Online Master of Science in Educational Administration (EDAM)
Educational Administration (EDAM)
Program Overview
Want to be an education leader? Earn your online master’s degree in Educational Administration (EDAM) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s College of Education.
Schools need good leaders now more than ever. UT offers two pathways within the online master’s degree program in Educational Administration (EDAM). Choose from the K-12 Instructional Leadership concentration or the Higher Education Administration concentration.
Both offer maximum flexibility for working professionals pursuing an online educational administration degree.
Become a Leader in Education
The online Master of Science (MS) in Educational Administration (EDAM) degree at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, prepares you to be a leader in education with the choice of two concentrations:
- The K-12 Instructional Leadership concentration
- The Higher Education Administration concentration
Both concentrations are delivered asynchronously, which affords maximum flexibility for working professionals. Regardless of which concentration you choose, in the online MS in Educational Administration program, you will achieve the following:
- Learn from knowledgeable professionals: our faculty bring current, real-world experiences to their courses
- Gain relevant professional experience during field studies
- Explore practical issues and concepts impacting the environment of education administration
- Enhance your leadership and management ability, develop policy knowledge toward effective practice, and build practical skillsets in research and evaluation
- Create a customizable course of study based on your circumstances
- Receive instruction from UT faculty and earn the same degree as on-campus students
Admission Requirements
Please note that when applying to the M.S. in Educational Administration, you will want to submit your application to the specific concentration for which you are interested. These concentrations operate as separate programs, allowing students to tailor their learning to their specific interests. The admissions requirements for each specific concentration are listed below.
Additionally, applicants of either program must fulfill UT’s Graduate School Requirements. Visit Graduate Admissions to get started.
K-12 Instructional Leadership Concentration
- Candidates for admission must submit the following supplemental portfolio to the Program Coordinator, Tammy Knierim at tknierim@utk.edu.
- A copy of your current and valid Tennessee educator license (you must have at least two (2) years of qualifying experience as an educator as defined by the TN Department of Education). This requirement does not apply to students in the non-licensure program.
- A current resume
- Personal statement which includes the following: professional goals (explain how this preparation program would assist you in reaching these goals. Please provide a response that is detailed and specific). Most recent professional development activities; professional activities involving leadership roles; professional organizations; professional honors received; a description of a personal experience where knowledge of curriculum and instruction was used to improve student achievement; a description of any personal experience(s) where collaboration, cooperation, and/or relationship building in a professional environment was demonstrated (attach evidence of this experience, if applicable.)
- Your two most recent rating forms from current, immediate supervising administrators.
- At least two letters of recommendation: (1) your current principal and (2) another present or former principal or assistant principal (these can be the same references requested by the Grad School application process – please make sure you ask your references to upload an actual recommendation memo when they receive the link from the UTK Grad School).
- A signed mentor-agreement form from a principal or assistant/vice principal who is willing to serve as your mentor for the fieldwork experience. Also include contact information for your District leadership. You can find this form on the K12 Instructional Leadership concentration webpage.
Higher Education Administration Concentration
- Prior Transcripts—submit an unofficial electronic copy of your transcripts from each college or university you have attended in the graduate school application. A grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 or higher for undergraduate work or GPA 3.00 or higher for prior graduate work is required.
- Current resume or CV
- Letter of introduction addressing the following in 500 words or less: identify your career goals related to work in a higher education setting, identify ways you believe this degree can assist you in reaching your goals, describe the strengths you possess for completing a graduate degree online, and describe the challenges you anticipate for completing a graduate degree online.
- Three letters of recommendation. Raters should assess your academic background and likely success in a rigorous program. If you are a recent graduate, you should include one or more faculty members who can attest to your work as a student. Other appropriate raters include work supervisors. Family members and personal friends are not appropriate raters. You need to prompt your raters to submit their forms to the Graduate Admissions.
Request Information
Program Concentrations
Higher Education Administration
This concentration offers advanced graduate study for individuals who aspire to work in higher education settings including post-secondary institutions, policy and research centers, and government agencies. Additionally, professionals working in higher education settings will enhance their leadership knowledge and skills for service in current and future positions.
Continue Reading
K-12 Instructional Leadership
As the standards and demands for excellence in K-12 school leadership continually increase, our preparation program offers the rigor and relevance for future leaders with coursework covering principalship, educational law issues, school finance and budgeting, and more.
Continue ReadingFeatured Courses
Examples of courses offered in the Master’s in Educational Administration program include:
Higher Education Administration Concentration: HEAM 519 and HEAM 524
K-12 Instructional Leadership Concentration: EDAM 583 and EDAM 544
Explores core concepts in higher education administration and governance. Critically examines and applies scholarship related to administration and governance, culture and structure, and effecting change in higher education contexts. Considers how historical and contemporary policies and practices affect educational opportunities, equity, and inclusion.
Designed to provide graduate students a general understanding of the diversity of college students currently enrolled in higher education in the United States. Areas of interest include student characteristics, college choice and enrollment patterns, institutional types and environments, student development theory, retention and persistence, and college student outcomes.
Will look at the principalship, specifically the primary roles, traits, and functions of highly effective building level administrators. Will approach the principalship as a complex, multi-faceted profession that requires individuals to demonstrate a number of important leadership traits as well as fulfill a number of interrelated roles within schools. During this class, students will gain an understanding of these roles or functions through a study of the text, the Tennessee Licensure Standards for Principals (TILS), and the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) Standards. This course will rely heavily upon the text as well as scenarios or cases from actual schools as the primary vehicles for discussion and understanding. As much as possible, the focus will not only be on the theoretical traits and roles of the principal but also on how these capacities and functions play out in schools.
Provides a significant grounding in education resource management theory and practice, so as to allow students to acquire a working knowledge of the context of school finance at the national, state and local levels, and understand the strategies and mechanics of school resource utilization that are most closely associated with increased student academic success.
