ELRT
Educational Leadership
Specialist in Education, 60 credits
Effective Fall 2008
 Also check out our new 18-month, 30 credit M.A. in Educational Leadership. |
New Multi-Year Course Offering Plans
The Specialist in Education (Ed.S.) prepares persons for leadership roles in educational administration positions. The Ed.S. is a degree appropriate for students wishing to initially earn a post-master's, but not doctoral, degree. Persons seeking admission to the Ed.S. program should be definite about academic and professional goals and aspirations. Students are cautioned that satisfactory completion of courses prior to admission to the Department program does not guarantee admission to the program.
Program Requirements
A program of study consists of a minimum of 60 credit hours beyond the baccalaureate degree and leads to an Ed.S. degree. For students having received an MA in Educational Leadership, Principal Leadership Concentration, this Ed.S. involves 30 credits beyond that MA degree. In addition to the Ed.S. degree, a student can be recommended to receive from the state an endorsement as a central office administrator, if the appropriate courses are completed as follows (or equivalents as determined by the students’ advisor):
| Program of Study | Credit Hours |
|
| EDLD 6020: Educational Leadership, Systems and Change | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6060: Advanced Systems Thinking | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6300: Data-Informed Decision-Making, Research & Evaluation | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6610: School Law | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6620: School Business Management | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6630: Personnel Administration | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6640: Curriculum Development | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6670: The Principalship | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6720: School Finance | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6730: Instructional Leadership and Supervision | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6740: School Community Relations and Cultural Competence | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6800: The Superintendency | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6810: Policy Development | 3 |
|
| EDLD 6850: School Facilities Planning | 3 |
|
| EDT 6490: Planning & Implementing Dist. Level Ed. Technology | 3 |
|
| EMR 6400: Fundamentals of Evaluation, Research and Measurement | 3 |
|
| EDLD 7120: Professional Field Experience | 3 |
|
| EDLD 7200: Specialist Project | 3 |
|
| ELECTIVES (approved by advisor) | 6 |
|
| Total Minimum Credit Hours | 60 |
|
Depending on a student’s goals, an Ed.S. program of studies (equaling at least 60 credits) other than the list noted above may be developed by the student’s advisor. This may lead to the receipt of an Ed.S. degree and a recommendation to receive from the state the K-12 Administrator Certificate and the basic principal endorsements.
Upon completion of an Ed.S. Degree in Educational Leadership from WMU, any such student admitted to the Ph.D. in Educational Leadership will be able to count up to 60 graduate credits toward the 90 credits (post bachelors) required within that Ph.D. degree. This means that for such students, not withstanding any other policy, the minimum credit hours required to be taken at WMU after admission to such a doctoral program is 30 credits (including dissertation credits). There is also no specific number of courses prescribed in order to meet residency requirement for students within the Ed.S. in Educational Leadership program, although the university’s general residency requirement must be met by students within the Ph.D. in Educational Leadership (either within a Ed.S. program at WMU or within their Ph.D. program at WMU).