Master of Education

Educational Leadership

The Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Educational Leadership is designed to prepare candidates for licensure as a principal or assistant principal at the building level. The program of study is reflective of the current School Leader Licensure Standards adopted by the state of Arkansas.

This program may be completed online.

Unconditional Admission

Students are eligible to apply for unconditional admission to the Master of Education degree program in Educational Leadership if they meet the following requirements:

  1. Applicants must meet the admission requirements for Graduate College.
  2. A valid Arkansas teacher's license.
  3. Two years of teaching experience.
  4. Approval from the Program Director.

Program Requirements

Degree Requirements

  1. A minimum of 34 semester hours (all at the 6000 level) must be completed, including completion of the following courses:

    EDLD 6002 Administrative Law
    EDLD 6013 School Organization and Leadership
    EDLD 6023 Organizational Change
    EDLD 6102 School Finance
    EDLD 6113 Action Research and Data Analysis
    EDLD 6153 Communication with School and Community
    EDLD 6203 Education and Society: Continuities and Discontinuities
    EDLD 6253 Instructional Leadership
    EDLD 6313 Principles of Curriculum for School Leadership
    EDLD 6352 Physical Environment of Schools
    EDLD 6402 Working with the Marginal Performer
    EDLD 6552 Administrative Internship (The candidate is to register for internship for both the fall and spring semesters of the same academic year, for a total of four (4) credit hours.)
    EDLD 6991 Professional Portfolio

  2. A portfolio must be successfully completed and approved by a portfolio review committee. This portfolio is an edited, integrated collection of an Educational Leadership candidate's evidence that competencies reflective of the Arkansas Standards and the Interstate School Leaders Standards have been acquired. It is NOT merely a file of course projects, nor is it a scrapbook of professional memorabilia. It is a collection of a student's best work developed during his/her program of study. It should showcase the student's best work as an educational leadership candidate and demonstrate the student's expertise relative to the principles and standards for a building-level administrator. The portfolio is a collection of documents providing tangible evidence of the wide range of knowledge, dispositions, and skills possessed as a professional. The candidate's portfolio is a work in progress and should be updated regularly throughout one's program of study. It should provide evidence of the value-added concept from a Master Degree Portfolio.
  3. A cumulative grade point average of a 3.00 or better must be achieved in all graduate work attempted at Arkansas Tech University, with a maximum of six (6) hours of "C" grades. A student receiving more than six (6) hours of "C" or grades lower than "C" should refer to the section of the catalog on Academic Probation and Dismissal.
  4. Coursework from other institutions of higher education will only be transferred from institutions that have received program approval for a program of study reflective of the current School Leader Licensure Standards adopted by the state of Arkansas.
  5. Coursework will be offered on-line, and will be supplemented through on-campus experiences.

Candidacy

Graduate Students admitted unconditionally must apply for candidacy to the selected degree program upon completion of twelve (12) graduate credit hours. Students admitted conditionally cannot apply for candidacy until all conditions assigned at the time of admission to graduate study have been removed.

Upon the completion of twelve (12) graduate hours, a hold will be placed on the students' record until a candidacy form has been approved by the Graduate Dean. Failure to apply for candidacy will result in the hold remaining on the students' record, and an inability to register for subsequent coursework. 

Students who have filed a candidacy form but do not enroll or receive graduate credit for one (1) academic year must submit a new candidacy form upon being readmitted into the same graduate program.  If admitted into a different academic program, students are not required to submit a new candidacy form until twelve (12) graduate credits have been accumulated within the new program.

Application for Graduation

In addition to satisfying all degree requirements, a candidate for a degree must file an Application for Graduation online or at the Registrar's Office.  Students must apply for graduation upon completion of twelve (12) graduate credit hours.

Special Conditions of Graduate Credit

Graduate Credit Taken Prior to Admission to Arkansas Tech University

A maximum of nine (9) semester hours of graduate credit with a grade point average of "B" or better may be transferred from an accredited graduate school if deemed appropriate to the graduate program by the head of the student's major department and the Graduate College Dean. Students must send a written request to the head of their major department to petition an acceptance of the transfer credit prior to requesting admission to candidacy to the graduate program. Graduate credit earned six (6) years prior to the completion date of all degree requirements may not be applied toward the degree without the approval of the appropriate program director and the Graduate College Dean. Credits earned by correspondence courses or for remedial purposes will not apply toward the graduate degree. No undergraduate course may be repeated for graduate credit.

Graduate Credit Taken After Admission to Arkansas Tech University

If after admission to graduate study, a student wishes to take a course at another institution to count toward degree requirements at Arkansas Tech University, the student must, in advance of enrollment, obtain written approval from the program director and the Graduate College Dean.