Overview

Graduate work in the Educational Leadership program at Pennsylvania State University encompasses two major career paths. The first path focuses on those who want to engage in a wide variety of leadership roles within and directly affecting schools and districts.

These roles include, but are not limited to: teacher leadership, instructional leadership, principal leadership, and district-level leadership.

This path may also lead to certification through the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the principalship and/or a letter of endorsement in the superintendency.

The second path focuses on those who want to exercise leadership roles in educational policy arenas and/or engage in educational research.

Possible roles include: intermediate unit officials, state and federal agency administrators and staff, professors of educational administration, and research and development personnel. The Principle Certificate is also available at Penn State Harrisburg.

Learning outcomes

Demonstrate mastery of the student’s specific program emphasis area, which includes knowledge of primary and secondary literature related to research methodologies, programmatic research priorities, and implications of that research for professional practice. Assessed through methods and theory coursework.
Students will design and carry out a research project that includes articulating an important and original question, analyzing appropriate literature, demonstrating conceptual and methodological creativity, and carrying out an original inquiry. Assessed through master’s paper.
Demonstrate critical thinking about selected recent research in the program emphasis area through the description of an emerging scholarly theme/area, identification of specific publications that reflect it, and assessment of its strengths and weaknesses. Assessed through coursework and master's paper.
Demonstrate standards of field in written and oral communication by requiring research presentations in several courses.
Demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of research ethics issues including knowledge of ethical principles related to authorship, research reporting, data fabrication, plagiarism, conflicts of interest, peer review, data sharing and other areas of misconduct.

Programme Structure

Courses include:

Technology Applications in Educational Leadership
School Improvement
Teaching as Inquiry
Teacher Leadership
How Schools Work
Designing Staff Development Programs
The Teaching of Adults
Learning Processes in Relation to Educational Practices

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 12 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2026-08-25 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-04-25 00:00:00 , International

More details

International applicants are encouraged to submit materials at least four months before the beginning of the semester for which they are applying.

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

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IELTS

6.5

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Credits

30 SCH

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

University Park, United States

Disciplines

Educational Leadership View 626 other Masters in Educational Leadership in United States

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Academic requirements

GPA

GRE^®

Required

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

Schedule TOEFL®

IELTS

6.5

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

three letters of recommendation,
official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended,
a statement of purpose,
a writing sample that reviews and critiques an academic article related to education leadership or education policy that affects education leaders.
a current resume or curriculum vita.
applicants must present evidence of at least a 3.0 grade-point average in the last two years of undergraduate work

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

46796 USD / year

≈ 46796 USD / year
Out-of-State

46796 USD / year

≈ 46796 USD / year
Domestic

Applies to you

In-State

25966 USD / year

≈ 25966 USD / year

Living costs

University Park

United States

1000 - 1500 USD / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Financing

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Funding

Win a €10000 Scholarship! Deadline: 30 June 2020

Embark on your journey with the Studyportals Scholarship! We're giving away a total of 20,000 euros to help you achieve your dream of studying abroad.

Win a €10000 Scholarship! Deadline: 30 June 2020

Embark on your journey with the Studyportals Scholarship! We're giving away a total of 20,000 euros to help you achieve your dream of studying abroad.

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find Master's scholarship opportunities for Educational Leadership.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

On this page

About

Overview

Learning outcomes

Programme Structure

Key information

Duration

Start dates & application deadlines

Language

Prepare for Your English Test

Credits

Delivered

Campus Location

Disciplines

What students do after studying

Academic requirements

English requirements

Prepare for Your English Test

Other requirements

General requirements

Tuition Fees

International Applies to you

Domestic

Living costs

University Park

Financing

Funding

Scholarships Information

Available Scholarships

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