Elementary and Secondary Principal Certification (MEd)
This master of education (MEd) degree program is an online principal preparation program specifically designed for practicing teachers. In this program, students examine best practices, build strong professional networks and gain necessary skills to lead and transform schools.
For additional information about exact required courses and the typical semesters they are offered, please visit Mizzou Online.
A Serious Mission
Our overall focus is on developing engaged leaders, policy makers, and scholars who demonstrate excellence in leading educational institutions, implementing and analyzing policy, and building school communities where all students and educators can thrive. As an aspiring leader in our principal preparation program, learning from Mizzou’s expert practitioners and scholars, you will:
- Continue your full-time work in PK12 schools
- Attend graduate classes that fit your work schedule on weekends through fully online instruction.
- Complete our 4-semester cohort-based program that starts each June and finishes the following July
- Engage in synchronous online instruction occurs on 5 Saturdays during the fall and spring semesters and on 6 weekends during June and July. This allows students to interact with faculty and colleagues in real time adding to a more personalized experience.
- Receive individual advising from faculty who have worked as principals and/or superintendents.
- Complete an internship that prepares you to apply for certification to lead elementary and secondary schools.
- Prepare to take the Missouri Initial Principal Certification exams.
- Become a critical, reflective leader ready to meet schools’ greatest challenges.
- Graduate from a nationally-recognized and ranked educational leadership program in only 14 months!
Learning Objectives
Through the program, students will gain the knowledge to:
- Recognize the characteristics of a fiscally efficient learning setting
- Appreciate differences in students, teachers, parents and communities
- Articulate a vision of academic and personal success for all students
- Understand various types of data and translate them into useable information
- Demonstrate the importance of building and sustaining sincere and respectful relationships with teachers and fellow administrators
Through the program, students will have the skills to:
- Create and sustain a positive climate and culture based on high expectations for student and adult achievement
- Manage a building to ensure safety and promote pride, and make fiscal and legal decisions consistent with Missouri and Federal policies
- Model and promote building learning communities that promote success for all
- Foster a disposition of continuous learning and personal improvement
Degree Requirements
Students in this program spend 14 months working with a cohort of peers to complete purposeful course work and field-based inquiry in a variety of education contexts. The program starts in June and finishes in July of the following year; students are enrolled in six to nine credit hours each semester (two summers, one fall, one spring). Completion of the degree meets a requirement to apply for Missouri Initial Principal Certification at the elementary and secondary levels.
Focused topics include:
- Data-driven and evidence-based decision-making
- School improvement
- Ethics and policymaking
- Provision of professional development
- Finance and law in schools
- Politics of school leadership
Cohort courses begin in June each year. Students should reserve Thursdays (5-9 pm), Fridays (8:30 am-12:30 pm), and Saturdays (8:30 am-12:30 pm) during June and July. (Classes will not occur during the weekend around July 4.) Please check MyZou to confirm instructional dates for each course prior to enrollment.
Required Internships and State Assessments
Field-based, internships must be completed throughout the duration of the program (ED_LPA 9481). Students will be eligible for certification at both the elementary and secondary levels. The internships will be completed over 3 semesters, 2 semesters at the level at which you believe you will seek a principal position and the third at the other level.
Students must pass a “capstone” exam at the completion of their graduation semester. In addition, students must pass two assessments for state certification. First, students will complete the Missouri Professors of Educational Administration (MPEA) Performance Assessment. Instructions and guidelines for this assessment will be shared with students throughout the program. Second, students will take a multiple-choice, constructed-response content assessment developed by Education Testing Services (ETS) at the completion of the program.
The ELPA department will cover the cost for students to take the Educational Testing Service (ETS) constructed-response content assessment. In order to qualify for the cost to be covered, you must notify the department of your intention to take the examination at the start of the academic semester in which you plan to complete the assessment. Prior to registering for the examination, you will contact the department to request a voucher number that you will use to defray the examination cost.
Apply
Admission Requirements
- Baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from a regionally accredited institution
- Minimum GPA of 3.0 (A = 4.0) in the last 60 hours of undergraduate education
- Minimum scores accepted by the MU Graduate School for TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, or the Cambridge C1 Advanced exams for non-native English speakers
- Three letters of recommendation (at least 1 of which should be from faculty who instructed or academically advised the applicant)
- GRE scores are not required
Application Deadlines
Applications for each cohort (beginning each June), are reviewed starting on February 1st and continues through May 1st, or until the cohort reaches capacity.
How to Apply
To apply, please visit the Office of Graduate Studies online application system.
For questions about how to apply, please contact us:
Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis
573-882-8221
elpa@missouri.edu
Assistantships
In rare instances, a minimal number of departmental research teaching assistantships are available for qualified students who are not working full time. Priority is given to doctoral students; however, interested master’s students are encouraged to apply.