Students who are considering careers as principals, school administrators or education policy formulators will be interested in this list of Educational Leadership Degrees in Florida. The schools presented have a variety of degrees designed to help graduates become competent and ethical educational leaders. Only a few of the programs prepare students to sit for the Florida Educational Leadership Certification, and students should look at the requisites for the program if they want that credential. Although only some of the programs require teaching experience or a teaching certificate for admission to the program, all of the degree programs in the list involve at least some field experience.
University of Central Florida
College of Education and Human Performance
This school boasts a faculty that is involved with the students and engaged in community and in research. There is an emphasis on scholarship and on making lifelong learners of the students. Accreditation is by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. The University of Central Florida is ranked in the list of Best Colleges by US News and World Reports and has a 65 percent five-year graduation rate. Tuition is $1910 for Florida residents and $7642 for out-of-state students; 89 percent of the student body receives financial aid of some type.
Featured Programs
Master of Arts in Educational Leadership Online
This master’s program is 100 percent online. There are 30 semester hours in the degree program and students must have a bachelor’s degree and an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 for admission. This program meets the standards for the Interstate School Licensure Consortium, but not for the Florida State Leadership Certification. People who desire that credential must apply to the UCF Master of Education degree which is a 33-semester credit path. Courses in this degree program may be taken in any sequence the student desires; however the last course taken must be EDA 6909, which is a research project and report in educational leadership. There are one-semester and two-semester internships available. Tuition is $1910 for Florida residents per semester and $7642 for non-residents. The online program is not available in some states.
Ed.D. in Educational Leadership Executive Track
This program prepares graduates who can use available research to provide leadership through effective communication and skills. It is a cohort system consisting of 54 credit hours or three years. The approach stresses teamwork and networking. It is kept current to educational trends and legislation through an advisory board and includes something the school calls “client-based field experience.” Courses are taken in a required sequence so that pre-requisites might be met and foundations laid. The program is completed by taking six semester hours each of nine semesters. To keep students on this pace the school requires two “milestones.” The first, at the end of the first year, is a white paper and the second, at the end of the second year, is the dissertation proposal.
Educational Leadership Ed.S.
There are two tracks to this degree. The first is the Master’s Degree plus 30. It is for those people who want to get a doctoral degree or who want to add an area of expertise to their credentials. The second path is the Ed.S in Counseling which is for people who want to become professional school counselors in pre-K to post-secondary education. The programs are accredited through the National Commission for Teacher Accreditation –Other School Profession. The specialist track is not terminal; it is intended to enable graduates to go on to even higher education. Both programs require 30 to 33 credit hours beyond the master’s program. Thirteen to sixteen hours are in advanced foundational courses, fifteen are in the specialty and two are in the capstone project. In addition, all graduates build an electronic portfolio.
M.Ed. in Educational Leadership
This program is intended to give students an educational foundation to be a principal or to obtain a Florida Level-One Educational Leadership certification. As such, the courses are designed to meet the eight areas of competency set out in the Florida Educational Leadership Examination. Graduates do not take a comprehensive examination at the culmination of the degree program, but they must earn a minimum grade of “B” in each of two internships and pass the Florida State Educational Leadership Examination. The internships are offered during the final two terms of the program and give students a chance to apply the knowledge and skills they have accumulated in the job-embedded internship. Students admitted to the program must have a bachelor’s degree, but teaching experience is not a pre-requisite.
Contact
College of Education and Human Performance
University of Central Florida
12494 University Boulevard
Orlando, Florida 32816-1250
407-823-2595
Information and admissions through website
Website
University of Florida
College of Education
There are 1732 students enrolled full time in this school and 3967 who attend online. There are also 102 full-time faculty members. The College of Education is accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. “US News and World Reports “ranks the university as number twenty four in the “Best Schools” list for its graduate education programs. It is Florida’s highest rated school of education. Tuition at the University of Florida is $8296 per semester for residents of Florida and $18,904 for non-residents.
Master of Education in Educational Online
This degree has two options. One path leads to Florida Principal Certification but not to a teaching certificate. The other program does not carry principal certification. The curriculum for the master’s degree program is based upon the Florida Principal Leadership Standards. The University of Florida’s College of Education faculty is nationally known, according to the website. The degree program is designed to meet the schedule of working adults, with weekend and evening classes. It is a cohort system and students take six credits every semester for a total of 36 credit hours. The degree can be earned in two years on this schedule. The program requires a minimum of 150 hours of practicum and field experience; online students work with the website supervisor who holds principal certification to accomplish this requisite. Online students may also take a modified Master of Education course which does not carry certification.
Contact
College of Education
140 Norman Hall
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611
352-392-0726
education@ufl.edu
Website
University of Northern Florida
College of Education and Human Services
This is a large school which touts small class size. In fact it operates on a cohort system that averages 25 students. The Washington Monthly ranked the University as 163 out of 684 master’s universities. A master’s university is one which awards more master’s degrees than any other degree. The school is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern association of Colleges and Schools and by the National Council for Accrediting Teacher Education. Ninety-six percent of students at the university get some form of financial aid. In-state tuition is $4229.
Master of Education in Educational Leadership
Students who wish to be admitted to this program must have a bachelor’s degree in education, or at least 60 credit hours of study in a regionally –accredited institution of higher learning, and carry a 3.0 GPA. Five concentrations are available with the degree: Advanced Teaching and Learning, Athletic Administration, Educational Technology Leadership, Higher Education Administration and Educational leadership Certification. Most of these concentrations require 39 credit hours; the Higher Education program is a 36 credit-hour program and requires a valid teacher’s certification for admittance to the degree path. The Advanced Teaching and Learning path does not qualify graduates for a Florida Educational Leadership Certification. All of the concentration requisites are in addition to the six-credit-hour college standard requirement classes. In addition, there is a practicum requirement for this degree.
Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership
This interdisciplinary program allows students to take classes from many university departments and to gain knowledge from university resources outside the education college. The program admits students only during the fall term and candidates must have a master’s degree from a regionally accredited university in which they earned not less than a 3.25 GPA. The program contains courses in leadership and in research methodology, classes in the cognate (minor) and interdisciplinary foundational classes as well as a dissertation. There are 76 credit-hours in the program, of which 61 must be completed at the University of Northern Florida. The program culminates in written and oral exams which students must pass in order to be considered as a doctoral candidate. The degree is awarded upon acceptance of the dissertation.
Contact
College of Education and Human Services
University of Northern Florida
1 University Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32224
904-620-1804
Jerry.johnson@unf.edu
Website
University of South Florida
College of Education
The goal of this college is to prepare compassionate, ethical and intellectual leaders to pioneer change and social justice in American schools. One of the school’s prime values is research. There is also an emphasis on service learning; faculty members build community service projects into their classes. The University of South Florida ranks #170 of best national universities. The College of Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. Tuition for Florida residents is $6410 and for non-residents it is $17,325.
Master of Education
Students are urged to follow this degree path as it is offered, to enter the program at the designated times and to earn the degree. This is because the degree program is designed to offer continuity in its succession of courses and pre-requisites and because the university builds orientation content into the program. There is a modified degree path available to students who hold a master’s degree in an area other than education leadership who want to earn this degree as well. The college collaborates with several schools and school districts to provide 25 months of a job-embedded principal preparation program. The degree path is 36 to 39 credit-hours and students are required to create a portfolio. Classes are offered on weekends and evenings and there is a practicum in the second half of the degree path.
Contact
College of Education
University of South Florida
4202 East Fowler Avenue
Tampa, FL 33620-9951
813-974-5423
wrblack@usf.edu
Website
University of South Florida Sarasota Manatee
Graduate program College of Education
This university offers more than 100 internships and research opportunities to its students. The student-to-faculty ratio is 13:1. The College of Education, accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, has an innovative program called PAInT which stands for Partnership for Arts Integrated Teaching. The program involves faculty and students in visual, performing and literature arts that enhance the learning experience. The school also stresses real-world (experiential) learning. Tuition is $10,029 annually for Florida residents and $ 20, 218 for those from out of the state.
Master of Education in Educational Leadership
This degree program has three concentrations: K-12 Public School Leadership (which qualifies graduates for the Level 1 Florida State Educational leadership Certification), Curriculum Leadership and Non-Public K-12 Leadership (which does not lead to certification). The goal of the school is to produce collaborative, visionary and ethical leadership. Material is presented through case studies, simulations, group projects and group study, lectures and discussions and distance learning including web-enhanced courses. There are 36 credit hours in the program including a three credit–hour practicum. Applicants to this program must have a bachelor’s degree and two years of teaching experience as well as an undergraduate GPA of 3.0.
Contact
Graduate Programs, College of Education
University of South Florida
8350 North Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34243
941-359-4531
Email through website
Website
University of South Florida St. Petersburg
College of Education
This school is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern association of Colleges and Schools and by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. It is home to Florida’s Holocaust Museum Education department and partners with the museum to present unique educational opportunities to students. It also houses the Artista Coffee Bar which is a full-service coffee house where the front line staff is all on the autism spectrum. The school is rated Number 80 of the Southern region by US News and World Reports.
Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership
This degree is designed for teachers and for other educational professionals, and allows them to earn their master’s degrees and their K-12 Florida State Instructional Leadership Certifications. It is a standards-based program that balances theory and practice and is designed to give students the skills and the knowledge to pass the Florida State Educational Leadership examination. Classes are structured to serve working adult students. Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA during the program. There are 36 credit hours involved in the graduation requirements and all students must create an electronic portfolio. In addition, every student must apply for and complete administrative practicum in a school system and must pass the Florida State educational Leadership examination.
Contact
College of Education
Petersburg-Coquina Hall 201
University of South Florida St. Petersburg
140th 7th Avenue South Street
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
727-873-4947
ohodges@mail.usf.edu
Website
University of West Florida
College of Professional Studies
This school was founded in 1963. It has 12,679 students in three colleges. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. The Princeton Review designated the university as a “Best Southeastern College.” The College of Education ranks number eight among Florida teacher colleges. This school guarantees its education. If an employer finds a graduate of the college of education has a deficit in his education, the school will retrain the employee at no cost to the student or the employer.
Master of Education
The school offers this degree with four specializations: Educational Leadership Certification, Education and Training Management, Human Performance technology and Instructional Technology Specialization. Applicants to the program must hold a bachelor’s degree in education and have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0. The degree path contains 33 to 36 credit hours, depending on the specialization chosen, and students must have a valid teaching certificate in effect at admission. All students are required to subscribe to (purchase) and activate a Student Assessment System. Students who have difficulty in meeting the requisites of the degree program are required to enter the CAST path which intends to assist them with academic standards. The program culminates in a final project based on the specialization.
Contact
College of Professional Studies
Building 85, Room 125
University of West Florida
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL 32514
850-474-2870
soegrad@uwf.edu
Website
Students who have studied the institutions named in this listing will be better prepared to select one which suits their learning styles and that affords them a higher probability of success in their educations. Some of the degrees can be earned in only a couple of years past the baccalaureate degree while others take three years of further study. In any case, a thorough reading of the school websites presented here will be a real help on choosing a school from this list of Educational Leadership Degrees in Florida.
For more information on Education Leadership degree programs in Florida, please see:
Educational Leadership Degrees in Florida (A-J)
Educational Leadership Degrees in Florida (L-S)