Online Educational Leadership/Administration - Master's & Specialist

Applicants must have the following experience. Applicants not meeting the criteria below will be ineligible for the program.

• At least two years of full-time PK-12 classroom teaching experience in a Florida school.
• A current Florida Professional Educator Teaching Certificate K-12.
• Two Most Recent Summative Performance Evaluations with Instructional Practice and Student Growth
• Current employment in a Florida school or Florida school district.

Applicants in year 2+ of their teaching certification who do not hold a professional certificate and who are interested in the program should contact the Graduate Coordinator, Allison Young (aryoung@fsu.edu), and Program Director, Dr. Kevin Forehand (keforehand@fsu.edu), for eligibility guidance.

Master’s Program: An earned bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution, with a minimum 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average (GPA) in Upper-Division coursework attempted (Last 60 hours).

Specialist's Program: An earned graduate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution, with a minimum 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average (GPA).

Please upload your most recent Resume/CV including your current employment. Your resume should show at least two years of full-time PK-12 classroom teaching experience in a Florida school.

Submit your Florida Educators Teachers Certificate through the portal.

Applicants in year 2+ of their teaching certification who do not hold a professional certificate and are still interested in the program should contact the Graduate Coordinator, Allison Young (aryoung@fsu.edu), and Program Director, Dr. Kevin Forehand (keforehand@fsu.edu), for eligibility guidance.

Applicants must submit their two most recent, completed, summative performance evaluations in a Florida public school setting (including charter schools), per Section 1012.34, F.S., obtained during the last four years that document student growth and “Effective” or “Highly Effective” ratings on Performance of Students and Instructional practice under the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices (FEAPS) adopted by the State Board of Education. 

Summative Performance Evaluations must be complete and include the following:

• Obtained in the last 4 years
• Final overall rating
• All instructional practice ratings
• Student growth measure for the entire academic year
• Effective or Higher Rating on Student Performance & Instructional practice:

Student performance evaluations for teachers must include their students' growth or achievement data. For non-teaching school administrators, evaluations must include data on the students attending the school.

Instructional Practice evaluations for teachers must include indicators based on each FEAPS. For non-teaching school administrators, evaluation criteria must be based upon indicators of the FEAPS and may include specific job expectations related to student support.

Important Information & FAQs

• Classroom observations (formal or informal) do NOT meet the same criteria as evaluations under the FEAPS and cannot be accepted and should not be submitted.
• If your most recent evaluation will not be complete with an overall final rating by the admissions deadline but you have additional complete evaluations with effective or highly effective ratings within the last four years, you can submit those.
• If you recently completed your second year of teaching but your evaluation will not be complete by the admissions deadline, you will not be eligible for that admit term. You may apply for the following admit term once your evaluation is complete.

The Principal Leadership Recommender Form must be completed by your current school Principal, who has evaluated your most recent teaching or performance and has knowledge of your demonstrated critical leadership skills, dispositions, and leadership potential.

Step 1: Submit an FSU application through the portal and upload your CV/Resume showing current employment. This is required before submitting the Principal Leadership Recommender Form.

Step 2:  Using the DocuSign link below, you will fill out your name, as well as the name and email of the Principal who will complete the form. Once this is complete, you will click “Begin Signing”. On the next page, you will enter your application number and hit “Finish”.  The form will then be sent to the Principal’s email you provided to complete the form. When the Principal completes their portion of the form, a final copy will be sent to the Academic Specialist to be uploaded to your application portal and marked complete.

The form must be filled out and signed electronically through DocuSign.  Handwritten copies will not be accepted.

DocuSign Link: Principal Leadership Recommender Form Link or https://bit.ly/4c5M9QE

(12 pt. font, Single-spaced, Limit of 2 pages): Describe your aptitude and interest in graduate study in educational leadership, including your preparation for this field and future career goals. Please specify why FSU is a good intellectual and professional fit for you.

(12 pt. font, Single-spaced, Limit of 1 page): From your professional work experience, describe and analyze one situation that involved a dilemma related to school leadership and how you demonstrated critical leadership skills and dispositions in response to this dilemma.

A total of two Letters of Recommendation must be submitted. Both letters should be from individuals who can describe your ability to meet the graduate level of rigor and expectations in coursework, writing and speaking skills, work ethic, and completing field experiences.

