Educational Administration and Leadership - Pre-Kindergarten-12 Principal (Ed.S.)

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Program Overview

The educational administration and leadership programs at USD are designed for school district superintendents, elementary and secondary principals, special education directors, curriculum directors, adult educators, and higher education administrators and classroom instructors. They develop education leaders to be effective school administrators by cultivating change for the future. Offered at master’s, educational specialist and doctoral levels, the programs can be taken on-campus, online or via a hybrid learning environment. Specializations vary depending on the degree level. Examples include adult and higher education, curriculum director, pre-K-12 principal, pre-K-12 educational leadership, director of special education and school district superintendent. The USD School of Education has been accredited by CAEP (formerly NCATE) since 1956. Learn more at https://www.usd.edu/Academics/Graduate-Programs/Pre-Kindergarten-12-Principal.

DELIVERY: Online

Specialist in Education, Pre-Kindergarten Principal, (non-thesis)

Total 62 credit hours with a minimum of 32 credit hours beyond a conferred master’s degree.

Major Area Coursework

EDAD 701 - Educational Leadership (C) 3 cr
EDAD 710 - Principal and Equity Leadership 3 cr
EDAD 714 - Instructional Leadership 3 cr
EDAD 716 - Curriculum Leadership 3 cr
EDAD 720 - Special Education Law for School Administrators 3 cr
EDAD 735 - School Law 3 cr
EDAD 740 - School Community Relations 3 cr
EDAD 742 - Leading School Improvement 3 cr
EDAD 894S - Internship/Field Experience (Ed.S.) (C) 1 to 8 cr (3 credit hours required, the department recommends 4 credit hours)
EDAD elective courses 0-3 cr hrs

Supporting Area Coursework

EDER 761 - Graduate Research & Design (C) 3 cr
Supporting electives/outside courses 29-32 credit hours

Note:

*For licensure in South Dakota students need to take Indian Education (INED) 511.

Students have seven years from the time they are admitted to complete the requirements for their degree program. In addition to successfully completing coursework students must take a national professional exam designated by the Division of Educational Leadership to graduate.

General Application Requirements

Completed application
$35 application fee
Official transcripts*
Letters of recommendation*
Statement of purpose
Resume/CV*

*Requirements for admission vary by program and may require different documentation and have different deadlines. This list is not all-inclusive, to view specific program requirements and submission deadlines, follow the “Admissions Information” hyperlink at the top of this page OR visit the specific program/dept. page found here: link.usd.edu/grad-catalog

Courses or Programs Leading to Professional Licensure or Certification

The educational curriculum for your academic program may or may not meet educational prerequisites for professional licensure or certification in states other than South Dakota. If you are planning to apply for licensure/certification in a state other than South Dakota after completion of your program, please review that state and your program on USD’s Licensure-Track Programs webpage. Licensure-Track Programs

If your learning placement course (internship, externship, clinical, rotation, practicum, independent study, study away, etc.) or your online course will be taken outside South Dakota, please reference USD’s State Authorization webpage.

State Authorization

Questions?

Division of Educational Leadership
605-658-6614 | edad@usd.edu | usd.edu/edleadership

Graduate Admissions
605-658-6140 | gradadmissions@usd.edu | usd.edu/grad