Principalship

About the Program

The University of Akron’s principalship program prepares candidates for Ohio state principalship license through a series of ten courses. Successful completion of these courses also qualifies the candidate for a master's degree in Educational Administration. This rigorous program prepares candidates to meet national standards for educational administrators. These standards are aligned with the National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP) and Ohio Standards for Principals (OSP) standards in cooperation with the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.

The principalship program requires that candidates be able to demonstrate knowledge, skills and dispositions as outlined in the Ohio Principalship Standards and the Educational Leadership Licensure Consortium. The standards are assessed as part of coursework and require that candidates in the program can demonstrate leadership in their schools. Program courses are designed so that a candidate can study school leadership while balancing those studies with classroom teaching responsibilities. 

All courses in the program can be completed remotely (without having to attend class on campus). Some courses are completed by completing readings and online assignments while others may require evening discussions through videoconferencing.

The final activity required for candidates in the Principalship program is the internship experience. The internship (EDLP:695/696) is a two-semester supervised experience that requires the candidate to demonstrate leadership knowledge, skills, and dispositions of an educational leader under the supervision of a building-based mentor and under the supervision of a University clinical instructor. One internship semester focuses on student achievement while the second semester focuses on SEL (social-emotional learning) concepts and principles.

Placement of Graduates

Our principalship candidates secure jobs in private, public, correctional, and alternative schools. These positions are as site-based principals, assistant principals, or related administrators.

Admission Requirements

The School of Education requires an undergraduate GPA of 2.75 for full admission, or an undergraduate GPA of 2.5 for provisional admission, and no supplemental materials in addition to submission of the graduate application and official transcripts for admission to the master's degree program in Educational Administration. 

Application Deadline

Applications to the master's degree program in Educational Administration are accepted on a rolling basis.