Education Leadership, M.Ed., (EC-Grade 12 Accelerated School Leadership Specialization)

Degree Requirements

This 30-credit-hour program is designed for working professionals and can be completed within 14 months. The classes begin in June and end the following July. During the fall and spring academic terms, students take courses, plus an internship (Field Studies). The Field Studies course each semester involves internship activities on the student’s campus of employment. During the final summer, students take one additional course and complete their Capstone paper. Candidates for Principal Certification in the state of Texas must take and pass the 268 Principal as Instructional Leader and 368 Performance Assessment for School Leaders (PASL), which are state-administered assessments required for principal certification.

While applicants may request consideration for transfer of up to six hours of graduate credit, students should note that this is a cohort program with a tightly structured and integrated design, and it is not likely that traditional three-hour courses will be accepted for transfer. Requests for transfer credit are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Students need to submit a transfer request as soon as they are accepted into the program in order to be considered. Only courses with a grade of B or above can be transferred. Generally, no credit is allowed toward the master’s degree for courses taken more than six years before acceptance into the program.

Admission Requirements

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution;
2. A minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.000 (on a 4.000 scale). Applicants not meeting this requirement must provide GRE scores (see below), as well as other qualifications, such as long-term experience or expertise in a related specialized field as justification for consideration for admission;
3. For applicants with a GPA below 3.000: Scores from the verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing sections of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), taken within the last five years. To ensure that we receive your GRE scores, please use the institution code 6660 for the ACSSEHD. For the GRE taken after August 1, 2011: Preferred scores are 144 or higher for Quantitative Reasoning, 153 or higher for Verbal Reasoning, and 4.5 or higher for Analytical Writing.
4. Copy of valid Texas teacher certification
5. Copy of service record reflecting two years teaching experience in an accredited public, private or charter school;
6. Applicants with a degree from countries where the predominant language is not English are required to supply scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) administered by the Educational Testing Service. The minimum scores for admission speaking 24, listening/reading 22, and writing 21;
7. Recommendations and evidence of a high degree of support from the school of employment, including a commitment on the part of the applicant’s principal (or an equivalent supervisor) to serve as a mentor for internship activities;
8. Evidence of leadership capacity and demonstration of leadership role in the applicant’s school.
9. The application includes essays, recommendations, and an interview with the Admissions Committee.
10. Official Transcripts of all graduate and undergraduate transcripts where a degree has been conferred.

Electronic transcripts should be sent to: gradappmaterials@smu.edu

Paper transcripts should be sent to: 
Graduate Application Processing
PO Box 518
Dallas, TX 75275-0518