Oct 31, 2025

Undergraduate/Graduate Catalog 2019-2020

Undergraduate/Graduate Catalog 2019-2020 [ARCHIVED CATALOG] See drop-down menu above to access other catalogs.

Educational Leadership (Non-Licensure), EdS

Department: Secondary Education and Professional Programs

Graduate students who hold a master’s degree in education or related field and who are seeking further study in educational leadership may pursue the Education Specialist (EdS) program. This program is designed to enable the student to:

Take educational initiatives by encouraging innovation, planning and implementing strategic change and having the self-confidence to be a risk-taker
Analyze and prioritize problems by acquiring and interpreting key information and by resisting premature judgments
Build and maintain teams for continuous improvement of teaching and learning by communicating expectations and by developing and empowering others
Expand learning opportunities for all constituencies by having and advocating a need to be a lifelong learner

The EdS in Educational Leadership (non-licensure) is mainly a weekend program through which students earn 30 credits beyond the master’s.

Admission Requirements

Master’s degree from an accredited college or university (official transcript required)
A minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.8
A completed application form
Three letters of recommendation (one from immediate supervisor)
An essay on the candidate’s leadership philosophy in times of change
Passing score on the Communication and Literacy Skills portion of the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure^® (MTEL) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

Program of Study

Required courses (27 credits)

EDLE 566 - School Plant Planning and Administration
EDLE 601 - Educational Leadership and School Reform
(prerequisite to all other EDLE 600-level courses in the program)
EDLE 669 - Concepts and Cases in School Law
EDLE 674 - Designing and Evaluating the School/District Professional Learning Community
EDLE 675 - Research Issues in School Administration
EDLE 676 - Managing Resources: Human, Financial and Facilities
EDLE 677 - Systems Planning for Educational Leaders
EDLE 678 - Curriculum Development and Program Management
EDLE 681 - Externship
Note: Students who do not complete EDLE 681 in an academic year will be required to register in subsequent semesters for EDLE 682 - Externship II (one credit) for a maximum of three additional credits to complete the project.

Elective (3 credits)

Complete one course (three credits) from any 500- or 600-level graduate course offered in the College of Education and Health Sciences, as approved by the program advisor.

Exit Requirement

All candidates must pass written and oral comprehensive examinations as exit requirements from the program. Please see the catalog section, Graduate Academic Policies , for additional information regarding comprehensive examinations.

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