Educational Leadership
Educational Specialist, Ed.S.

Program Description

Overview

The Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) licensure program in Educational Leadership is designed to prepare students for leadership and administration at the district office level of a K-12 school system and leads to North Carolina Level II administrator licensure (Advanced Principal).

The program is a 36 to 45 semester hour program of advanced study beyond the master's degree. It typically leads to either North Carolina Level I (Entry-level Principal) or North Carolina Level II (Advanced Principal) licensure and includes a Superintendent Concentration.

The Ed.S. licensure program is essentially a subset of the Ed.D. degree program. Obtaining the Ed.S. and North Carolina administrative licensure (AP/AS) can lead to salary increases for some administrative professionals in North Carolina.

All coursework for the Ed.S. licensure program may count towards the doctor of education (Ed.D.) degree as well, although individual plans of study must be completed for each program. The Ed.S. requires a minimum of 36 credits and the Ed.D. requires a minimum of 54 credits, including the dissertation. The 36 Ed.S credits are an exact subset of the 54 Ed.D. credits. Courses are offered in the evenings during the fall and spring terms.

Most students are part-time and typically take two courses per term. Classes are scheduled so that many students take two classes in one evening (e.g., on Thursday night, a class from 4 to 6:50 p.m. and another class from 7 to 9:50 p.m.).

Admissions

  • Prospective students must hold the degree of B.A. or B.S., and a master’s degree in School Administration or a closely related field, from an accredited college or university in this country or its equivalent – based on a four-year curriculum – in an institution outside of the U.S.
  • If the master’s degree is in a field other than educational leadership/school administration, at least three additional courses will be required to complete both the Ed.S. program and the Ed.D. degree.
  • Successful applicants will have a minimum of three years of school leadership experience or equivalent school site experience such as teaching, counseling or social work.
  • Applicants who are interested in the Director of Student Support Services option should possess three years of experience in School Counseling, School Psychology or School Social Work.

Application Instructions

Due to North Carolina administrative licensure reasons, UNC’s Educational Leadership Area has reinstated the Ed.S. licensure program.

To apply for admission to the Ed.S. and/or the Ed.D. programs, complete a single application for the Ed.D. thus applying for admission to both programs and paying a single application fee.

Shortly before completing the requirements for the Ed.S. licensure, you must request “permission to proceed” to the Ed.D. program if interested. Such permission will be granted pending written approval from the Educational Leadership Area based on a faculty interview and evidence of strong progress in your course work and writing skills. 

Please note that the permission to proceed request must be completed before the student has finished the required coursework for the Ed.S. If the student breaks continuous enrollment, a new application and payment of the application fee will be required.

The Educational Leadership Area reserves the right to recommend student termination of the program with the completion of the Ed.S. only. Alternately, students may decide that they would like to terminate studies with the Ed.S. and obtain the administrative license (AP/AS) without completing the Ed.D.

Program Contact

Kathleen Brown, Ed.D., Program Coordinator
brownk@email.unc.edu
(919) 966-1354