Master of Education in Educational Leadership
- Fall January 10
- Spring July 1
- Pullman: Yes
- Spokane: Yes
- Tri-Cities: Yes
- Vancouver: Yes
Degree Description:
WSU offers two masters degree programs in Educational Leadership. The non-thesis Master of Education (Ed.M.) degree is designed for professional educators preparing for leadership positions in K-12 schools and other educational institutions. The Master of Arts in Education – Educational Leadership (M.A.) is a thesis degree designed for students who wish to focus on continued study and research in Educational Leadership who may pursue a doctoral degree. The following is information for the Ed.M. degree.
It is offered at all four WSU campuses (Pullman, Spokane, Tri-Cities and Vancouver) and is closely aligned with the Principal and Program Administrator Certification program. Models for delivery of the master’s program (e.g., sequencing of courses) differ slightly across the four campuses, although basic requirements for the degree are the same across the campuses.
The Ed.M. in Educational Leadership requires a Master’s Final Comprehensive/Written Examination.
Admission Requirements:
Submit a completed WSU online Graduate School application, a departmental supplemental application, a written statement (of scholarly and professional objectives as outlined on the supplemental application) current resume, three letters of recommendation, GRE scores (only if GPA is below 3.0), TOEFL or IELTS (international only), and transcripts of all past academic work.
Student Learning Outcome:
All graduates will be able to:
- Identify and analyze the theories, research, and policies related to the study of K-12 educational leadership: ethics and social justice; inquiry; policy; and leadership/instructional leadership.
- Prepare, write and present clear and coherent critical book reviews and reviews of the literature in educational leadership.
- Understand, evaluate, and apply inquiry knowledge and skills to problems of policy and practice of educational leadership.
- Design, conduct, report, and present clear and coherent research studies that contribute to understanding and solving problems of practice in educational leadership.
- Articulate core values and model the guiding principles of the profession including: commitment to social justice; understanding of ethical responsibilities of leadership; effective and respectful interaction with others of similar and diverse cultures, values, and perspectives; commitment to school improvement and a positive impact on student learning.
Student Opportunities:
WSU’s Educational Leadership master’s degree programs can be aligned with the Principal and Program Administrator Certification programs, for those who qualify for certification and who wish to receive Principal or Program Administrator certificates along with the master’s degree. All required graded courses for these certification programs can be applied to the master’s degree program of study. However, the master’s degree in Educational Leadership can be done without including Principal or Program Administrator Certification classes. In either option, course sequences are designed to permit students at any of WSU’s campuses to complete the master’s degree within two to three years.
Career Opportunities:
K-12 administrator, preparation for advanced graduate study, administration in public or non-profit agency
Faculty Members:
Acker-Hocevar, Michele, Ph.D.
Serves as: co-chair or member on graduate committee
Calderone, Shannon, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
Examines how families from across the socioeconomic spectrum engage in the college affordability decision-making process. More specifically, she looks at a family’s existing money-related practices as fundamentally socio-historical and sociocultural. As such, these practices contribute significantly to the structuring of social advantage and disadvantage in the college financing process. Dr. Calderone’s most recent research has focused on social trust and debt assumption, financial literacy, and family financial labor as points of insight into the impact of college costs on perceptions of opportunity for high, middle, and low-income families.
Cowin, Kathleen, Ed.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
Include reflective practice, and the formation of mentoring relationships between educational leader candidates and their mentor
Hill, Glenys, Ed.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
Organizational culture and its impact on student learning; the role of the superintendent as a change agent; women and minorities as educational leaders and superintendents; lenses of decision making; superintendent-Board relations.
Huggins, Kristin S, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
Urban school reform, equity in education, instructional leadership, professional development and teacher quality.
Kruse, Sharon, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
Dr. Kruse’s research broadly addresses two concerns, (1) to help teachers and school leaders better understand the key role leadership plays in schools and (2) to explore how education is currently structured and influenced by social and organizational complexity.
Mancinelli, John, Ed.D.
Serves as: member only on graduate committee
McDonald, Teena Paige, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
As a practitioner scholar, my research interests are in the areas of Leadership and Organizational Studies, The Superintendency, Mindfulness, the Principalship, and Organizational and Occupational socialization of Women Administrators.
Neider, Xyanthe Nicole, Ph.D.
Serves as: co-chair or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
Teaching and learning at the collegiate level: multicultural diversity,
First generation college students,
Research ethics, graduate education, writing
Campus environment and student experiences
Academic support as means to increase persistence to degree
Pitre, Paul, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
Focuses on racial/ethnic minority and low socioeconomic status students’ experiences in the college choice process and factors that enhance student aspirations for college attendance. Similarly, Pitre is interested in the role that school context plays in developing student college related aspirations. He is also interested in students’ perceptions of their preparation for life beyond K-12 education.
Rodela, Katherine, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
Across my diverse projects, I seek to connect theoretical analyses of culture, language, learning, and leadership with practical applications for increased educational equity, particularly for students of color, low-income students, and other underrepresented communities in our schools and universities.
Ward, Kelly Anne, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
Faculty issues including integration of teaching, research, and service, work and family concerns for faculty, faculty career development, and faculty diversity in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and the service role of higher education including faculty outreach and engagement.