• Letters from friends or family will not be considered. Letters should be professional, typed on letterhead, and have a signature.
• Up to 5 letters of recommendation will be reviewed.
• Upon entering the recommender’s email address, the application system will send instructions to your recommender for uploading letters.

GRE Test Scores are Currently WAIVED for Master's and Specialist's degree applicants. Applicants with a competitive GRE score may continue to submit scores. If you do not submit scores, the item will be waived on the application checklist.

Please see the “Transcript Requirement” section on The Graduate School website for detailed information and submission instructions: https://gradschool.fsu.edu/admissions/graduate-admissions

• Official Transcripts: Official transcripts are ONLY required for admitted students & applicants who require SpanTran evaluations of International Transcripts.
• Unofficial Transcripts: Unofficial transcripts are required for your application to be reviewed. Please submit ALL unofficial transcripts from each College and/or University attended. FSU only allows for application review with unofficial transcripts from U.S. institutions. For applicants with transcripts from a non-U.S. institution, a credential evaluation must be received before the application can be reviewed. *Official transcripts on the application checklist will show a red “X” until they are submitted. Applicants who have submitted all required documents and are only missing official transcripts are still considered complete and will be reviewed.
• International Transcript Requirements:  FSU requires a course-by-course credential evaluation for Fall 2024 applicants and beyond who have degrees from a non-U.S. institution. International and domestic applicants with degrees earned from international institutions must submit their official transcripts through a NACES approved evaluator for transcripts from a non-U.S. institution. SpanTran has created a custom application for FSU to ensure you select the right kind of evaluation at a discounted rate. Please see the “Transcript Requirements” section of the Graduate School website for detailed information. https://gradschool.fsu.edu/admissions/graduate-admissions

Official English Language Proficiency results are required of all international applicants whose native language is not English. You can find the approved tests and minimum scores required here under the “English Language Proficiency” section: https://gradschool.fsu.edu/admissions/international-admissions

• Self-Reported Scores
  Although official scores are required, most departments will begin reviewing your application with self-reported scores while waiting for the official scores to arrive. You can self-report your scores on your Online Status Page after you submit your application. 
• Waiving English Language Proficiency
  The English Language Proficiency requirement can be waived at the University level for applicants who have earned a BA or higher in the US or an English-speaking country. *A variety of countries are exempt from the English language proficiency requirement.

You would not be eligible for the program. The MS/EdS in Educational Leadership/Administration is a state-approved program whose guidelines require at least 2 years of teaching in Florida schools before becoming eligible for an assistant principal position responsible for leading Florida teachers.   

You would not be eligible for the program. The MS/EdS in Educational Leadership/Administration is a state-approved program whose guidelines require at least 2 years of teaching in Florida schools before becoming eligible for an assistant principal position responsible for leading Florida teachers. You would be eligible for the program once you complete your second year of teaching in Florida.  

There are guidelines for State-accredited programs for leadership preparation in public schools. In Florida, school leaders must have taught in Florida, under Florida curriculum standards for at least two years before becoming eligible for an assistant principal position. Both international and domestic students must have met this requirement to be eligible for admission into our state-accredited program based upon those policies.  

Applicants with a temporary teaching certificate and less than 2 years of teaching experience would not be eligible for the program.

Applicants in year 2+ of their teaching certification who do not hold a professional certificate and are still interested in the program should contact the Graduate Coordinator, Allison Young (aryoung@fsu.edu), and Program Director, Dr. Kevin Forehand (keforehand@fsu.edu), for eligibility guidance.

No, all state-approved programs are 2 years. All students within our program are full-time educators and are admitted in cohorts each semester. Students take 6 credit hours of coursework each semester to complete all state certification requirements in 6 semesters.  

Educational Leadership certification is required specifically for assistant principals and principals. For other leadership positions, districts create internal criteria for various leadership positions open to candidates.

Additional programs to consider within Educational Leadership and Policy Studies:

Online - Educational Leadership/Administration EdD (Doctoral)
Online - Education Policy & Evaluation Masters
On Campus - Education Policy & Evaluation Masters & PhD
On Campus – Higher Education Masters & PhD

We encourage you to visit our graduate programs website and review the many programs the College offers!

Unfortunately, you would not be eligible for the program. Substitute or permanent substitute teaching does not qualify as full-time certified teaching. Substitute teaching certificates are district-based credentials and are not the same as Florida-certified teaching, which includes an end of year teacher evaluation with student growth and instructional practice scores.