership certificate program (principal licensure)

In this graduate certificate program you will complete the eight (8) administrative core courses (24 semester hours) required for principal licensure in Ohio. Most candidates have met the research (6 semester hours) and foundations (3 semester hours) requirements through their previous master’s degree program.

One of the essential experiences of the principal licensure program is the successful completion of an internship. The internship is spread over fall, spring and summer semesters to let you experience first-hand an entire school year from the perspective of a building principal. You earn 1 semester hour of credit for each semester and must log 75 contact hours of supervised administrative experiences for each hour earned.

Note: You may transfer up to 9 semester credits from this certificate program into the educational leadership Ed.S. program as long as you do it within six years of completing the certificate.

Building-level leadership certificate required courses

Ed.S. program

This degree prepares you to become a principal. With the right electives, you could also position yourself to become a central office administrator (special education or curriculum director).

Our Ed.S. educational leadership program requires 30 semester hours (just 6 semester hours beyond the principal licensure certificate coursework). It is an excellent way to move to the master’s plus 30 column typical of many salary schedules and boost your salary.

Ed.S. students also must complete two administrative internship experiences:

• A building-level internship – A three-semester hour, hands-on experience to provide a first-hand experience of an entire school year from the perspective of a building principal
• A district-level internship – A three-semester hour, hands-on experience to provide a first-hand experience of a central office from the perspective of a central office administrator

OAE-15 Initial Administrative Licensure Examination

Once you have successfully completed the M.Ed. degree – including passage of the Comprehensive Examination – you must take and pass the ODE/OAE Administrator Exam (015) before an initial administrative license will be issued by the Ohio Department of Education.

Ed.S. required courses

District-level leadership certificate (superintendent licensure)

Coursework in this graduate certificate program will allow educators who already have ODE principal or administrative specialist licensure to pursue superintendent licensure. The certificate requires 15 credit hours (five courses).

Note: You must also have three years of administrative experience to qualify for superintendent licensure.

District-level leadership certificate required courses