Online Master’s Degree in Education Administration (EDAM MS)
College of Education, Health, & Human Sciences
Program Overview
Want to be an education leader? Earn your online master's degree in Education Administration (EDAM) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Education.
Schools need good leaders, now more than ever. UT offers two pathways for you within the online masters degree program in Education Administration (EDAM.) Choose from the K-12 Instructional Leadership concentration or the Higher Education Administration concentration.
Both are offered with maximum flexibility for working professionals seeking an online educational administration degree.
Credit Hours
30
Cost Per Credit Hour*
In-State $700
Out-of-State $775
Testing Requirements
No GRE
Field Experience
Required
*Cost per credit hour is an estimate based on maintenance and university fees. Some programs may have additional course fees. Please contact your department for additional information on any related fees, and visit Tuition and Fees in Detail at One Stop.
Become a Leader in Education
The online Master of Science (MS) in Education 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 Education 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 personal circumstances
- Receive instruction from UT faculty and earn the same degree as on-campus students
Program Concentrations
Higher Education Administration Concentration
Higher education administrators perform many roles and responsibilities across college and university campuses. The career path is exciting and varied; it may include working within student success, budget & finance, information technology, admissions, human resources, communications, marketing, and much more. Quite simply, a college or university is powered by administrative staff who comprise departments focused on the entire campus and student experience.
The UTK online master’s degree in Education Administration with a concentration in Higher Education Administration is designed for those already working in higher education and for those who aspire to transition into a higher education career path. Coursework includes topics on educational law, policy, finance & budget, student success, and governance in higher education. The meaningful coursework throughout the program will enable you to positively influence the operations of colleges and universities. Get started today!
K-12 Instructional Leadership Concentration
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, understands the importance of K-12 school leadership. As the standards and demands for excellence in leadership increase, a preparation program that offers rigor and relevance for future leaders is a priority for us. That’s why we offer a master’s with this concentration which provides aspiring educational leaders the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to lead in the K-12 environment. This 30-credit-hour master’s program offers both a Tennessee licensure track for current Tennessee educators as well as a non-licensure track for out-of-state educators. The licensure option involves both coursework and in-school fieldwork experience.
The program coursework is aimed to prepare each student to successfully lead a school and the implementation of Tennessee academic standards. Our experienced educational leaders and faculty deliver courses that examine principalship, communication in administration, educational law issues, administration of special services, school finance and budgeting, educational change, organizational theory, leading curriculum & instruction, as well as supervision and personnel administration.
The UTK online master’s degree in Education Administration with a concentration in K-12 Instructional Leadership is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) as well as by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Join us to start your journey toward becoming a K-12 leader.
Featured Courses – K-12 Instructional Leadership
Here’s a glimpse at the kinds of courses you’ll take during the MS in Education Administration with a concentration in K-12 Instructional Leadership program.
EDAM 583: The Principalship
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.
EDAM 554: Policy Issues in Educational Law
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 performing their professional duties within the boundaries of constitutional, statutory, and case law. This course is framed around the necessary skills and knowledge of legal issues for building level administrative positions, mainly the positions of assistant principal or principal. School law elaborates on the legal rights, duties, and responsibilities of school personnel. Specific topics in this course include due process, tort liability, negligence, and contracts. Basic legal relationships between employer, colleagues, students, and adults are addressed.
EDAM 519: Curriculum for School Leaders
Looks at the role of the administrator as the instructional leader specifically as it relates to their knowledge of reform initiatives, best practice and instructional strategies, and as professional development facilitator. Approaches the process of leadership through the lens of curriculum and instruction. Specifically, students will gain a knowledge and understanding of the alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Students will gain an understanding of the newest reform initiatives in curriculum as well as their role as administrators in these initiatives. Students will learn to sustain a school mission, vision, and goals. A focus on the administrator’s role in analyzing the professional development needs in the school as well as implementing appropriate professional development based on those school needs will be examined.
EDAM 520: Using Data for Educational Change & School Improvement
An introduction to the uses of disciplined inquiry as a tool for planning, problem solving, decision-making, program improvement, and communicating in school and school-related contexts. Will provide students with the quantitative and qualitative techniques that are needed to engage in the process of school improvement planning that will assist aspiring leaders in developing strategies for implementing and sustaining change in school settings. Will include an emphasis on using data to create the conditions for change as well as planning, implementing, and managing school improvement through the collaboration, involvement, and motivation of all stakeholders
Featured Courses – Higher Education Administration
Want to know what you’ll be studying? Here are a few course highlights from the Master of Science (MS) in Education Administration (EDAM) Higher Education Administration pathway.
HEAM 619: Administration & Governance of Higher Education
Trends, structure and process of collegiate governance. Development of understanding of administrative theory and practice in higher education.
HEAM 624: Students in Postsecondary Education
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 emphasis include student characteristics, college choice and enrollment patterns, institutional types and environments, student development theory, retention and persistence, and college student outcomes.
HEAM 529: Policy Issues in Higher Education
Local, state and federal education policy in U.S. higher education. Theories and practicalities of the policy process, political actors, policy formulation, policy instruments and policy evaluation. Exploration of change and tension between key policy goals (access, affordability, accountability) in promoting economic and social opportunity. Examination of current policy debates and their arguments for how researchers, politicians, and the popular press use data and structure to shape policy agendas and evaluation, including critical analytic techniques.
EDAM 587: Educational Law
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 performing their professional duties within the boundaries of constitutional, statutory, and case law. School law focuses on the legal rights, duties, and responsibilities of school personnel.
