Educational Leadership - Education Specialist (Ed.S.)

The mission of the Educational Leadership and Services Department encompasses the following:

1. Administering the Education Specialist degree and the Master of Education degree with the major emphasis in educational administration and supervision.
2. Designing and coordinating in-service and staff development programs for school administrative personnel.
3. Designing and providing special services courses and programs such as those for educational technology, computer services and counseling.

The Education Specialist degree (Ed.S.) provides a planned program of graduate studies beyond the master’s degree. It is designed to enhance the academic knowledge and skills of a cadre of educational leaders prepared to meet the increasingly complex challenges of the 21st century. The degree plan requires the completion of 30 semester credits beyond a master’s degree from an accredited graduate institution.

The degree has two components of 15 credits each:

1. Core courses
2. Cognate courses

The Ed.S. degree serves the following specialty areas:

1. Superintendency and Central Office Personnel
2. Principalship
3. Directorship of Athletics
4. Directorship of Curriculum
5. Directorship of Early Childhood Programs
6. Directorship of Special Education
7. Director/Coordinator of Technology

Admission Requirements

Applicants must submit an application packet which includes the following materials to be considered by the Education Specialist degree admission council.

1. Application
2. Official transcripts of undergraduate and graduate work with a master’s degree in education from an accredited institution. A minimum GPA of 3.30 in the graduate work is required. Transcripts from every college or university where college credit was earned must accompany the application. Transcripts must be issued by the college or university in a sealed envelope. Applicants who have completed credit at SVSU do not need to submit a copy of their SVSU transcript. However, they will be required to request a new set of transcripts from other colleges/universities where they earned credit to ensure that the College of Education has the complete academic history on file for admissions and state certification purposes.
3. Two letters of recommendation from professional educators or supervisors familiar with candidate’s career achievements
4. One letter of recommendation from a faculty member of the candidate’s graduate level work
5. A statement of personal goals, career aspirations and educational philosophy
6. A current professional vita
7. A written commitment to complete the program in a maximum of three academic years from the date of admission to the first semester.

Candidates who have limited school administration background are required to complete EDL 550, Leadership Theories and Practice, and EDL 553, Public School Law, before applying for admission. They must contact the chairperson for assessment and approval before enrolling in these two classes.

Candidates also will be interviewed by the Ed.S. admission council. Admission to the program will be made only for the Fall semester. Application materials must be received by the Office of the Dean of Education by June 1.

Degree Requirements

Thirty credits are required for the Ed.S. degree: 21 credits are core courses common to all specialty areas. The remaining 9 credits serve specific specialties.