Online Education Specialist in Educational Administration (EdS)
Educational Administration
Program Overview
Are you ready to take the next step in your K-12 education career? Advance as an educational leader by enrolling in the online EdS program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Earn your online post-master’s degree in Educational Administration to gain the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required to lead in the K-12 environment. Our fully online Education Specialist (EdS) program is flexible for working professionals while still providing a thorough principal preparation pathway. UT offers this 36-hour Specialist in Education (EdS) degree with a concentration in Educational Administration with both licensure and non-licensure alternatives.
Why Choose Educational Administration?
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, offers a 36-hour Specialist in Education (EdS) degree with a concentration in Educational Administration with licensure and non-licensure alternatives. This degree is designed for individuals with a master’s degree in education or a related field. Courses are asynchronous to afford you the flexibility needed to complete your studies.
UT’s principal preparation pathways view leaders as stewards and servants, teachers as facilitators of growth and development, and administrators as bold examiners of their organizations’ effectiveness, continuously challenging the ideas and assumptions upon which practice and policy are formed. As the demands for excellence, challenges, and opportunities in K-12 leadership continue to ramp up, a well-rounded principal preparation program offering coursework and fieldwork experiences for aspiring leaders of Tennessee schools is our priority.
Admission Requirements
- 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, and 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 webpage. This requirement is for licensure applicants only.
- UTK Graduate School requirements. Visit Graduate Admissions to get started.
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Featured Courses
Want to see what knowledge and skills you will develop while earning the EdS in Education with an Educational Administration concentration? Here are a few of the courses you can take:
This course is designed to assist aspiring school leaders in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and dispositions associated with leading professional learning communities in schools. Students in the course will learn to develop, support, and nurture teacher and staff efficacy in meeting each student’s academic, social, emotional, and physical needs. The course focuses on developing leadership character in aspiring school leaders to build and sustain a positive learning community that nurtures and supports professional learning and instructional practice.
Designed to offer future K-12 educational leaders and scholars a broad and engaging background in the theoretical and pragmatic aspects of personnel supervision and evaluation. Course topics will be covered in light of significant recent developments in the teacher evaluation and supervision field in Tennessee and the nation. The course will be divided into 3 modules: developing staff, supervising personnel, and evaluating personnel.
Educators must know the laws that govern the operation and conduct of their organizations as administrators face a highly litigious society. Will study the relevant legal principles that affect the operation, organization, and administration of American schools. Aspiring leaders will gain knowledge about legal issues that will help them in effectively perform their professional duties within the boundaries of constitutional, statutory, and case law.
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.
