Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
The Graduate Certificate is designed for educators who have a minimum of three years professional work experience and want to obtain an endorsement for leading a public school in Virginia. Candidates must have earned a bachelor's and a master's degree. The Graduate Certificate requires 15 semester hours of coursework and six semester hours of reflective leadership study, which includes both theory and practice.
Program Scope and Sequence
The program has three components: required courses, field experience and a capstone experience. The Graduate Certificate requires a total of 21 graduate credit hours, including a required 320 hours of practicum outside of the classroom to qualify for the endorsement. Refer to the Graduate Certificate coursework plan for a complete overview.
Graduate Certificate Admissions Criteria
- Submission of official transcripts showing successful completion of a bachelor's and master's degree.
- A cumulative grade point average of no less than 3.3 in all previous college course work.
- Excellent recommendations from three sources, including a recommender who can attest to the candidate's academic ability and potential as a graduate student and from supervisors who can attest to the candidate's demonstrated leadership ability. The supervisor recommendation might include a school principal or school superintendent. At least one of the recommendations should derive from the K-12 perspective.
- Successful interview with the program director or his designee.
- Three years of professional experience.
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