Program Overview

100% Online | 10 Courses | 30 Credit Hours

The Master's Degree (M.Ed) in Educational Leadership provides candidates with the content knowledge and credentials necessary to effectively lead schools, districts and other educational organizations. Applicants accepted into the K-12 track and concentrations - after completing their coursework and meeting all GaPSC certification requirements - will be eligible for Tier I Leadership Certification. 

This master's degree is a thirty (30) hour program that is typically completed in five (5) semesters and is 100% online. There is an option to accelerate, completing the program in four (4) semesters. Candidates will choose one of two concentration options: Leading Independent and Charter Schools or Advisor Approved Elective. 

The program is highly professionally oriented, and candidates for the program are expected to currently be employed in a professional role in an organization providing professional educational services (e.g., school, regional educational service agency, department of education).  Field activities accompany each semester’s work to provide a synthesis of the practical and theoretical knowledge necessary for today’s educational leader. 

Program Course Requirements

Instructional Leadership Core (12 Credit Hours)

  • EDL 7101: Critical Analysis of Policy, Theory and Praxis for Educational Leaders
  • EDL 7615: Communication and Community Relations, for School Leaders
  • EDL 7215: Data-Informed Curriculum and Assessment for Educational Leaders
  • EDL 7401: Instructional Leadership for Learning & Change

Operational Management Core (6 Credit Hours)

  • EDL 7415: Human Resources, Law, and Ethics for School Leaders
    EDL 7601: School Operations and Organizational Management

Concentration Courses (12 hours) 

  • Candidates will choose either Leading Independent & Charter Schools or Advisor Approved Elective Option 

Leading Independent & Charter Schools 

  • EDL 7800: Financial Management and Leadership in Independent and Charter Schools
  • TLED 7980: Action Research in Schools
  • EDL 7801: Institutional Advancement in Independent and Charter Schools
  • TLED 7990: Residency & Capstone 

Advisor Approved Elective Option

  • The Candidate may work with their advisor to select 12 credit hours of electives that support their career path. 

 Frequently Asked Questions

  • The “typical” student in a master’s degree program in educational leadership is an educator deeply committed to leading schools. The M.Ed. in Educational Leadership leads to clearly renewable Tier I Leadership Certification, and is an excellent preparation for the performance-based leadership educational specialist. Degree candidates have indicated their belief that the M.Ed. in Educational Leadership makes them more attractive candidates for school leadership positions. Additionally, many of our students are in or pursuing leadership positions in non-traditional autonomous schools (independent or public charter) in which a M.Ed. may be all that is required for leadership.
  • Yes! The master’s degree in educational leadership is a state-approved program that, upon completing all degree requirements, leads to a renewable Tier I Leadership Certification in Georgia. As a state-approved program, the M.Ed. may, through reciprocity, yield leadership certification in states that also award that certification at master’s degree level. If you have questions, please check with the certification office of the state in which you are interested.
  • “Yes, the current M.Ed. in EDL does lead to a renewable Tier I certification and initial leadership certification at the L5 level.
  • Yes. The Bagwell College of Education offers one of the state’s sole remaining PSC-approved Master’s Degrees in Educational Leadership. This ensures that program completers who move to other states in which leadership certification is conferred at the master’s degree level (as opposed to the specialist level, as in Georgia) may be eligible to acquire leadership certification in that state through interstate reciprocity.
  • This completely depends on whether your school district, independent school, or charter school/system awards such raises. In a purely “traditional” Georgia school district (not IE2 or “charter”), by state law, candidates with a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership will not receive an automatic salary lane increase unless the educator is in a position that the Georgia State Board of Education considers to be a “leadership position,” or a position requiring the candidate to hold leadership certification (again, assistant principal, principal, et cetera) (please see O.C.G.A. § 20-2-212). Charter schools and systems, as well as “IE2” systems, may except themselves from state rules regarding compensation and may encourage candidates to pursue the Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership by offering them salary increases regardless of whether the educator is in a leadership position (which, in light of the shortage of school administrators, some have done – candidates in these schools/districts are encouraged to check with their employer). Similarly, independent (or “private”) schools have the ability to offer educators salary increases for obtaining graduate degrees in educational leadership, and in our experience, most do so.
  • The Georgia Professional Standards Commission  defines a “leadership position” as:

    Leadership Position – a position in which an individual has the authority and/or responsibility, in a supervisory role, for LUA [Local Unit of Administration, e.g., school district] approved educational programs and/or personnel required to hold certification for their assigned job as determined by Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC).
    Ga. Reg. 160-5-2-.05(1)(j).  As you can see, this definition is capable of varying interpretations (for example, if a school district has an after-school program and an educator occupies a “supervisory role” in it, that might appear to be a “leadership position” under this definition).  However, the “safest” – and most frequent – interpretation relates to whether the position is one in which a candidate is required to hold “leadership certification” by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.

  • Historically, the PSC has “required” educators to hold leadership certificates for those positions in which the educator “supervis[es] . . . a school system, school, or school program.” (Please see Ga. Reg. 505-2-.002). However, given the fluidity of this definition, educators are strongly recommended to contact the Georgia PSC.
  • Financial aid is available. Please contact our Graduate Financial Aid Counselor Ms. Donna Tuitt at dtuitt@kennesaw.edu or 770-423-6074 for more information.

Admission Requirements

The following are program-specific criteria beyond the general Graduate Admissions  requirements. To be considered for admission to this program, the following application materials must be submitted to the KSU Graduate Admissions Office: 

  • Bachelor’s degree
  • Employment role in an organization providing educational services  
  • 2.75 GPA in bachelor’s degree coursework or most recent graduate degree  
  • Transcripts from each college attended  
  • Admissions Portfolio: Applicants in the Leading Independent and Charter Schools and advisor-approved elective concentration must include the following:
    • Professional Resume 
    • Recommendation Form 
    • Mentor Form (with GaPSC L5 or higher certified mentor)
    • Evidence of two years of teaching experience 
    • GACE Leadership Ethic Assessment Completion Certificate 
    • Evidence of Initial Certification in Georgia 

Transfer Credits 

  • Graduate courses taken at other accredited institutions must be evaluated and approved by the program coordinator or department chair. A maximum of 25% of transfer credit (with grades of “B” or higher) may be applied toward a degree program. Transfer credit is rarely awarded toward the core courses. No courses will be accepted for transfer credit if they are more than five years old at the time of evaluation.